Fields, who died in 1974, earned her first break co-writing with Jimmy McHugh. Though the majority of the top songwriters were men, Dorothy Fields was a female trailblazer. There was something about the early 20th Century – the Jazz Age of the 20s, the Great Depression, the melancholy wartime years – that conspired to create music that was truly uplifting and gloriously sentimental. They are characterized by deft and witty lyrics that evoke the very idea of high-society sophistication. The “standards” are as popular today as they were more than half a century ago the music simply transcends the era in which the songs were written.

Creating the “standards” in the early 20th Century Listen to the best Great American Songbook songs on Spotify. The songs became the core repertoire of jazz musicians during this period, which stretched roughly from 1920 to 1960. It is not a real book, rather a term that applies to tunes of Broadway musical theatre, Hollywood movie musicals, and Tin Pan Alley ( the hub of songwriting that was the music publishers’ row on New York’s West 28th Street).

They are just five masterpieces in a canon now widely known as The Great American Songbook. He died in Florida, his home of many years, at the age of eighty-one.Songs such as “Summertime,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “My Funny Valentine,” “Let’s Face The Music And Dance,” and “Some Enchanted Evening” are so familiar they seem to be part of America’s cultural fabric. Fitzgerald also wrote several best-selling adult books, including Papa Married a Mormon. These reminiscenses led to eight memorable Great Brain books. His stories of The Great Brain were based on his own childhood in Utah with a conniving older brother named Tom. Fitzgerald was born in Utah and lived there until he left at eighteen to begin a series of interesting careers ranging from jazz drummer to foreign correspondent. * 'A funny, fast-moving, endearing book that will lap up!'-Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewĪbout the Author John D. Whether it's saving the kids at school, or helping out Peg-leg Andy, or Basil, the new kid at school, the Great Brain always manages to come out on top-and line his pockets in the process. When the Jenkins boys get lost in Skeleton Cave, the Great Brain saves the day. Tom, a.k.a., the Great Brain, is a silver-tongued genius with a knack for turning a profit.

The best con man in the Midwest is only ten years old. Illustrations.īook Synopsis This first book in the series is a great combination of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Terrible Two series, and is perfect for fans of Roald Dahl. Now three of these heartwarming and funny stories featuring the young con artist are reissued. About the Book For decades, the Great Brain and his little brother have enchanted readers.

The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald