Listening to Classic American Popular SongsIn the twenties, thirties, and forties, now-legendary American songwriters and lyricists created a repertoire of popular songs, songs that have captured the hearts of generations of music lovers. George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael and many others, along with such lyricists as Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, and Dorothy Fields, produced extraordinary songs of signal importance to the American musical heritage. In this book Allen Forte shares his love of American popular song. He discusses in detail twenty-three songs, ranging from Gershwin's "Fascinating Rhythm" (1924) to Irving Berlin's "Steppin' Out with My Baby" (1947), guiding readers and listeners toward a deeper appreciation of this vital and engaging music. Forte writes for the general reader, assuming no background other than a familiarity with basic music notation. Each song is discussed individually and includes complete lyrics and simple leadsheet notation. Forte discusses the songs' distinctive musical features and their sophisticated, often touching and witty lyrics. Readers can follow the music while they listen to the accompanying compact disc, which was specially recorded for this volume by baritone Richard Lalli and pianist-arranger Gary Chapman, with Allen Forte, pianist-arranger for "Embraceable You" and "Come Rain or Come Shine." |
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Contents
CHAPTER 1PRELIMINARIES | 1 |
CHAPTER 2SONGS FROM THE TWENTIES | 28 |
CHAPTER 3SONGS FROM THE THIRTIES | 66 |
Autumn In New York 1934 | 88 |
Ive Got You Under My Skin 1936 | 95 |
Let Yourself Go 1936 | 103 |
The Way You Look Tonight 1936 | 109 |
Change Partners 1937 | 115 |
CHAPTER 4SONGS FROM THE FORTIES | 143 |
Evry Time We Say Goodbye 1944 | 155 |
How Little We Know 1944 | 161 |
Come Rain Or Come Shine 1946 | 168 |
But Beautiful 1947 | 174 |
CHAPTER 5CONCLUSION | 184 |
Glossary of Terms | 199 |
Music Credits | 217 |
Hoagy Carmichael 6 Ned Washington CD Track 13 | 126 |
Richard Rodgers Lorenz Hart CD Track 14 | 134 |
Other editions - View all
Listening to Classic American Popular Songs Allen Forte,Richard Lalli,Gary Chapman Limited preview - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
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