Author : Michael Owen
Publisher : Liveright Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1324091827
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.20/5 ( download)
Book Synopsis Ira Gershwin: A Life in Words by : Michael Owen
Download or read book Ira Gershwin: A Life in Words written by Michael Owen and published by Liveright Publishing. This book was released on 2024-11-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The man behind some of the most memorable lyrics in the great American songbook emerges from his brother’s shadow. The Pulitzer Prize–winning American lyricist Ira Gershwin (1896–1983) has been hailed as one of the masters of the Great American Songbook—songs written largely for Broadway and Hollywood from the 1920s to the 1950s. Now, in the first full-length biography devoted to his life, Ira Gershwin steps out at last from the long shadow cast by his younger and more famous brother George. It’s a life with a sharp dividing line; we witness Ira’s transformation by George’s death at thirty-eight. From carefree dreamer and successful lyricist, he becomes guardian of his brother’s legacy and manager of complex family dynamics, even while continuing to practice his craft with composers like Harold Arlen and Jerome Kern. Drawing on extensive archival sources and often using Ira’s own words, Michael Owen offers a rich portrait of the modest man who penned the words to many of America’s best-loved songs.