Irving Berlin: New York GeniusFrom the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a fast-moving, musically astute portrait of arguably the greatest composer of American popular music Irving Berlin (1888-1989) has been called--by George Gershwin, among others--the greatest songwriter of the golden age of the American popular song. "Berlin has no place in American music," legendary composer Jerome Kern wrote; "he is American music." In a career that spanned an astonishing nine decades, Berlin wrote some fifteen hundred tunes, including "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "God Bless America," and "White Christmas." From ragtime to the rock era, Berlin's work has endured in the very fiber of American national identity. Exploring the interplay of Berlin's life with the life of New York City, noted biographer James Kaplan offers a visceral narrative of Berlin as self-made man and witty, wily, tough Jewish immigrant. This fast-paced, musically opinionated biography uncovers Berlin's unique brilliance as a composer of music and lyrics. Masterfully written and psychologically penetrating, Kaplan's book underscores Berlin's continued relevance in American popular culture. About Jewish Lives: Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present. In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award. More praise for Jewish Lives: "Excellent." - New York times "Exemplary." - Wall St. Journal "Distinguished." - New Yorker "Superb." - The Guardian |
Contents
1 The Fugitive | 1 |
2 I Have Discovered a Great Kid | 10 |
3 You Can Never Tell Your Finish When You Start | 22 |
4 I Sweat Blood | 35 |
5 At the Devils Ball | 47 |
6 Play a Simple Melody | 61 |
7 I Wasnt Much of a Soldier | 74 |
8 Work for Yourself | 86 |
16 What Is a War Song? | 190 |
17 This Is the Army Mr Jones | 203 |
18 To War | 218 |
19 And Back | 231 |
20 There Is Americas Folk Song Writer | 242 |
21 Ive Never Been in a Tougher Spot | 256 |
22 Well Never Get Off the Stage | 271 |
23 A Worried Old Man on the Hill | 285 |
9 What Shall I Do? | 99 |
10 Always | 111 |
11 Never Saw the Sun Shining So Bright | 125 |
12 Good God Another Revue | 138 |
13 Before They Ask Us to Pay the Bill | 150 |
14 Write Hits Like Irving Berlin | 162 |
15 While the Storm Clouds Gather | 177 |