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The Poets of Tin Pan Alley: A History of America's Great Lyricists
Author(s): Philip Furia (Author)
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Publication Date: June 25, 1992
- Edition: Revised ed.
- Language: English
- Print length: 336 pages
- ISBN-10: 0195074734
- ISBN-13: 9780195074734
Book Description
From the turn of the century to the 1960s, the songwriters of Tin Pan Alley dominated American music. Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart–even today these giants remain household names, their musicals regularly revived, their methods and styles analyzed and imitated, and their songs the bedrock of jazz and cabaret. In The Poets of Tin Pan Alley Philip Furia offers a unique new perspective on these great songwriters, showing how their poetic lyrics were as important as their brilliant music in shaping a golden age of American popular song.
Furia writes with great perception and understanding as he explores the deft rhymes, inventive imagery, and witty solutions these songwriters used to breathe new life into rigidly established genres. He devotes full chapters to all the greats, including Irving Berlin, Lorenz Hart, Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Oscar Hammerstain II, Howard Dietz, E.Y. Harburg, Dorothy Fields, Leo Robin, and Johnny Mercer. Furia also offers a comprehensive survey of other lyricists who wrote for the sheet-music industry, Broadway, Hollywood, and Harlem nightclub revues. This was the era that produced The New Yorker, Don Marquis, Dorothy Parker, and E.B. White–and Furia places the lyrics firmly in this fascinating historical context. In these pages, the lyrics emerge as an important element of American modernism, as the lyricists, like the great modernist poets, took the American vernacular and made it sing.
Furia writes with great perception and understanding as he explores the deft rhymes, inventive imagery, and witty solutions these songwriters used to breathe new life into rigidly established genres. He devotes full chapters to all the greats, including Irving Berlin, Lorenz Hart, Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Oscar Hammerstain II, Howard Dietz, E.Y. Harburg, Dorothy Fields, Leo Robin, and Johnny Mercer. Furia also offers a comprehensive survey of other lyricists who wrote for the sheet-music industry, Broadway, Hollywood, and Harlem nightclub revues. This was the era that produced The New Yorker, Don Marquis, Dorothy Parker, and E.B. White–and Furia places the lyrics firmly in this fascinating historical context. In these pages, the lyrics emerge as an important element of American modernism, as the lyricists, like the great modernist poets, took the American vernacular and made it sing.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“[A] fascinating history of the popular lyricists….A triumph worth trumpeting.”–St. Louis Post-Dispatch”Sophisticated, literate….A welcome addition to the sparse lyrics-as-literature shelf.”–Kirkus Reviews”Well-written and interesting….A good history of American popular culture.”–Choice”Furia not only pays tribute to the great lyricists but does it with a joy and flair that ingratiates itself to the reader page upon page….Overall, pleasure reading and then some.”–West Coast Review of Books”The author’s love and enthusiasm for his subject, and also the fact that you can’t help humming while reading, make this the rare book of literary criticism that is downright enjoyable.”–Booklist”Apparently all the younger lyricists of the present day freely acknowledge that they are not as gifted as Ira Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart, and other early masters of the art form. Along comes Mr. Furia’s admirable study to provide more than ample documentation. It goes without saying that any professional or would-be lyricist ought to eagerly devour every page, but even those who pay more disinterested attention to the popular arts will be fascinated by this insightful analysis.”–Steve Allen”A lovingly conceived, scholarly, and entertaining tribute to the great popular wordsmiths of this century. It is well researched and contains much fascinating information. I recommend it.”–Michael Feinstein”The first scholarly study of the lyrics of Tin Pan Alley, placing these texts in the sweep of American literature, analyzing not only their overall poetic style but individual variations as well….Invaluable.”–Charles Hamm, Dartmouth College
About the Author
Philip Furia is Professor of English and American Studies at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of Pound’s “Cantos” Declassified and many articles on the relationship between American poetry and modern art and music.
