{"product_id":"irving-berlin-songs-from-the-melting-pot-the-formative-years-1907-1914-9780195071887","title":"Irving Berlin: Songs from the Melting Pot: The Formative Years, 1907-1914","description":"Irving Berlin remains a central figure in American music, a lyricist\/composer whose songs are loved all over the world. His first piece, Marie from Sunny Italy, was written in 1907, and his Alexander's Ragtime Band attracted more public and media attention than any other song of its decade. In later years Berlin wrote such classics as God Bless America, Blue Skies, Always, Cheek to Cheek, and the holiday favorites White Christmas and Easter Parade. Jerome Kern, his fellow songwriter, commented that Irving Berlin \u003cem\u003eis\u003c\/em\u003e American music.\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eIrving Berlin: The Formative Years\u003c\/em\u003e, Charles Hamm traces the early years of this most famous and distinctive American songwriter. Beginning with Berlin's immigrant roots--he came to New York in 1893 from Russia--Hamm shows how the young Berlin quickly revealed the talent for music and lyrics that was to mark his entire career. Berlin first wrote for the vaudeville stage, turning out songs that drew on the various ethnic cultures of the city. These pieces, with their Jewish, Italian, German, Irish, and Black protagonists singing in appropriate dialects, reflected the urban mix of New York's melting pot. Berlin drew on various musical styles, especially ragtime, for such songs as Alexander's Ragtime Band, and Hamm devotes an entire chapter to the song and its success. The book also details Berlin's early efforts to write for the Broadway musical stage, culminating in 1914 with his first musical comedy, \u003cem\u003eWatch Your Step\u003c\/em\u003e, featuring the popular dance team, Vernon and Irene Castle. A great hit on Broadway and in London, the show was a key piece in the Americanization of the musical comedy. Blessed with prodigious ambition and energy, Berlin wrote at least 4 or 5 new songs a week, many of which were discarded. He nevertheless published 190 songs between 1907 and 1914, an astonishing number considering that when Berlin arrived in America, he knew not a single word of English. As one writer reported, there is scarcely a waking moment when Berlin is not engaged either in teaching his songs to a vaudeville player, or composing new ones.\u003cbr\u003e Early in his career, Irving Berlin brilliantly exploited the musical trends and influences of the day. Hamm shows how Berlin emerged from the vital and complex social and cultural scene of New York to begin his rise as America's foremost songwriter.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Charles Hamm\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/13\/1997\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.25lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.58h x 6.42w x 1.04d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780195071887\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/15\/1997 pg. 271\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/1997 pg. 1275\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/27\/1997 pg. 23\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/1997 pg. 93\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCharles Hamm\u003c\/strong\u003e, the Arthur R. Virgin Professor Emeritus of Music at Dartmouth College, is perhaps the most prominent writer about American popular music today. His many books include \u003cem\u003eYesterdays: Popular Song in America\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eMusic in the New World\u003c\/em\u003e, and he has recently published a critical edition of all of Berlin's early songs.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis title is not returnable\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press, USA","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":39929238388851,"sku":"9.78E+12","price":56.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_0ec8de56-c529-4525-94b0-c9f6927576e7.jpg?v=1647612449","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/en-de\/products\/irving-berlin-songs-from-the-melting-pot-the-formative-years-1907-1914-9780195071887","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}