Reading Lyrics: More Than 1,000 of the Century's Finest Lyrics--a Celebration of Our Greatest Songwriters, a Rediscovery of Forgotten Masters, and an Appreciation of an Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Finally! A book that not only places song lyrics within the realm of literature, but also contains those lyrics in their entirety, This is the most complete book of English and American lyrics around: It contains all the lyrics (other than a song sheet, where will you find refrain 4 of "The Lady is a Tramp?") to more than 1,000 songs from the late 19th century to 1975, including the prototypical works of Gershwin, Porter, Hart, Mercer, Comden and Green, Berlin, Fields, Cahn, and Strayhorn. Dozens of relatively less prodigious and famous lyricists are included as well.
The book is a dream for jazz lovers. With the complete lyric and verse of "Body and Soul" (for example), one can appreciate Billy Holiday's vocals or Coleman Hawkins' definitive sax, or--warn your housemates--sing along! From "Sweet Georgia Brown" (1925) to "All of Me" (1931) to "Peel Me a Grape" (1962), this is a rich compendium of the English language songbook.
The organization is somewhat confusing: Lyricists are ordered by date of birth. True, one glimpses the evolution of the form, but with little context or theory this presentation is often more confusing than illuminating. (Fortunately, there are capsule biographies as well as a brief but informative introduction.) Other tips to navigating the book: The Index of Songs contains all songs in alphabetical order, the year they were written, the source, if not a recording (e.g., show, nightclub act, film) and the singer most associated with the song. Unfortunately, there is no index of lyricists, so one must search the lengthy Table of Contents, or work backwards and find the lyricist through the Song Index.
Small matter. As far as I know, this is the only book of its kind. A wonderful reference, "Reading Lyrics" makes a wonderful gift for the shower singer, the jazz buff, or the poetry lover. Very highly recommended!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Reading Lyrics: More Than 1,000 of the Century's Finest Lyrics--a Celebration of Our Greatest Songwriters, a Rediscovery of Forgotten Masters, and an Appreciation of an

Get 34% OFF

Click here for more information about Reading Lyrics: More Than 1,000 of the Century's Finest Lyrics--a Celebration of Our Greatest Songwriters, a Rediscovery of Forgotten Masters, and an Appreciation of an