Pick Yourself Up: Dorothy Fields and the American Musical
Author(s): Charlotte Greenspan (Author)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication Date: November 15, 2012
Edition: 1st
Language: English
Print length: 336 pages
ISBN-10: 0199958637
ISBN-13: 9780199958634
Book Description
Famed lyricist Dorothy Fields penned the words to more than four hundred songs, among them mega-hits such as “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, ” and “The Way You Look Tonight.” In Pick Yourself Up, Charlotte Greenspan offers the most complete treatment of Fields’s life and work to date, tracing her rise to prominence in a male-dominated world. Born in 1904 into a show business family–her father, Lou Fields, was a famed stage comedian turned Broadway producer–Fields first teamed with songwriter Jimmy McHugh in the late 1920s and went on to a series of Hollywood collaborations with Jerome Kern, including the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers classic Swing Time. With her brother Herbert, she co-authored the books for several of Cole Porter’s shows and for Irving Berlin’s classic Annie Get Your Gun. Fields’s lyrics–colloquial, urbane, sometimes slangy, sometimes sensuous–won her high praise from later generations of songwriters including Stephen Sondheim, and her stellar career opened a path for other women in her profession, among them Betty Comden and Dory Previn.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“This marvelously researched and highly readable book is the definitive account of Dorothy Fields’s path-breaking career-and of its interactions with her famously accomplished family (Weber and Fields), colleagues (Rodgers and Hammerstein), and collaborators (Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Bob Fosse, Cy Coleman). Greenspan’s thoughtful analyses, her lively exploration of historical mysteries, and her grasp of both Broadway and Hollywood from the 1920s to the 1970s make this chunk of Americana irresistible, both for song lovers and for scholars.” –Rose Rosengard Subotnik, Professor of Music Emerita, Brown University
“Charlotte Greenspan’s thorough research and thoughtful analyses provide insights into Dorothy Fields’ wit, will, collaborators, and talented family, and offer a rich context for her works. It is a wonderful tribute to her indomitable optimism and enduring career.” –Vicki Ohl, author of Fine and Dandy: The Life and Work of Kay Swift
“Pick Yourself Up is a lively chronicle of the career of a central but hitherto neglected figure in American musical theater. Greenspan’s engaging study combines meticulous research with an insightful, revealing exploration of Fields’s accomplishments as a lyricist.” –Paul Machlin, Arnold Bernhard Professor of Arts and Humanities, Colby College, author of Thomas “Fats” Waller in Performance and Stride: The Music of Fats Waller
“Excellent contribution to the burgeoning literature on the American songbook.” —Library Journal, Starred Review
“Thorough. Filled with wonderful anecdotes. Makes for good reading.” —Jewish Exponent
“Charlotte Greenspan’s erudite biography provides keen cultural insights into the Fields family and its theatrical milieu.” —American Music
Book Description
A lively biography of one of the most gifted and prolific lyricists in the history of American popular music.
About the Author
Charlotte Greenspan is a musicologist and pianist who has written extensively on music and film. She lives in Ithaca, New York.
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