America's Songs

by Philip Furia, Michael Lasser

America's Songs tells the stories behind the most beloved popular songs of the last century. We all have songs that have a special meaning in our lives; hearing them evokes a special time or place. Little wonder that these special songs have become enduring classics. Nothing brings the roarin '20s to life like Tea for Two or I'm just Wild About Harry; the Great Depression is evoked in all of its pain and misery in songs like Brother Can You Spare a Dime?; God Bless America revives the powerful hope that American democracy promised to the world during the dark days of World War II; Young at Heart evokes the postwar optimism of the '50s. And then there are the countless songs of love, new romance, and As Time Goes By, Always, Am I Blue...the list is endless.
Along with telling the stories behind these songs, America's Songs suggests, simply and succinctly, what makes a song great. The book illuminates the way each great song melds words and music - sentiment and melody - into a seamless whole. America's Songs also traces the fascinating but mysterious process of collaboration, the give-and-take between two craftsmen, a composer and a lyricist, as they combined their talents to create a song.
For anyone interested in the history of the songs that America loves, America's Songs will make for fascinating reading.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction

328 pages, Hardcover

First published May 12, 2006

About the author

Philip Furia was an American author and English literature professor. His books focus on the lyricists of the Tin Pan Alley era.

Reviews

[Paul Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deleted verse from Cole Porter’s list song “You’re the Top”

You’re the burning heat of a bridal suite in use
You’re the breasts of Venus
You’re King Kong’s penis
You’re self-abuse

**************

Even though Harry Woods was born without fingers on his left hand, his mother encouraged him to study piano (p59)

Harry became a songwriter, so his ma couldn’t have been all wrong. But he had a violent temper.

He once got into a barroom brawl that was so bad somebody called the police. They found Woods sitting astride his adversary clutching him by the throat with his good hand and pounding his head with his stump. “Who is that horrible man?” a woman asked. One of Woods’ drinking pals piped up “That’s Harry Woods. He wrote 'Try a Little Tenderness'.”



This book is about the great American songbook, 1920-1955 – hundreds of brilliant beautiful songs. The illustrations all show a parade of fairly unattractive middle-aged men sitting behind desks. They wrote all this stuff.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must admit I thought this would the sort of book one would page through and pass along. Instead, I found it fascinating and very well researched, as the songs are arranged by decade, with an emphasis on the American Songbook, Broadway, and Vaudeville. One can see how themes change over time, as well as the rise of various composers and lyricists. Highly recommended!

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The concise stories behind Broadway and Tin Pan Alley songs are fascinating reading.

I was so enthralled by the Cole Porter section of the book, that I ordered a download of Poter's greatest hits.
Louis Armstrong singing "Let's Fall in Love" is not to be missed!

The co-author of this book, Michael Lasser, gave a very animated presentation at the Frist and he would be a wonderful speaker for our choral and music students.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Furia goes through all the standards, providing anecdotes about each song's origins and a little analysis of what makes it special.