Synopses & Reviews
Will Friedwald’s illuminating, opinionated essays—provocative, funny, and personal—on the lives and careers of more than three hundred singers anatomize the work of the most important jazz and popular performers of the twentieth century. From giants like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland to lesser-known artists like Jeri Southern and Joe Mooney, they have created a body of work that continues to please and inspire. Here is the most extensive biographical and critical survey of these singers ever written, as well as an essential guide to the Great American Songbook and those who shaped the way it has been sung.
The music crosses from jazz to pop and back again, from the songs of Irving Berlin and W. C. Handy through Stephen Sondheim and beyond, bringing together straightforward jazz and pop singers (Billie Holiday, Perry Como); hybrid artists who moved among genres and combined them (Peggy Lee, Mel Tormé); the leading men and women of Broadway and Hollywood (Ethel Merman, Al Jolson); yesterday’s vaudeville and radio stars (Sophie Tucker, Eddie Cantor); and today’s cabaret artists and hit-makers (Diana Krall, Michael Bublé). Friedwald has also written extended pieces on the most representative artists of five significant genres that lie outside the songbook: Bessie Smith (blues), Mahalia Jackson (gospel), Hank Williams (country and western), Elvis Presley (rock ’n’ roll), and Bob Dylan (folk-rock).
Friedwald reconsiders the personal stories and professional successes and failures of all these artists, their songs, and their performances, appraising both the singers and their music by balancing his opinions with those of fellow musicians, listeners, and critics.
This magisterial reference book—ten years in the making—will delight and inform anyone with a passion for the iconic music of America, which continues to resonate throughout our popular culture.
Synopsis
The most extensive biographical and critical survey of jazz and popular singers ever written—an essential guide to the Great American Songbook and those who performed it.
These illuminating, opinionated essays—provocative, funny, and personal—on the lives and careers of more than three hundred singers anatomize the work of the greatest popular vocalists of the twentieth century, from giants like Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland to lesser-known artists whose work still pleases and inspires.
Will Friedwald reconsiders their personal stories and professional successes and failures, their songs and performances, appraising both the singers and their music by balancing his opinions with the criticism of fellow musicians, listeners, and critics. This magisterial reference book—ten years in the making— brings into focus the Great American Songbook and the men and women who have sung it: straightforward jazz and pop singers; hybrid artists who moved among and combined genres; the leading men and women of Broadway and Hollywood; yesterday’s vaudeville stars and today’s cabaret artists.
A must-have for anyone with a passion for the classic, iconic music of America—the music that continues to resonate throughout our popular culture.
Synopsis
Covering such icons as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland, Friedwald presents the most extensive biographical and critical survey of jazz and popular singers ever written--an essential guide to the Great American Songbook and those who performed it.
About the Author
Will Friedwald writes about music for The Wall Street Journal and was the jazz (and cabaret) critic for The New York Sun. He is the author of eight books, including Stardust Melodies: A Biography of Twelve of America’s Most Popular Songs; Jazz Singing: America’s Great Voices from Bessie Smith to Bebop and Beyond; Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer’s Art; and The Good Life (with Tony Bennett). He has written nearly five hundred liner notes for compact discs, for which he has received eight Grammy nominations. He has also written for Vanity Fair, The Village Voice, Entertainment Weekly, American Heritage, and The New York Times, among other publications.
Table of Contents
This table of contents includes an alphabetical list of all the artists featured in the dictionary: individual artists, the five “extras” (iconic singers in other genres), and those included in multiple artist entries. These multiple artist groupings, which are in more or less chronological order, are also listed below for your reference.
Introduction
Individual Artists
Lorez Alexandria
Ernestine Anderson
Ivie Anderson
Julie Andrews
The Andrews Sisters
Harold Arlen
Lil Hardin Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Fred Astaire
Gene Austin
Harry Babbitt
Mildred Bailey
Pearl Bailey
Chet Baker
Josephine Baker
Tex Beneke
Tony Bennett
Andy Bey
Connee Boswell and the Boswell Sisters
Al Bowlly
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Hadda Brooks
Cleo Brown
Michael Bublé
Jackie Cain
Ann Hampton Callaway
Cab Calloway
Eddie Cantor
Una Mae Carlisle
Hoagy Carmichael
Barbara Carroll
Betty Carter
Ray Charles
June Christy
Peter Cincotti
Buddy Clark
Rosemary Clooney
Freddy Cole
Nat King Cole
Natalie Cole
Russ Columbo
Perry Como
Eric Comstock
Harry Connick, Jr.
Chris Connor
Barbara Cook
Sam Cooke
Sir Noel Coward
Bing Crosby
Jamie Cullum
Vic Damone
Bobby Darin
Sammy Davis Jr.
Doris Day
Blossom Dearie
Matt Dennis
Johnny Desmond
Marlene Dietrich
Alfred Drake
Jimmy Durante
Bob Dylan
Ray Eberle
Bob Eberly
Billy Eckstine
Cliff Edwards
Kurt Elling
Skinnay Ennis
Ruth Etting
Alice Faye
Michael Feinstein
Gracie Fields
Ella Fitzgerald
Helen Forrest
Aretha Franklin
Judy Garland
Eydie Gormé
Robert Goulet
Buddy Greco
Adelaide Hall
Annette Hanshaw
Mary Cleere Haran
Allan Harris
Marion Harris
Johnny Hartman
Dick Haymes
Bill Henderson
Woody Herman
Al Hibbler
Billie Holiday
Shirley Horn
Lena Horne
Helen Humes
Hutch (Leslie Hutchinson)
Betty Hutton
Marion Hutton
Alberta Hunter
Mahalia Jackson
Eddie Jefferson
Herb Jeffries
Clarence Johnstone
Al Jolson
Etta Jones
Jack Jones
Louis Jordan
Sheila Jordan
Kitty Kallen
Howard Keel
Richard Kiley
Teddi King
Eartha Kitt
Irene Kral
Roy Kral
Diana Krall
Cleo Laine
Frankie Laine
Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross
Dorothy Lamour
Turner Layton
Steve Lawrence
Barbara Lea
Julia Lee
Peggy Lee
Abbey Lincoln
Julie London
Nick Lucas
Nellie Lutcher
Gloria Lynne
Gordon MacRae
Kevin Mahogany
Andrea Marcovicci
Dean Martin
Mary Martin
Johnny Mathis
Susannah McCorkle
Audra McDonald
Ray McKinley
Carmen McRae
Johnny Mercer
Mabel Mercer
Ethel Merman
Helen Merrill
The Mills Brothers
Guy Mitchell
Matt Monro
Joe Mooney
Helen Morgan
Lee Morse
Mark Murphy
Rose Murphy
Anita O’Day
Patti Page
Jackie Paris
King Pleasure
Elvis Presley
Louis Prima
Arthur Prysock
John Raitt
Ramona
Lou Rawls
Johnnie Ray
Martha Raye
Della Reese
Dianne Reeves
Irene Reid
Ann Richards
Jimmy Rushing
(Little) Jimmy Scott
Daryl Sherman
Dinah Shore
Bobby Short
Nina Simone
Ginny Simms
Frank Sinatra
Carol Sloane
Bessie Smith
Kate Smith
Jeri Southern
Jo Stafford
Kay Starr
Dakota Staton
Barbra Streisand
Maxine Sullivan
Sylvia Syms
Jack Teagarden
Shirley Temple
Teri Thornton
Martha Tilton
Mel Tormé
Sophie Tucker
George “Bon Bon” Tunnell
Rudy Vallee
Sarah Vaughan
Bea Wain
Fats Waller
Helen Ward
Dinah Washington
Ethel Waters
Elizabeth Welch
Margaret Whiting
Lee Wiley
Andy Williams
Hank Williams
Joe Williams
Cassandra Wilson
Julie Wilson
Nancy Wilson
Edythe Wright
Multiple Artists
The Birth of the Croon: Cliff Edwards, Nick Lucas, Rudy Vallee, and Russ Columbo
Torch Singers and Flappers: Marion Harris, Ruth Etting, Helen Morgan, and Annette Hanshaw
African Americans Abroad: Adelaide Hall, Josephine Baker, Elisabeth Welch, and Alberta Hunter
There’ll Always Be an England: Hutch, Layton & Johnstone, and Gracie Fields
Female Band Singers I Benny’s Babes: Helen Ward, Martha Tilton, and Helen Forrest
Sing a Song of Ellington: Ivie Anderson, Herb Jeffries, and Al Hibbler
Sing a Song of Miller: Male (Mostly) Band Singers I—Bob Eberly, Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton, Johnny Desmond, Tex Beneke, and Ray McKinley
Singing Songwriters: Hoagy Carmichael, Harold Arlen, and Johnny Mercer
Female Bandsingers II—Big Bands into Pop: Edythe Wright, Bea Wain, Ginny Simms, Kitty Kallen
Male Band Singers II—Exceptional Boychicks: Harry Babbitt and George “Bon Bon” Tunnell
Hollywood Divas: Alice Faye, Dorothy Lamour, Shirley Temple, and Betty Hutton
Two Inimitables: Sir Noel Coward and Marlene Dietrich
Fats’s Femme Followers: Lee Morse, Ramona, Cleo Brown, Lil Hardin Armstrong, Una Mae Carlisle, Julia Lee, Nellie Lutcher, Rose Murphy, and Hadda Brooks
Big Pop (Male): Frankie Laine, Johnnie Ray, Guy Mitchell, Johnny Mathis, and Andy Williams
Hipsters and Bopsters: King Pleasure, Eddie Jefferson, Jackie Cain, Roy Kral, Irene Kral, Ann Richards, and Cleo Laine
Lee Wiley’s Boston Connection: Teddi King and Barbara Lea
Leading Ladies: Barbara Cook and Julie Andrews
Leading Men—In Defense of the Broadway Baritone: Alfred Drake, John Raitt, Gordon MacRae, Howard Keel, and Robert Goulet
Dinah’s Daughters—Soulful Ladies and Local Favorites: Etta Jones, Gloria Lynne, Teri Thornton, Irene Reid, and Lorez Alexandria
Two Soulful Gentlemen: Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls
Blossom’s Buds and Dearie’s Daughters: Barbara Carroll, Daryl Sherman, and Ann Hampton Callaway
Rock Goes Standards!: From Connie Francis to Rod Stewart
Dynasty: Freddy Cole and Natalie Cole
Contemporary Male Jazz Singers: Allan Harris, Kevin Mahogany, and Kurt Elling
Contemporary Cabaret: Andrea Marcovicci, Mary Cleere Haran, Michael Feinstein, and Eric Comstock
Harry Connick Jr. and the Retro Crooner Boychicks: Harry Connick Jr., Michael Bublé, Jamie Cullum, and Peter Cincotti
Extras
Folk-Rock: Bob Dylan
Gospel: Mahalia Jackson
Rock ’n’ Roll: Elvis Presley
Blues: Bessie Smith
Country and Western: Hank Williams