The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History

Book Description

FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD...All the excitement of the world's most beloved film unfolds in three-dimensional splendor as you join Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion---and Toto, too---on their journey to Oz. Over 50 photos from the classic movie are engineered into unforgettable scenes like the Twister, Munchkinland, the Haunted Forest and Emerald City. And the CD includes favorite songs from the original soundtrack, so you can click your heels to the beat while getting swept up in the amazing detail of this collectible book!

Customer Reviews:

A glorious look at the wonderful movie of "The Wizard of Oz".......2005-08-14

Since this is "The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History" of the beloved 1939 film, it is not surprising that John Fricke, Jay Scarfone, and William Stillman have put together the book that tops the "must have" list for fans of the film (after, of course, L. Frank Baum's original novel, which just had its centennial edition come out in 1903. After an introduction by Jack Haley, Jr., the volume's prologue, "The Marvelous Land of Oz," begins with the story of how Baum came up with the name for Oz and looks at the history of his stories prior to the movie. Also included in this prologue are stills from some of the vaudeville and silent movie versions (the 1925 film had Oliver Hardy as the Tin Woodman), the original book covers for the 42 Oz stories, and Technicolor test shots of the movie cast, which includes Judy Garland wearing a blond wig as Dorothy. By the time you finish this prologue you will know that this book is going to be everything that you would want as the table of contents indicates:

Part One - The Oz Diary: Creating a Classic: (1) Acquisition and Casting contrasts the signing of the cast with W.W. Denslow's first pictures of the characters; (2) Scripts, Songs, and Staff focuses on early drafts of the scripts and ideas for song more so than what actually ended up in the movie; (3) Wardrobe and Markup details the evolution of the look of each character with corresponding photographs; (4) The Thorpe "Era" is about Richard Thorpe's short tenure as the film's director, when Gale Sondergaard is the Wicked Witch and Dorothy is a blond; (5) There'll Be Some Changes Made is short but sweet and is about the changes George Cukor made as a stop gap under Victor Fleming was signed to direct the film; (6) "The Wizard" Comes to Life is a lengthy chapter covering the making of the film with its various legendary stories; and (7) Post-Production and Previews, which details what was cut (including "Over the Rainbow" at one point), when and why.

Part Two - The Oz Diary Continued: Promotion and Reception: (8) The Oz Campaign contains everything from Judy Garland telling Frank Morgan "Anybody can be a wizard at Jelly-Making" for a newspaper ad for Certo (never heard of it either)to a two-page full-color spread in "Life" and a special "Wizard of Oz" ad for the Sunday comics; (9) Hollywood Party is about the movie's gala premier; (10) "Capitol" Times in Manhattan is about the show at Loew's Capitol Theater In New York City that showed the movie along with a life performances by Garland and Mickey Rooney. This chapter also shows some of the first product tie-ins for the movie; and (11) From Coast to Coast is a brief look at promotion of the film across the nation and includes what might be the first editorial cartoon that used the Oz characters to comment on a real situation (Hitler is the Wicked Witch of the West and Mussolini is a winged monkey, while Dorothy is European civilization, the Scarecrow is Poland, the Lion is Britain, and the Tin Woodman is France).

Part Three - Raves and Accolades looks at (12) The Reviews, which includes a look at foreign books and domestic record versions; and (13) The Twelfth Annual Academy Awards, where the film won Best Song for "Over the Rainbow," Best Original Score for Herbert Stothart's underscoring and adaptation of the Arlen/Harburg songs, and Garland for best performance of a juvenile during the past year.

Part Four - Oz and Ends, includes brief looks at (14) Original Ozzy Merchandising; (15) Oz Abroad; and (16) Theatrical Reissue.

Part Five - Television Perennial covers how most of us first saw the movie, including (17) Guest Hosts on CBS (I always liked Dick Van Dyke); and (18) NBC Interlude/CBS Comeback.

Part Six - The Legend is another set of brief chapters on (19) Reunions and Reminiscences; (20) Merchandising; and (21) Icon, which ends the book on a perfect grade note with editorial cartoons on the death of Garland in 1959, Jack Haley in 1979, Margaret Hamilton in 1985, and Ray Bolger in 1987.

This volume includes more than 400 illustrations, half in color and many never before published, including over seventy makeup and costume portraits, behind-the-scenes and production photos, and not only stills but script pages from the musical numbers and segments that were filmed but cut from the release print (including "The Jitterbug," Bolger's extended solo dance to "If I Only Had a Brain," and the "triumphal return" sequence). The photographs of all the movie posters, toys, and other items associated with "The Wizard of Oz" can be found throughout the book instead of being collected all at the end of the book corresponding with when the movie came out. The last three parts could essentially be individual chapters to avoid the sense that you are racing through the end of the volume, but that is a minor complaint all things considered.

Oz-some book!.......2005-07-21

If you only buy 1 Oz book for your collection, make it this one! In Oz circles, this book is known as "The Green Book" and it is a virtual encyclopedia of Oz information. The research and work that went into the writing of this book is truly astounding!

The rare photographs will amaze you (including Judy Garland in her blond wig and Buddy Ebsen as the Tin Man).

This book is full of little-known trivia. After reading this book, you can wow your friends with your new-found Oz knowledge!

A Look Back At a Movie Classic!.......2003-03-18

There have been a few books that have given us all a look into the making of MGM's movie version of "The Wizard Of Oz!"? But The John Fricke,Jay Scarfone manuscript surpasses all of the other books.Because it's filled with wonderful photos and info that takes us beyound the making of the film and gives us a look into the continuing popularity of the Oz characters.Using rare photos,extensive research and interviews from the people.Who were involved with the project.Messers Scarfone And Fricke.Show us the early stages of the making of the film.From the many drafts of the script..to the problems with the changes in cast,storylines,music,mishaps with props and special effects.To the promotions of the film on radio(NBC Radio's "MaxwellHouse Coffeetime")and at stage shows to the many other interpretations of the story that appeared on tv,in the movies,on radio, in the theater and at parades and theme parks.The book even gives some more biographical info about the cast and crew and some more insight into the man.Who created this legendary tale:Mr.Lyman Frank Baum.For the fans of this classic story.Who want to know the full extent of it's geniss? This is the one book to have.Kevin S.Butler.

A Look Back At a Movie Classic!.......2003-03-18

There have been a few books that have given us all a look into the making of MGM's movie version of "The Wizard Of Oz!"? But The Jay Scarfone,John Fricke manuscript surpasses all of the other books.Because it's filled with wonderful photos and info that takes us beyound the making of the film and gives us a look into the continuing popularity of the Oz characters.Using rare photos,extensive research and interviews from the people.Who were involved with the project.Messers Scarfone And Fricke.Show us the early stages of the making of the film.From the many drafts of the script..to the problems with the changes in cast,storylines,music,mishaps with props and special effects.To the promotions of the film on radio(NBC Radio's "MaxwellHouse Coffeetime")and at stage shows to the many other interpretations of the story that appeared on tv,in the movies,on radio, in the theater and at parades and theme parks.The book even gives some more biographical info about the cast and crew and some more insight into the man.Who created this legendary tale:Mr.Lyman Frank Baum.For the fans of this classic story.Who want to know the full extent of it's geniss? This is the one book to have.Kevin S.Butler.

Pictorial History That Still Works For The 63rd Anniversary.......2002-12-06

There are many, many books out there about the making of everyone's favorite film, "The Wizard of Oz". There aren't any I've seen that I wouldn't recommend, but if you are looking for pictures, pictures, and more pictures, this beautiful coffee table size book is a great place to start. Pictures, both in color and black and white, of every aspect of the making of the movie fill this attractive volume from cover to cover, and the text, by Oz authority John Fricke is all-encompassing. Although released for the 50th Anniversary of the film's 1939 release, it is still relevant 13 years later, and a great book for the collector or casual researcher. It has yet to be topped.

Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone?: The Carter Family and Their Legacy in American Music

Average customer rating:

A Decent Biography Of The Great Carter Family But Not Enough Infomation About the Songs
A brand new look
Not a word wasted
If You're Reading These Reviews, Then You Probably Care Enough About the Carter Family to LOVE This Book!
A Masterful story of a Great American Music Family

Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone?: The Carter Family and Their Legacy in American Music
Mark Zwonitzer , and Charles Hirshberg
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0684857634

Book Description

Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? is the first major biography of the Carter Family, the musical pioneers who almost single-handedly established the sounds and traditions that grew into modern folk, country, and bluegrass music -- a style celebrated in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

A.P. Carter was a restless man, seemingly in a constant state of motion. On one of his travels across the sparsely settled mountains and valleys that surrounded his home in southern Virginia, he met and married a young girl named Sara Dougherty. Orphaned as a child, Sara was remote by nature but seemed to find release in singing the typically melancholy ballads that were a part of her home tradition.

For fun, A.P., Sara, and her cousin Maybelle (who married A.P.'s brother "Eck" Carter) would play and sing the hymns and ballads known in their Poor Valley community, occasionally adding songs A.P. had collected during his travels. Then, in 1927, they traveled to Bristol, Tennessee, to audition for a New York record executive who was hunting "hillbilly" talent and offering an amazing fifty dollars per song for any he recorded. These Bristol recording sessions would become generally accepted as the "Big Bang" of country music, producing two of its first stars: Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family.

By the early 1930s, the Carter Family was the most bankable country music group in America, with total sales of more than a million records. By the late '30s, they were appearing regularly on high-power radio station XERA, which broadcast from coast to coast. A whole generation of country people could gather around the radio and hear the sound of music that came straight from their world. Johnny Cash in Arkansas, Waylon Jennings in Texas, Chet Atkins in Georgia, and Tom T. Hall in Kentucky all listened to the Carter Family. It was their formal schooling, Country Music 101.

Inside the Carter Family, however, things were hardly perfect. Though nobody outside the family knew it, Sara had left her difficult and quixotic husband in 1933. In 1936 she won a divorce. Even throughout the long and painful breakup, the Carters kept performing together, singing an ever-widening range of new songs they wrote or old songs they remade: songs of love, of betrayal, and of the death of fondest hopes. And they kept at it even after Sara married A.P.'s cousin Coy Bays in 1939. After fulfilling a final radio contract in 1943, Sara and Coy moved to California to settle near his family. The original Carter Family never performed or recorded together again.

With Sara gone, A.P. retreated home, opened a general store, and lived out the next two decades in obscurity, the odd man out in a new and reconfigured Carter musical clan. Meanwhile, Maybelle and her daughters (Helen, June, and Anita) went out and got themselves new radio contracts, working in Richmond, Virginia; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Springfield, Missouri, before ascending to country music's ultimate stage, Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. Nearly fifty years in the business won Maybelle the title "Mother of Country Music" and the adoration of generations of guitar players and just plain listeners.

The story of the Carter Family is a bittersweet saga of love and fulfillment, sadness and loss. Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? is more than just a biography of a family; it is also a journey into another time, almost another world. But their story resonates today and lives on in the timeless music they created.

Customer Reviews:

A Decent Biography Of The Great Carter Family But Not Enough Infomation About the Songs.......2007-08-25

The Carter Family are one of the greatest and most influential acts in the history of American music. Having my own family's roots dating back over 200 years in the Southern mountains, listening to the Carter's songs evoke powerful feelings in me. I feel transported back into another time that I never lived through but somehow know.

The writers do a credible job of telling the extradorinary Carter Family story. For example,the 1927 recordings in Bristol, Tennessee where Ralph Peer signs both the Carters and Jimmie Rodgers to recordings deals. This began the popular era of what would later become known as country music. Also covered are the broadcasts from the Mexican border town megawatt radio stations which brought the Carter's comforting voices to a nation suffering through the Great Depression. The circumstances surrounding the divorce of A.P. and Sara is discussed, as well as numerous other stories about life, love and family in Maces Springs, Virginia.

But what I found to be missing is a serious analysis of the Carter Family's music. Part of the Carter's greatness is based on A.P.'s "songcatching trips" where he travelled the Southern mountains in search of old hymns and folk ballads for the Carters to sing. I would have liked to learn more about the history and meaning of these incredible songs. Instead a larger percentage of the book is taken up with old family stories and anecdotes, often based on the lives of cousins, uncles, nieces and neighbors rather than the primary Carter Family members. I would have preferred more concise and music focused writing, perhaps dropping some of the corn pone humor and scaling the book back from it's nearly 400 pages. Also I would have appreciated a more scholarly look at the Carter's place in American music as well as more attention to compelling subjects such as the influence of African American music on the Carter Family.

For Carter Family fans and interested newcomers this is a book still worth reading. But I do hope a more song focused and analytic biography of the Carter Family will eventually be written.

A brand new look.......2006-12-26

So, you think you know everything about the Carter Family? Well, you don't until you read this book. Every single word tells about a signifant history in the Carter Family's life. From the Originals to the Carter Sisters, to Mother Maybelle, this is any Carter Fan's treasure! I absolutely loved it, and the pictures make me smile every time I look at them with even just a glance. This book will bring you lots of happiness for the rest of your life. Be sure to read my other reviews for June Carter Cash's Keep on the Sunny Side: Her lfie in Music, Wildwood Flower, Press On, The Best of the Carter Family, From my Heart, A proper introduction to the Carter Family, and Louisiana Hayride: Live Performances. Honestly, after you read this book, you'll have a brand New look at the Carter Family and their music!

Keep on the Sunny Side,
June

Keep on the Sunny Side

Not a word wasted.......2006-07-09

This book, along with Jimmy McDonough's biography of Neil Young "Shakey," is one of the best written books about popular music that I've ever read. The breadth of the research is staggering, and the prose is a curious mix of cussing and twenty-dollar words that relays the events surrounding the ascention of the Carter Family with the immediacy their massive cultural and artistic impact deserves. Zwonitzer not only provides succinct yet detailed descriptions of the Carters' everyday lives, he also lays out a vivid portrait of the full context into which the Carter Family fits. It's a fairly quick read, with tremendous amounts of information crammed into every sentence. As with the best Carter Family recordings, not a breath here is wasted, and every note hits the stomach like a punch.

If You're Reading These Reviews, Then You Probably Care Enough About the Carter Family to LOVE This Book!.......2006-07-06

If you are a fan of the Carter Family, then you will find this book interesting to the same extent that you enjoy their music, I would say!

WILL YOU MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE is a great biography that goes pretty in-depth, and explains the joys and sorrows of the lives and musical careers of the Carter Family!

It is really fascinating to read about who the original Carter Family trio were -- (A.P. CARTER, who was the songwriter, researcher, arranger, bass backup vocalist and leader of the group; and SARA CARTER, his wife, the lead vocalist and harpsichord player; and MAYBELLE CARTER, their younger cousin/in-law, backing vocalist, and the most underrated and forgotten guitar playing pioneer in musical history!), -- and how they got into the music business, and how they influenced the early music industry and country music.

All the Carter Family members sang, and their harmonies and vocal interplays are among the most sincere, skilled, and enjoyable of all country music, of any time period, though they did it first and best on record. That's a fact, in my opinion!

The second version of the Carter Family, (mother Maybelle and her three daughters, Helen, June, and Anita), is also covered in-depth in the second half of the book! This is where many characters overlap characters seen in the 2005 Johnny Cash biography movie, WALK THE LINE, (also highly recommended by me, to you).

There are plenty of interesting, informative, and entertaining photos (both family and professional promotionals) sprinkled throughout the book, too!

If I had to criticize anything, I would say that sometimes the author wanders too long explaining the peripheral things going on in America and/or the music industry. These things are fascinating, but you start to wonder why it's all included. Thankfully, most of it pays off later when these obscure, forgotten people and events cross paths with our heroes of the story, the Carter Family! Stick with it, it's worth it!

I actually started reading this book a few years back, but I got bogged down trying to picture who was who, so I ended up putting it on the shelf for years. After I saw the recent Johnny Cash biography film, WALK THE LINE, which featured some of the Carter Family members, I was better able to put names with faces and characters, and that film also rekindled my dormant interest in the Carter Family.

There is a pretty decent DVD from PBS called THE CARTER FAMILY: WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN, which shows the author of this book, and is a terrific companion piece for this book. In fact, I'm not sure if you should read the book first, or watch the DVD biography? You decide whichever format you prefer first, and you will likely get both eventually.

The DVD sort of shows, accidentally, that there are two kinds of Carter Family fans: actual people from the South who love and live the music, and folk music loving intellectuals who love the music and its place in Americana! I am of the latter, but I grew up around plenty of Southern people, though the youngsters preferred Skynyrd, while only the older folks liked the really rootsy classics.

You should also get the two 5-disk CD sets from JSP Records, 1927-1934, and 1935-1943. These two CD sets are affordable from amazon.com, and they are the best and most economical way to have a virtually complete library of the original Carter Family's studio recording history, and there is no better collection currently available to my knowledge!

I would recommend the 1927-1934 set first, which has the most historic stuff, the most energy, and the best vibe. The 1943 set is after they had stopped living together, but is more professional sounding, yet less energetic (more melancholy); but you will likely get both after hearing the 1927 set, I trust.

A Masterful story of a Great American Music Family.......2006-03-13

A truly great book! The Carter Family left a tremendous legacy in American Music, and the author tells the complete story of it all. Wonderfully written, and very difficult to put book down once I started reading.

The John Adams Reader: Essential Writings on an American Composer

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A "must-read" portrait for anyone striving to better understand both the artist and his musical art
Essays by People who Know Him

The John Adams Reader: Essential Writings on an American Composer
Thomas May
Manufacturer: Amadeus Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1574671324

Book Description

The John Adams Reader: Essential Writings on an American Composer gathers a colorful and wide-ranging selection of pieces from leading musical commentators and critics. Included are revealing interviews with the composer as well as eloquent essays by Ingram Marshall, Michael Steinberg, Alex Ross, Sarah Cahill, Alan Rich, and many others. Editor Thomas May has grouped this collection into four sections: profiles of the artist (including a fascinating memory piece from Ingram Marshall on Adams's early San Francisco years), detailed essays on the major works, interviews with some leading collaborators and interpreters, and critical reception. This reader should be of use both as an introduction for the general reader to a preeminently significant American artist and as a reference for the more serious student or scholar.

Customer Reviews:

A "must-read" portrait for anyone striving to better understand both the artist and his musical art.......2006-08-06

The John Adams Reader presents an anthology of writings by a wide variety of authors about one of the most frequently performed American composers in the realm of classical music. Friends and collaborators of John Adams, including director Peter Sellers, conductor Robert Spano, performers Emanuel Ax and Dawn Upshaw, and friend Ingram Marshall, as well as extensive interviews with John Adams himself, allow for a thorough tour of his personality, his musical works, collaborators and interpreters, his critical reception, controversies about his work and his political views, and much more. As accessible to lay readers as it is to advanced music students and practitioners, The John Adams Reader is a "must-read" portrait for anyone striving to better understand both the artist and his musical art, presenting the compiled wit and charm of expert musicians.

Essays by People who Know Him.......2006-07-05

John Adams is probably the most performed living American composer of classical music. And in this book, really a tribute to Mr. Adams, some sixty writers have written on some aspect of John Adams life. The essays are broken down into four major categories: Portraits of the Artist, The Musical Works, Collaborators and Interpreters, and Critical Reception. The book is biographical in part, talking of Mr. Adams early years and his decision to spend his life writing music. Other aspects of the book discuss most of his major works from looking at the content and then critically.

The writers of these essays are a who's who of the classical music world. They include performers (Emanuel Ax, Sarah Cahill), critics (Justin Davidson, Rupert Christiansen), composers (Ingram Marshall, David Schiff), critics (Renaud Machart, Alan Rich), directors (Robert Spano, Peter Spano), professors (Richard Taruskin, Arthur C. Danto), and of course Thomas May who basically put this whole book together.

Before the Parade Passes By: Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical

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Before the Parade passes by Gower Champion
Behind the Lights
"Mack and Maybe"
Gower Champion
The Glorious Parade

Before the Parade Passes By: Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical
John Anthony Gilvey
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312337760
Release Date: 2005-10-20

Book Description

On August 25, 1980, the curtain fell on the first night of the original production of 42nd St. David Merrick, the shows megalomaniacal producer, stepped to the footlights and told the audience that the shows director, Gower Champion, had died that afternoon. Some believe he took the classic Broadway musical with him. Starting his career as one-half of a song and dance team with his wife, Gower and Marge Champion first wowed audiences in nightclubs around the world and then moved to Hollywood where they starred in many films, most notably the 1951 MGM remake of Showboat. But the stage always called to Gower and in 1960, he was hired to direct Bye, Bye Birdie. It was a smash and Champions career was off and running. John Gilvey had extensive access to all of his archives as well as to everyone associated with Champion, including Marge Champion, Carol Channing, Jerry Hermann, Jerry Orbach, Chita Rivera and others. This is one of the great theater biographies that every Broadway devotee will want.

Customer Reviews:

Before the Parade passes by Gower Champion.......2007-03-28

Having a preference for biograhies of Show People I thought I would buy this particular book and have found it very interesting from the point of view that it does not appear to be a "warts and all" biography but it hones in on the various Broadway shows which Gower Champion directed. It gives a good insight as to how these shows are put together and the time and effort taken to do so. I have only ever seen Gower Champion on film and I always thought he was an excellent dancer and obviously a perfectionest. The story comes over as having him rather selfish and dominant, maybe self centred. His mother appears to have been a bit of a problem during his childhood and later years which affected his outlook. Despite all this he seemed to get the best out of the many stars he worked with except for leaving Jane Powell in the lurch with "Irene".
All in all a good read and far more interesting than some biographies I have read. One annoying point in the book is the continual use of the tiny numbers relating to notes. When one looks these up in the back of the book the majority of them are meaningless.
Rex Shields

Behind the Lights.......2007-03-06

I completely enjoyed this book because it managed to show the joys and sorrows and just plain hard work that it takes to become someone so successful in the world of entertainment. So many times you simply get a lurid expose or shoddy manipulation of facts to justify a preconceived idea by the author. In Gilvey's work I was allowed to discover the theater and the man, as we traveled through Mr. Champion's life. The book gave me information which allowed me to grow in appreciation of what it takes to even attempt to produce shows which look magical. When I see any well done production, I am made to feel as if what I am seeing is effortless. I am transported into the world of dancing, singing or feeling with the actors on stage. This behind the lights history reveals the price of that art. It shows the real work of real people, without being overly technical. Consequently anyone can understand and appreciate Mr. Champion's life, and the struggle it takes to put on the magic we so deliciously take for granted as we leave the theater. Kudos to Gilvey for being able to share his love of the theater through the life's journey of an artist who could do it all. This biography illuminates the man and reveals the heart and soul of the artist. A must read for anyone who is contemplating entering the theater.

"Mack and Maybe".......2006-10-09

Gower Champion! Forgotten name as the parade passes by. His greatest achievements on the stage failed to make it onto the screen, though shreds of his glory can perhaps be glimpsed through George Sidney's sensible restaging in his film of BYE BYE BIRDIE. And something of his flagwaving spirit makes it through Gene Kelly's otherwise terrible treatment of HELLO DOLLY. But alas, MGM never did make CARNIVAL the way Champion envisioned it. And actually, who would really want to see a movie of I DO, I DO, or SUGAR? (I would have enjoyed, however, seeing the film he planned of THE FANTASTICKS.) He threw away a lot of his pearls in front of a lot of swine. And Gilvey was there for all of it, or so it seems. Could he have been? He doesn't seem that old in the jacket photo.

You wind up not really liking Champion very much. His sense of self makes even Michael Bennett, Bob Fosse and George Balanchine seem well-adjusted socially, even a bit on the wallflower side. After reading this book, I admire Marge Champion more and am eager to seek out some of the work she did with Gower in the derided MGM musicals they danced in.

His career seems like an odd amalgam of hard work, talent, and a hell of a lot of luck. The appearance on Ed Sullivan--a whole Ed Sullivan show devoted to the Champions, just when MGM had dropped them and they were really facing Hasbeen House--seems nothing short of a miracle.

The book gets repetitive and it always takes Gower's side, but the amount of research is prodigious and even a seasoned theatergoer will find something of interest on nearly every page. It's a book of monsters, but fascinating monsters at that.

Gower Champion.......2006-07-03

Enjoyed this book very much! It is a detailed and fascinating look at the life and work of Gower Champion, a name not as well remembered today as some of the other notable B'way directors from B'way's "golden era" such as Hal Prince, Bob Fosse, and Jerome Robbins.

The Glorious Parade.......2006-05-27

When thinking of the "Golden Era" of Broadway and some of its "glorious musicals," it is likely that Bye Bye Birdie, Hello, Dolly! or 42nd Street will come to mind. With these, as with many of Broadway's finest musicals, the name Gower Champion is closely related. In John Anthony Gilvey's Before the Parade Passes By, the life and works of Gower Champion are chronicled and brought to the public eye for the first time, allowing readers to experience the story of the man behind the musicals.

The book encompasses his whole life, both on and off stage, providing an intimate portrait of who he was and how his personal life affected him and his work. It also does not skip a single major work that Gower was part of. Not only are all of his creative endeavors mentioned (including his nightclub and films with partner/wife Marge Champion), but they are discussed in such detail that even if you had not seen the productions (as was the case with this reader for the majority of them), it feels as though you have because costumes, sets, choreography and casting are described so vividly.

This well researched and detailed book is written with a passion and respect for Gower Champion and a love for the classical, elegant "Golden Era" in which he was a prominent driving force. Those who lived through that time will enjoy this "behind-the-scenes" look at how Gower shaped and molded some of Broadway's biggest successes as well as works that should have been laid to rest. For those unfamiliar with this time, Parade is an opportunity to gain knowledge of where present-day musicals find their roots: in the heartfelt, extravagant days of the "glorious American musical."

But Darling, I'm Your Auntie Mame!: The Amazing History of the World's Favorite Madcap Aunt

Average customer rating:

But Darling, I'm Your Auntie Mame
The Best People at their Worst
Terrific Book
Mame fan finds it disappointing
Great REVISED edition more photos/gossip (Cher/Barbra/Bette)

But Darling, I'm Your Auntie Mame!: The Amazing History of the World's Favorite Madcap Aunt
Richard Tyler Jordan
Manufacturer: Kensington
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0758204825

Customer Reviews:

But Darling, I'm Your Auntie Mame.......2007-09-17

This is a well written and interesting book that gives the reader an "insider's" view of the history of all of the varied productions, stage and screen, of both Auntie Mame and Mame. It's interesting to see the personalities and egos of the playwrights, the actors, producers, directors and choreographers interplay with the characteristics of the character herself. Auntie Mame always wins. She embraces those who are in tune with her and easily dispatches those who are not. Mame remains invincible.

The Best People at their Worst.......2007-08-23

I enjoyed this compendium of backstage lore, but other reviewers are correct in saying that Jordan provides little context for the phenomenon of AUNTIE MAME. But who cares about that really when you have all these wonderful stories of difficult people and the tantrums they throw to get their own way?

Sumner Locke Elliott, the playwright and novelist originally hired to adapt Patrick Dennis' 1955 novel to the stage, gives a chiseled portrait of the late Rosalind Russell, depicting her as a sort of sacred monster who made sure everything went her way. Russell was never a great star but she knew how to adapt her act for changing times, and turned from comedy to drama to musical to farce to suspense to religion, whatever paid the rent. Her efforts at drama were pretty feeble, she was no Nazimova that's for sure, but in the annals of high comedy she will always have a shining place due to the sheer intensity of her performances in HIS GIRL FRIDAY, THE WOMEN, and of course AUNTIE MAME.

Jordan shows us how Hollywood got it wrong, casting Lucy as Mame when the cognoscenti wanted Lansbury in the musical version of Dennis' play. After reading this book I felt sorry for Lucy for the first time in my life, for reading the savage reviews attacking her physical appearance is actually painful, as though all the critics in the world had turned into John Simon for this one occasion. Lucy was 61, is that really 15 or 20 years too old to play Auntie Mame? Why? Not that Lucy was any good, I'm not standing up for her, but no one deserves the venom she got for playing in that one movie, shooting herself in both feet for her arrogance and pride and vanity.

Jerry Herman wrote the foreword to this book, but could he really have read it? He comes off like a spoiled princess, scuttling plans for a TV remake of MAME with Bette Midler for no good reason, then lacing into a great screenwriter for daring to pen an adaptation of MAME with the temerity to cut two horrible Herman numbers (Saint Bridgette and That's How Young I Feel) which are, apparently, sacrosanct. Jerry Herman always seems so good natured and sweet, but now after reading this book I know he's a Teri-Hatcher style diva.

Terrific Book.......2006-06-25

I don't know what edition of this wonderful book some of the reviewers had read, but in the current one I just purchased from Amazon, there are none of the grammer errors or typos mentioned in other reviews.

For anone who loves Auntie Mame in any of her creations, play, musical or R. Russel film, this is a must have book. (I won't mention the disaster film with Lucille Ball although it is also covered in the book).

I was lucky enough to have seen Miss Russell on stage and Angela Lansbury twice on stage. They were so different yet so right as this wonderful lady. That is the clue to Mame, she is not a funny woman, she is an excentric LADY. Her humor comes from being elegant, beautiful and excentric. (The only real failure I saw was Bea Lilli in London.)

This book is filled with terrific backstage stories, confirming some already told and stating new ones. It is a book impossible to put down once you pick it up.

For a really fun and enjoyabloe read, a Mame fan could not do better.

Mame fan finds it disappointing.......2004-04-21

I looked forward to reading this book, having discovered the novel Auntie Mame as a child and then finding Around the World with A,M. years later.
As a few other reviewers have remarked, there is a disconnect in the book between the novel and the movies/plays, There is a small effort to explain the differences among performers but it is perfunctory.
I found this book rather shallow and superficial. There is little substance or depth to it. It would have been nice to read some analysis of how so many actresses could portray the same role in the musical play and whether that enhances the play's value or detracts from it,
It is occasionally enjoyable and certainly a quick read but the style is that of a
gushing fan with very little discrimination and a very elementary view of the
phenomenon of Auntie Mame. The book is almost too tactful and respectful sometimes, e.g., not naming individuals who behaved badly or summarizing Uncle Mame, the biography of Tanner but leaving out major facts.

Great REVISED edition more photos/gossip (Cher/Barbra/Bette).......2004-03-25

I'm so thankful that Kensington has republished this wonderful, long out-of-print treasure and went several steps beyond by having the author UPDATE the book. We now have a fuller picture of the recent battles to bring AUNTIE MAME to the big and small screen with Richard Jordan detailing all the initial interest, demands for script changes, and collapse of various projects when scripts were written (and REWRITTEN) for actresses like Angela Lansbury, Goldie Hawn, Whoopi Goldberg, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler and Cher. Jordan not only read many of the scripts--which range from misguided (Goldie Hawn's script would have been set in the 60s and present day) to the glorious. BUT DARLING... is filled with great B&W photos and whether you're a fan of the Rosalind Russell AUNTIE MAME or even the Lucille Ball musical MAME (did you know Madeline Kahn was fired from that film by Lucy?), there's plenty of gossip and deep affection for the creators (not only Patrick Dennis but Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee and Jerry Herman). A fascinating, enlightening tale of the evolution of this eternal gay icon who told us to "Live! Live! Live! Life is a banquette and most poor suckers are starving to death!" The perfect gift for movie and theatre buffs.

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AN REAL AMERICAN IDOL
music, sweet music
YOU LEARN ABOUT ROY AND THE MUSIC BUSINESS
Unknown guitar genius.
We still can listen to his unforgettable music ...

Roy Buchanan: American Axe
Phil Carson , and Roy Buchanan
Manufacturer: Backbeat Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0879306394

Book Description

Roy Buchanan was a "guitarist's guitarist" who shunned fame for a musical odyssey on America's roadhouse circuit with his battered Telecaster - melding blues, country, jazz and rock like no player before or since. This is a compelling road trip through the gritty world of honky tonks and beer joints where this enigmatic journeyman preferred to play. Readers meet the biggest names in pop music and legions of unknowns along the way, from the dawn of rock 'n' roll to Buchanan's puzzling death in 1988. "We just sat there aghast ... It was some of the best playing I've ever heard ... He defied all the laws of verse-chorus-verse and just blazed." - Jeff Beck "Roy was one of the creators in the pioneering of unusual sounds. It seemed as though I was hearing them come first from Roy Buchanan." - Les Paul

Customer Reviews:

AN REAL AMERICAN IDOL.......2007-05-27

THIS BOOK IS FANTASTIC..ROY WAS FANTASTIC....IF YOU ARE A FAN, YOU NEED THIS BOOK..I WILL READ IT OVER AND OVER....

music, sweet music.......2007-04-02

During a recent health low, I was web searching for Phil Carson, someone I'd met at a GD show at Red Rocks in '84. At the time I was convinced he was an archangel of some sort. I guess it wasn't quite mutual. 'S'cool.... But I'm pretty sure this must be the same guy. From the samples on Amazon, this Phil Carson writes superbly. Whether he's my one-time flame or not, I commend him on his delightful writing. Really nice work. I sincerely hope he and his loved ones are well and happy. I am really looking forward to reading this book, and the one about Hispanics in Colorado, since I now teach that unit to my third grade students. (I would even be interested in translating it into Spanish, if it hasn't been done already...)
I had never heard of Roy Buchanan, so I am relishing discovering his music as well as reading the rest of Phil's book.

YOU LEARN ABOUT ROY AND THE MUSIC BUSINESS.......2007-02-11

I like Roy's first records--loud and clear, with the focus on his playing. Later on they tried to make him like Clapton, but it didn't work. I would rate Roy in the top 5 of the people I have heard. I also like Bugs Henderson, Tinsley Ellis, Wes Jeans, and Dave Hole. This book is a very good read. I saw Roy at Park West in Chicago. He did a very short set. It was hard to enjoy him with the female booze hustlers bothering me, but, he seem to be in top form. I still have my ticket, inside Roy's live Japan import.

Unknown guitar genius........2006-11-06

All I ever wanted to know,about the man and his music.Great biografy,have read many books on other artist.If you go through Buchanan`s songs,there are many differt styles he mastered.Country,rockabilly,rock & &roll,instrumentals,pop,r & b,jazz.Saw him live once in Oslo,that was great.My friends say,play the #Telecaster# and die young,but I have to play it,have -blonde 52 reissue.Now I study bossa nova masters,like Lois Bonfa,Joao Gliberto,Jobim etc.cause I got a job with a female singer,playing spanish guitar.There are a few cuts with Roy playing acoustic and they are great.Read the book,by his concert DVD,s,and if you run short,get bored playing the beast,listen to the man.There have never been a guitar player like him,he had his own style,his style will never be duplicated.All american music styles,and Malaguena.The roadhouse king will live on forever.Arnie Buy-ROY BUCHANAN his first and SECOND ALBUM on Polydor,that is a good start.Good reading,good listning and play them over and over,and you will hear his soul.

We still can listen to his unforgettable music ..........2005-09-08

1988 Roy Buchanan decided, to hang up himself with his own T-shirt in a police cell in Fairfax, Virginia, aged 49. In the year 1971 a TV documentation had been sent titled "The Best Unknown Guitarist In The World". Nothing had (and has) changed since then. Buchanan worked as a studio musician for Elvis Presley, Chet Atkins, Ricky Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Stefan Grossman, Tom Paxton. He even got offers by the Rolling Stones [to replace Brian Jones] or by John Lennon [to play his part in the Plastic Ono Band]. Buchanan played the electrical melody guitar like a devil, chased so many notes in second fractions through the amplifier, that one could not count or write down these notes any more. On the other hand he mastered the art, to slow down melody-lines so much at certain points, that one forgets the melody never more: alike Mark Knopfler or Santana, Eric Clapton or Mark perfectly are practicing this way. I will never forget his version of "After Hours". I recorded this pretty piece of music with my tape recorder [turned old now] from the radio in 1959. Roy Buchanan (1939-1988) learned to play the Hillbilly Steel Guitar at the age of nine years, experienced public worships of blacks and whites in the South of the USA. His father was a preacher in the "Pentecostal Church Of God" and he liked to say, that his mother sang better than Billie Holiday. So Blind Boy Fuller or Elvis Presley, Delta Blues or Rockabilly lay in his cradle. He played the guitar lick of "Susie Q" nearly every evening, tantalized by the wish, to arouse the attention of the young ladies. 1963 Roy Buchanan married his girl-friend Judy and lived in the area around Washington. He had to get through his little family occasionally by working as a hairdresser. After a Rolling Stone interview in 1971 finally he became more publicly known. He played in a sold out Carnegie Hall, his first LP appeared and that mentioned television program was broadcast with the title "The Best Unknown Guitarist In The World". He played together with other "claptonesque" guitarists, came into the charts in Great Britain with a CC-Rider version, appeared in Japan and Amsterdam - and then (just back in the USA) hung himself in that prison: The backside of his great musical brilliance was an emotional instability. Though his curriculum vitae ended so sadly, he indirectly remained unchanged for us with his most creative and joyful minutes of his life - because we still can listen to his unforgettable music ...

Broadway Babies: The People Who Made the American Musical

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Broadway Babies: The People Who Made the American Musical
Ethan Mordden
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195054253

Book Description

Vividly recreating the unique pleasure of experiencing a song-and-dance show, Broadway Babies spotlights the men and women who made a difference in the development of American musical comedy. Mordden's account features such show people as Florenz Ziegfeld, Harold Prince, Bert Lahr, Gwen Verdon, Angela Lansbury, Victor Herbert, Liza Minnelli, and Stephen Sondheim, and such musicals as Sally, Oh Kay!, Anything Goes, Show Boat, Oklahoma!, Follies, Chicago, and countless others. While theatrical historians traditionally have emphasized the role of the authors of musicals, Mordden also examines the personal styles of the directors, choreographers, and producers, in order to demonstrate not only what the musical became but what it was. The volume includes an extensive discography--the first of its kind--which offers a virtually self-contained history of recorded show music.

An American Journey: Over 30 Years on the Road to Memories, Music & Legend

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What A Great Book
A wonderful look at the Oak Ridge Boys.
An American Journey

An American Journey: Over 30 Years on the Road to Memories, Music & Legend
Joseph S. Bonsall
Manufacturer: New Leaf Press (AR)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0892216018

Book Description

"How do you manage to keep on going after all of these years?"
"Bottom line . . . We love what we do."

Follow the incredible long-lasting career of the Oak Ridge Boys, the singing legend that started as the Georgia Clodhoppers, the only outside group ever allowed to entertain within the WWII secret government installation at Oak Ridge, Tenn. Their history is varied and amusing, from the lean years of the early 70s (including a stint at the Nugget Hotel in Vegas, with the opening act of two elephants named "Bertha" and "Teena") to the glory days of the early 80s (including the five-million-record-selling "Elvira," Grammy awards, and appearances on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson) and on to special private concerts for the president and his family.

The versatile Oak Ridge Boys has been called "a Gospel quartet singing country music with a rock and roll attitude" and is as American as baseball or apple pie. The group still sings and tours, pleasing their longtime fans, and making many new fans every day.

• Read the inside story of a legendary quartet, told by 30+ year member, Joe Bonsall
• Go behind the scenes and learn about life backstage
• Get the scoop on the ups and downs, the disappointments and the successes of one of the greatest gospel and country acts of all time
• Meet the men behind the voices
• Includes many, many photos

Customer Reviews:

What A Great Book.......2007-03-24

This book is a must have for fans of the Oak Ridge Boys. It is well written by Joe Bonsall and has many very interesting articles about the group and its history.

A wonderful look at the Oak Ridge Boys........2006-12-21

I bought this book last year after one of the Oak Ridge Boys concerts and I'm very happy I did. Joe Bonsall has written a great book, humorous yet moving. It explains how he came to be part of the Oak Ridge Boys and their rise to success. It is chock full of pictures and Joe has penned some witty captions as well. The early days in gospel were very informative; I, for one, had not realized how the group could be a great success in gospel music and still just a step away from starving. The only item the book does not discuss is the discord and subsequent breakup with William Lee Golden for a few years. Given the fact that the quartet is back together again with seemingly no problems now, that's probably wise. I should mention that Mr. Bonsall does not gloss over the fact that Golden was gone and there's a nice tribute to Steve Sanders as well. I enjoyed the insiders look at their concerts plus seeing how they cope with life on the road. Joe Bonsall has written quite a bit about the group and it is all very informative. If you enjoy the Oak Ridge Boys, you'll definitely love this book.

An American Journey.......2006-02-25

If you are an Oak Ridge Boys Fan like I am,you will love this book.

One O'clock Jump: The Unforgettable History of the Oklahoma City Blue Devils

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Rich reporting and jazz music history which cannot be ignored.

One O'clock Jump: The Unforgettable History of the Oklahoma City Blue Devils
Douglas Henry Daniels
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0807071366

Book Description

The Blue Devils have received very little attention from jazz historians, though the band members and the writer Ralph Ellison (who sometimes sat in with them) spoke with conviction about their sterling musicianship and their legendary ability to defeat all competitors in battles of the bands. In a literal sense, the band survived for ten years, from its founding in 1923 to its demise in 1933. In a figurative sense, the band continued for more than half a century because, as members Jimmy Rushing, Lester "Prez" Young, Oran "Hot Lips" Page, and Count Basie became jazz legends, their "apprenticeship" in the Blue Devils authenticated them as genuine jazzmen, real troupers ready to play for any and all occasions. Chronicling the ten years the band was officially together, Douglas Daniels provides a corrective to most accounts of musical groups. He delves into the potent social and cultural history of the Depression to show its influence on the group's founding as well as on the players' careers. This meticulously researched history of an iconic jazz band rescues them from undeserved obscurity and clears away the fog of neglect.

Customer Reviews:

Rich reporting and jazz music history which cannot be ignored........2006-11-06

ONE O'CLOCK JUMP: THE UNFORGETTABLE HISTORY OF THE OKLAHOMA CITY BLUE DEVILS offers up a wealth of detail on a legendary jazz band from Oklahoma City. They went through many changes from 1923 to 1933, but their legacy has been under-stated until this book, so any avid fan of jazz may know of them, but only in passing. ONE O'CLOCK JUMP fills the gaps, using interviews with the six surviving Blue Devils and others and supplementing these with newspaper accounts of performances and government records. The result is rich reporting and jazz music history which cannot be ignored.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

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Liberace Unveiled
The DEFINITIVE Liberace Biography
An Uninspiring Read
An Uninspiring Read
too much too much

Liberace: An American Boy
Darden Asbury Pyron
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0226686698

Amazon.com

Historian Darden Asbury Pyron's engrossing biography of Liberace (1919-87) pays America's most popular and pilloried pianist the one tribute he probably never expected: it takes him seriously. "Liberace seemed to me a kind of emblem of modern America," Pyron writes in his preface, "overflowing with both [its] virtues and [its] vices." He makes a persuasive case for this idea in a text that smoothly blends critical theory, historical background, and a lucid narrative of his subject's life. Born Wladziu Valentino Liberace, the youthful piano prodigy chose to become a showman rather than a serious musician, livening up the classical repertoire with pop favorites and attracting swooning female fans who adored his outrageous costumes and garish accessories like the famous candelabra. He was flamboyantly swishy yet never publicly admitted he was gay, even when dying of AIDS; he genuinely believed in the conservative, Catholic, Midwestern values of his immigrant parents, even as his private life belied them. Pyron dismantles the façade of lies and evasions behind which Liberace concealed his driving ambition as well as his sexual orientation, but this is a fundamentally sympathetic portrait. Refusing to acknowledge the boundaries between high and low culture, conducting his life with a weird mixture of hypocrisy and sincerity, Liberace, the author concludes, "was born and died an American boy." --Wendy Smith

Book Description

More people watched his nationally syndicated television show between 1953 and 1955 than followed I Love Lucy. Even a decade after his death, the attendance records he set at Madison Square Garden, the Hollywood Bowl, and Radio City Music Hall still stand. Arguably the most popular entertainer of the twentieth century, this very public figure nonetheless kept more than a few secrets. Darden Asbury Pyron, author of the acclaimed and bestselling Southern Daughter: The Life of Margaret Mitchell, leads us through the life of America's foremost showman with his fresh, provocative, and definitive portrait of Liberace, an American boy.

Liberace's career follows the trajectory of the classic American dream. Born in the Midwest to Polish-Italian immigrant parents, he was a child prodigy who, by the age of twenty, had performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Abandoning the concert stage for the lucrative and glittery world of nightclubs, celebrities, and television, Liberace became America's most popular entertainer. While wildly successful and good natured outwardly, Liberace, Pyron reveals, was a complicated man whose political, social, and religious conservativism existed side-by-side with a lifetime of secretive homosexuality. Even so, his swishy persona belied an inner life of ferocious aggression and ambition. Pyron relates this private man to his public persona and places this remarkable life in the rapidly changing cultural landscape of twentieth-century America.

Pyron presents Liberace's life as a metaphor, for both good and ill, of American culture, with its shopping malls and insatiable hunger for celebrity. In this fascinating biography, Pyron complicates and celebrates our image of the man for whom the streets were paved with gold lamé.

Customer Reviews:

Liberace Unveiled.......2007-02-28

Unquestionably there are few authors in the historical profession who write biography as impeccably as Darden Asbury Pyron. Pyron once orated in class "In order to write biography you must eat, sleep, and breath the person's life." Pyron's biography of Liberace is a masterpiece. Some critics find his style dry and lacking in substance. Those readers themselves achieved only a superficial understanding of the pianist and of the author's prose. Pyron offers a balanced perspective of the artist and manages to allow readers not to judge Liberace, but to understand his life, circumstances, and the atmosphere in which he existed under duress and pressure for so long a time. It is a wonder that Liberace remained free from the ill-health effects usually suffered by those under immense personal and societal pressure. Only his contraction of HIV and brief scare from potential renal failure significantly derailed the artist. This biography reveals the tragedy of the pianist's life and piecemeal assembles the development of a real entertainer, a genuine American "hero" or sorts. Liberace was not a sexual hero as so much of his identity seemed suspended in air and never definitively revealed, but he was a man of integrity and someone of true character. Pyron magnificently illuminates the many shades of Liberace, the different gradations of his soul, and allows readers to take the journey of Liberace's life and times with him.

The DEFINITIVE Liberace Biography.......2001-05-22

Carefully researched and well written, this extensive volume details the life of Liberace, peeling away the layers and layers of half-truths, deceptions, and publicity machine myths. A well-loved and talented entertainer, Liberace lived a double life protecting his public image with a fierceness that caused much private agony. Liberace could not even tell the truth in his own biography, lest he be labeled as a liar and countersued by publications he had sued when they reported he was gay. This book details his relationships with friends, family and lovers. Pyron also gives wonderful detail on how Liberace got his start, tracing his career from his start in sleezy Wisconsin dives to his lavish Las Vegas productions. Liberace was smart enough to know his limitations and to exploit his strengths. This books gives a balanced view of the man and the entertainer; in addition, the author gives a detailed historical/sociological background about the lives of gay men in general, which provides an informative backdrop and better understanding of how and why Liberace functioned the way he did. The book may seem rather monotous and dry at times, but that is the author's style; this is a serious, intelligent book, not some gossipy tell-all. Unlike many biographers who write about celebrities, Pyron has great regard and respect for his subject. A must for all Liberace fans and for those interested in the lives of famous gay entertainers.

An Uninspiring Read.......2000-10-13

Darden Asbury Pyron has a rather dry style which made this a rather boring and long-winded read for me. He has done little but assemble historical facts, comments and reports from the time, package them up in his own rather uninspiring style - rather reminiscent of school history textbooks - and add a few of his own little presumptions/subtly snide remarks about Liberace's ambitions, achievements and lifestyle.

An Uninspiring Read.......2000-10-13

Darden Asbury Pyron has a rather dry style which made this a rather boring and long-winded read for me. He has done little but assemble historical facts and comments and package them up in his own uninspiring style - rather reminiscent of school history textbooks - and added a few of his own little presumptions and snide remarks about Liberace's ambitions, achievements and lifestyle.

too much too much.......2000-08-11

if this book were half of it's 420 pages, it would've been an excellent read. overall, i think the book is a great study of America in mid-century and especially of gay culture at that time. Anecdotes and quotes are repeated frequently in the book which gave me a sense of deja-vu as I was reading it.

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