Will Friedwald's Books

A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers

By: Will Friedwald

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A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers

By: Will Friedwald

An extensive biographical and critical survey of more than 300 jazz and popular singers is comprised of provocative, opinionated essays that incorporate the views of peers, fans and critics while assessing key movements and genres.

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833

Publisher

Pantheon

Published Date

ISBN 10

0375421491

ISBN 13

9780375421495

Straighten Up and Fly Right

The Life and Music of Nat King Cole

By: Will Friedwald

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Straighten Up and Fly Right

The Life and Music of Nat King Cole

By: Will Friedwald

One of the most popular and memorable American musicians of the 20th century, Nat King Cole (1919-65) is remembered today as both a pianist and a singer, a feat rarely accomplished in the world of popular music. Now, in this complete life and times biography, author Will Friedwald offers a new take on this fascinating musician, framing him first as a bandleader and then as a star. In Cole's early phase, Friedwald explains, his primary task of keeping his trio going was just as much of a focus for him as his own playing and singing, always a collective or group performance. In the second act, Cole's collaborators were more likely to be arranger-conductors like Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins, rather than his sidemen on bass and guitar. In the first act, his sidemen were equals, in the second phase, his collaborators were tasked exclusively with putting the focus on him, making him sound good, while being largely invisible themselves. Friedwald brings his full musical knowledge to bear in putting the man in the work, demonstrating how this duality appears over and over again in Cole's life and career: jazz vs. pop, solo vs. trio, piano vs. voice, wife number one (Nadine) vs. wife number two (Maria), the good songs vs. the less-than-good songs, the rhythm numbers vs. the ballads, the funny songs and novelties vs. the "serious" songs of love and loss, Cole as an advocate for the Great American Songbook vs. Cole the intrepid explorer of other options: world music, rhythm & blues, country & western. Cole was different from his contemporaries in other ways; for roughly ten years after the war, the majority of hitmakers on the pop charts were veterans of the big band experience, from Sinatra on down.

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Page Count

657

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190882069

ISBN 13

9780190882068

The Great Jazz and Pop Vocal Albums

By: Will Friedwald

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The Great Jazz and Pop Vocal Albums

By: Will Friedwald

The author of the magisterial A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers now approaches the great singers and their greatest work in an innovative and revelatory way: through considering their finest albums, which is the format in which this music was most resonantly organized and presented to its public from the 1940s until the very recent decline of the CD. It is through their albums that Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, and the rest of the glorious honor roll of jazz and pop singers have been most tellingly and lastingly appreciated, and the history of the album itself, as Will Friedwald sketches it, can now be seen as a crucial part of musical history. We come to understand that, at their finest, albums have not been mere collections of individual songs strung together arbitrarily but organic phenomena in their own right. A Sinatra album, a Fitzgerald album, was planned and structured to show these artists at their best, at a specific moment in their artistic careers. Yet the albums Friedwald has chosen to anatomize go about their work in a variety of ways. There are studio and solo albums: Lee’s Black Coffee, June Christy’s Something Cool, Cassandra Wilson’s Belly of the Sun. There are brilliant collaborations: famous ones—Tony Bennett and Bill Evans, Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson—and wonderful surprises like Doris Day and Robert Goulet singing Annie Get Your Gun. There are theme albums—Dinah Washington singing Fats Waller, Maxine Sullivan singing Andy Razaf, Margaret Whiting singing Jerome Kern, Barb Jungr singing Bob Dylan, and the sublime Jo Stafford singing American and Scottish folk songs. There are also stunning concert albums like Ella in Berlin, Sarah in Japan, Lena at the Waldorf, and, of course, Judy at Carnegie Hall. All the greats are on hand, from Kay Starr and Carmen McRae to Jimmy Scott and Della Reese (Della Della Cha Cha Cha). And, from out of left field, the astounding God Bless Tiny Tim. Each of the fifty-seven albums discussed here captures the artist at a high point, if not at the expected moment, of her or his career. The individual cuts are evaluated, the sequencing explicated, the songs and songwriters heralded; anecdotes abound of how songs were born and how artists and producers collaborated. And in appraising each album, Friedwald balances his own opinions with those of musicians, listeners, and critics. A monumental achievement, The Great Jazz and Pop Vocal Albums is an essential book for lovers of American jazz and popular music.

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433

Publisher

Pantheon

Published Date

ISBN 10

110187175X

ISBN 13

9781101871751

Straighten Up and Fly Right

The Life and Music of Nat King Cole

By: Will Friedwald

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Straighten Up and Fly Right

The Life and Music of Nat King Cole

By: Will Friedwald

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657

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190882050

ISBN 13

9780190882051

The Good Life

By: Tony Bennett,Will Friedwald

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The Good Life

By: Tony Bennett,Will Friedwald

The legendary singer and recording artist shares his life story including his many triumphs and tragedies.

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Page Count

328

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

0671024698

ISBN 13

9780671024697

A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers

By: Will Friedwald

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A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers

By: Will Friedwald

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833

Publisher

Pantheon

Published Date

ISBN 10

0375421491

ISBN 13

9780375421495

Playboy Swings

How Hugh Hefner and Playboy Changed the Face of Music

By: Patricia Farmer,Will Friedwall

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Playboy Swings

How Hugh Hefner and Playboy Changed the Face of Music

By: Patricia Farmer,Will Friedwall

You already know about the Bunnies, now learn about the music that helped shape Playboy. Playboy—the magazine, the empire, the lifestyle—is one of the world's best known brands. Since the launch of Playboy magazine in 1953, two elements have been remarkably consistent: the first, is the celebration of the female form. The second, readers may be surprised to learn, is Playboy's involvement in the music scene. The playboy experience has never been just about sex, but about lifestyle. Hugh Hefner's personal passion for music, particularly fine jazz, has always been an essential component of that. Full of interviews with hundreds of people who were on the scene throughout the rise, fall, and on-going renaissance, Playboy Swings carries readers on a seductive journey. Farmer focuses on Playboy's involvement in the music scene and impact on popular entertainment, and demonstrates how the empire helped change the world by integrating television and festivals. Join Patty Farmer as she guides the reader through the first inception of the Playboy empire through the 1959 Jazz Festival, and club opening after club opening. With 60 pages of photos and a complete reference guide, readers will associate music, not just Bunnies, when thinking about Playboy after reading this enthralling look into the history of one of the world's most infamous brands.

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Page Count

403

Publisher

Beaufort Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0825307171

ISBN 13

9780825307171

The Jazz War

Radio, Nazism and the Struggle for the Airwaves in World War II

By: Will Studdert

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The Jazz War

Radio, Nazism and the Struggle for the Airwaves in World War II

By: Will Studdert

During World War II, jazz embodied everything that was appealing about a democratic society as envisioned by the Western Allied powers. Labelled `degenerate' by Hitler's cultural apparatus, jazz was adopted by the Allies to win the hearts and minds of the German public. It was also used by the Nazi Minister for Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, to deliver a message of Nazi cultural and military superiority. When Goebbels co-opted young German and foreign musicians into `Charlie and his Orchestra' and broadcast their anti-Allied lyrics across the English Channel, jazz took centre stage in the propaganda war that accompanied World War II on the ground. The Jazz War is based on the largely unheard oral testimony of the personalities behind the German and British wartime radio broadcasts, and chronicles the evolving relationship between jazz music and the Axis and Allied war e orts. Studdert shows how jazz both helped and hindered the Allied cause as Nazi soldiers secretly tuned in to British radio shows while London party-goers danced the night away in demimonde `bottle parties', leading them to be branded a `menace' in Parliament. This book will appeal to students of the history of jazz, broadcasting, cultural studies, and the history of World War II.

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Page Count

259

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1838609431

ISBN 13

9781838609436

Nights at the Red Steinway

Adventures in Jazz Piano, from the Wall Street Journal and Elsewhere

By: Will Friedwald

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Nights at the Red Steinway

Adventures in Jazz Piano, from the Wall Street Journal and Elsewhere

By: Will Friedwald

Through curated essays, readers will experience a deeply personal and engaging survey of key figures in jazz in the book that Publishers Weekly calls "a cheerful celebration of an uniquely American musical form.” Whether in the compositions of foundational figures like Jelly Roll Morton, Thomas “Fats” Waller. and Earl “Fatha” Hines; swing pioneers such as Teddy Wilson and Joe Bushkin; torch-bearers like Mary Lou Williams and her student Thelonious Monk; technical masters including Bud Powell and Bill Evans; or modern mixologists such as Sun Ra and Keith Jarrett, the piano has been the site of historic innovations in jazz, and the stage on which some of its most colorful personalities have cemented their legacies. It’s no coincidence that several legendary pianists—Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Nat King Cole—are named after royalty. As one of the leading writers on jazz today, author, journalist, and historian Will Friedwald has witnessed over a half-century of epochal developments in the genre and the central role that the piano has played in its evolution. Nights at the Red Steinway collects key writings (from the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere) to form a deeply personal and engaging survey of key figures from Abrams to Zawinul. Irreverent when it wants to be but serious when it counts, Friedwald’s writing offers a wide-ranging, deeply considered tour through the history of jazz piano. It is an indispensable collection for fans of all stripes.

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Page Count

303

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

1493084135

ISBN 13

9781493084135

Sinatra! The Song Is You

A Singer's Art

By: Will Friedwald,Tony Bennett

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Sinatra! The Song Is You

A Singer's Art

By: Will Friedwald,Tony Bennett

Frank Sinatra was the greatest entertainer of his age, invigorating American popular song with innovative phrasing and a mastery of drama and emotion. Drawing upon interviews with hundreds of his collaborators as well as with "The Voice" himself, this book chronicles, critiques, and celebrates his five-decade career. Will Friedwald examines and evaluates all the classic and less familiar songs with the same astute, witty perceptions that earned him acclaim for his other books about jazz and pop singing. Now completely revised and updated, and including an authoritative discography and rare photos of recording sessions and performances, Sinatra! The Song Is You is an invaluable resource for enthusiasts and an unparalleled guide through Sinatra's vast musical legacy.

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Page Count

906

Publisher

Chicago Review Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1613737734

ISBN 13

9781613737736

The Great Jazz and Pop Vocal Albums

By: Will Friedwald

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The Great Jazz and Pop Vocal Albums

By: Will Friedwald

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433

Publisher

Pantheon

Published Date

ISBN 10

110187175X

ISBN 13

9781101871751

Sinatra! The Song Is You

A Singer's Art

By: Will Friedwald,Tony Bennett

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Sinatra! The Song Is You

A Singer's Art

By: Will Friedwald,Tony Bennett

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Page Count

906

Publisher

Chicago Review Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1613737734

ISBN 13

9781613737736

Nights at the Red Steinway

Adventures in Jazz Piano, from the Wall Street Journal and Elsewhere

By: Will Friedwald

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Nights at the Red Steinway

Adventures in Jazz Piano, from the Wall Street Journal and Elsewhere

By: Will Friedwald

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Page Count

303

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

1493084135

ISBN 13

9781493084135

The Good Life

By: Tony Bennett,Will Friedwald

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The Good Life

By: Tony Bennett,Will Friedwald

The legendary singer and recording artist shares his life story including his many triumphs and tragedies.

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Page Count

328

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

0671024698

ISBN 13

9780671024697

Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies

A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons

By: Jerry Beck,Will Friedwald

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Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies

A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons

By: Jerry Beck,Will Friedwald

Everything you always wanted to know about Warner Bros. cartoons but were afraid to ask, this complete and indispensable reference will delight adults, children, and audiences all over the world.

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Page Count

396

Publisher

Holt Paperbacks

Published Date

ISBN 10

0805008942

ISBN 13

9780805008944

Will Rogers at the Ziegfeld Follies

By: Will Rogers

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Will Rogers at the Ziegfeld Follies

By: Will Rogers

A collection of Rogers' writings and observations includes selections from his weekly articles and previously unpublished excerpts from his notes and correspondence

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Page Count

300

Publisher

University of Oklahoma Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0806123575

ISBN 13

9780806123578

Will Self's Collected Fiction

Volume II

By: Will Self

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Will Self's Collected Fiction

Volume II

By: Will Self

Titles included in this collection include: Umbrella Walking to Hollywood The Butt Dr Mukti and other Tales of Woe How the Dead Live Tough Tough Toys for Tough Tough Boys

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Page Count

2096

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1408865394

ISBN 13

9781408865392

Will Self's Collected Fiction

Volume I

By: Will Self

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Will Self's Collected Fiction

Volume I

By: Will Self

From the Booker-shortlisted author of Shark and it's acclaimed prequel Umbrella Titles include: The Quantity Theory of Psychosis Cock & Bull My Idea of Fun Grey Area Great Apes The Sweet Smell of Psychosis

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Page Count

1636

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1408862050

ISBN 13

9781408862056

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