Author: Dan Callahan
Genre: Biographies/Music
Hardcover; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)
ISBN #: 9781641609227
Chicago Review Press
384 Pages
$26.99; $10.99 ($5.99) Amazon
September 5, 2023
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Crosby, Holiday, Sinatra, Fitzgerald, Garland and Streisand were the major interpreters ofthe American songbook, and this is the interlocking story of their lives and careers.
Here is the epic tale of how these artists dominated American popular music over a fifty-year period, a roller coaster ride that gains momentum through the 1930s and '40s a crest of magical creativity in the 1950s and early '60s, and then crashes down by the early 1970s, a half century when the great American songbook dominated the airwaves and the fight for racial equality came to the forefront.
Ella was beloved in her time, and she is still beloved. Frank is still the king of the songbook, but Bing's legacy is just as vital once you start listening to his unprecedented 1930s output. The best songs from Judy's greatest triumph, her 1963-64 TV series, are shared endlessly online. The legend of Billie grows by the year, and the basis of this should be appreciation and wonder for her own great artistry in the 1930s. Barbra is a living legend and still a commercial force to be reckoned with, the last exemplar of the songbook and its glories. All six of these singers reach out to us and show us new ways of expression and new ways to dream.
Their song is largely ended but the melody lingers on.
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First off, I must say that I am an old soul. I love classic films and watch them repeatedly. I love old music and Big Band, and have many albums that I listen to on a regular basis. I have heard of -- and listened to -- all of the people mentioned in this book. I am a huge fan of Bing Crosby and Billie Holiday, not so much Ella Fitzgerald (but the woman could sing), and I don't care for Barbra Streisand at all. (I have to wonder why she is even in this book, considering she doesn't fit in the category of the others).
But saying that, I have to be honest about this book. It's all over the place. The chapters are all mixed up in a way that they shouldn't be. First, you read about the beginnings of Bing, then Frank, etc.; when it should have been episodes devoted to each one individually. All Bing, all Frank, etc. The way it is written, you barely get a sense of what's going on when you're 'thrown into another person.' It's disconcerting, and not good writing.
I did also feel that the author was doing a minor 'hit job' on a few of these (and I won't say who, because others might not have read the book yet); but things were said that never needed to be, and might change the opinion of others who like the music; i.e., color their world to the personality of the singer. Most we knew: studios fed Judy drugs, Billie was a heroin addict; but some things did not pertain to their music and didn't need to be there.
As far as the music goes, each artist has their own style: Bing had a pure voice, one that will never be heard again, and the only other singer I can say that about is Perry Como. The notes were pure, the songs lovely to listen to. Frank put himself into his music, and it carried a different tune. Billie used her whole heart, and the sadness and desperation shows in the songs -- while some were heartrending, others were pure beauty. Ella just wanted to sing, and sing she did, and it comes out in the song. Judy had a huge voice for such a small girl, and she put everything into it, heart, soul, and as loud and lovely as she could. Again, I can't mention Barbra as I don't listen to her at all. Sorry.
In the end, I would have liked to have read this differently, with a fullness to each person's story, but it wasn't written that way. Most of the book is analysis and exposition, not the love of the subject. While this is there, the heart is not.
I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss and the publisher but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Dan Callahan's Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Dan-Callahan/author/B0053V2V7G?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref
