American Popular Song Lyricists

In this volume (a companion to American Popular Song Composers), 39 leading American lyricists from the Tin Pan Alley, Hollywood and Broadway of the 1920s to the 1960s discuss their careers and share the stories of creating many of the most beloved songs in American music. Interviewed for radio in the 1970s, they include such writing teams as Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, and such individuals as Harold Adamson, E.Y. Harburg, Gus Kahn, Leo Robin and Paul Francis Webster. Photographs and rare sheet music reproductions accompany the interviews.

Michael Whorf is a veteran broadcaster, producer and writer, widely known for his 39-year tenure with Detroit radio station WJR. A recipient of the George Foster Peabody Award, he was inducted into the Michigan Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2008.

Michael Whorf
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 239
Bibliographic Info: 38 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6538-5
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9061-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      ix
Preface      1
Introduction      5

1 Lee Adams 1924–      9
2 Stanley Adams 1907–1994      15
3 Harold Adamson 1906–1980      21
4 Alan Bergman 1925– and Marilyn Bergman 1929–      27
5 Johnny Burke 1908–1964      33
6 Irving Caesar 1895–1996      38
7 Sammy Cahn 1913–1993      44
8 Betty Comden 1919–2006 and Adolph Green 1915–2002      49
9 Joe Darion 1917–2001      56
10 Hal David 1921–      61
11 Mack David 1912–1993      65
12 Ervin Drake 1919–      70
13 Milton Drake 1912–2006      76
14 Edward (Eddie) Eliscu 1902–1998      82
15 Ray Evans 1915–2007 and Jay Livingston 1915–2001      87
16 L. Wolfe Gilbert 1886–1970      94
17 Bud Green 1897–1981      99
18 Oscar Hammerstein II 1895–1960      104
19 E. Y. (“Yip”) Harburg 1898–1981      111
20 Tom Jones 1928– and Harvey Schmidt 1929–      117
21 Irving Kahal 1903–1942      122
22 Gus Kahn 1886–1941      127
23 Carolyn Leigh 1926–1983      132
24 Sammy Lerner 1903–1989      138
25 Herb Magidson 1906–1986      145
26 Johnny Mercer 1909–1976      149
27 Irving Mills 1894–1985      157
28 Mitchell Parish 1900–1993      166
29 Don Raye 1909–1985 and Gene De Paul 1919–1985      172
30 Leo Robin 1900–1984      178
31 The Tobias Brothers: Harry 1895–1994, Charles 1898–1970 and Henry 1905–1997      184
32 Paul Francis Webster 1907–1984      190

Epilogue—The Old Ones Are Still Being Played: Golden Age Songs in Films and Television, 1998–2010      197
Bibliography      215
Index      217