Some people love Great American Songbook. And some know a lot about its history and people that were associated with it. My dear friend Don Romano is one of a kind. He's a great expert. Don has been collecting sheet music, photographs and other memorabilia for years. Great American Songbook is his passion! I was delighted when he agreed to answer some of my questions on his favorite topic. Here is our interview...
Great American Songbook. History,
artists, songs, songwriters and lyricists. It’s so much more. It’s also the
people who keep it alive nowadays. Don, you are truly one of the most
knowledgeable people I know. Can you please tell us how did it all start for
you? When were you introduced to these wonderful songs and this era?
I seemd to be enjoying the Great
American Songbook through crooners such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and
Perry Como as I was growing up. By the
time I reached the fourth grade, however, I became distracted by The Beatles. I learned a lot about their music, read
countless books about the band, and learned everything I thought I could know
about them. I began to realize that some
of my favorite Beatles songs were either written by American composers
(Meredith Willson’s „Till There Was You“ and Milton Ager & Jack Yellen’s
„Ain’t She Sweet“) or were written in the style of early American song (Pau l
McCartney’s „Honey Pie“ and „When I’m Sixty-Four“). This helped me renew my interest in the
genre.
I suppose my relationship with the
Great American Songbook turned from interest to obsession in college when I
made the most important musical purchase of my life: the box set of Ella
Fitzgerald’s Songbook albums produced by Norman Granz. I would not have a radio show or a Facebook
Page if this collection did not come into my life. I fell in love with the arrangements and the
unique style that each songwriter had in his catalogue. I thank Ella and Norman every day for making
such quality albums. I wouldn’t be
typing this today if they had not come into my life!
Don with Debbie Reynolds
Some of Stardust Melodies fans already know your wonderful facebook page Don's American Songbook. I know that your page celebrated the first year of existence. Congratulations! You have posted so many wonderful photos and great and detailed info about many artists and musical pieces. I am sure you must have learned a lot from doing such facebook page as well...
Thanks, Anna. Yes I have.
I am glad you enjoy the photographs and facts. I spend a lot of time trying to find unusual
photographs I have not seen before and facts that I find interesting. I have developed quite a library since I
began researching the Great American Songbook and get many of my facts from
there. Other times I find facts on the
Internet. I refer to these sources each
time I make a post. Oftentimes, I
spotlight Great American Songbook figures or Hollywood actors and actresses on
their birthdates. I spend a lot of time
reading about their lives and pick out facts I find fascinating. I also started a series of posts on my page
called „Great American Songbook Connections“ where I spotlight everybody from
historical figures to pop stars who have been refrenced in or had a brush with
the Great American Songbook in one way or another. It is really fascinating how often
non-musical subjects and the Great American Songbook can interact with one
other!
When I started my Facebook Page I
called it „Don’s American Songbook“. I
really didn’t think much of it and never suspected it would become the success
it is today. I thought about Michael
Feinstein’s wonderful PBS program „Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook“,
because the show was about the Great American Songbook in the context of his
own life. This radio show has a similar
concept. I play songs that are pleasant,
interesting, and meaningful to me. Sometimes, however, I feel the title of my Page is a misnomer. I tend to post about anything I am interested
in, which is not always limited to the Great American Songbook. I post about actors, actresses, films, old
Hollywood, musical theater, rock ‚n‘ roll, and anything that captures my
interest. I always try to tie whatever I
am posting about to the Great American Songbook in some way.
It would be very difficult
if someone asks me to name my favorite singers. I am sure it’s as difficult for
you as it is for me. But still... who are your favorite vocalists and why?
Oh dear, such a tough question! I have many favorites. For female vocalists, one of my absolute
favorite singers is Jo Stafford. I believe
she sang songs the way the composer would intend them to be sung. The same could be said for another vocalist I
regard very highly: Ella Fitzgerald. There is nobody quite like her.
Another singer I am mad about is Irene Dunne. She may be better remembered as an actress
today in her wonderful screwball commedies, but she left us some lovely
renditions of Great American Songbook tunes. I love her Jerome Kern songs. I
also love Lee Wiley, Helen Forrest, Doris Day, and Julie Andrews as well. Three other names that deserve special
recognition include Blossom Dearie, the Incomparable Hildegarde, and Peggy
King. Blossom had such a unique style of
singing, and there is a very special place in my heart for her. I believe Hildegarde has some of the definitive
versions of popular American songs. You
could tell she loved what she did, and she did it very well. Peggy is a dear friend of mine and a
wonderful singer. In my honest unbiased
opinion, she has the definitive versions of „You’ll Never Know“ and „Hi-Lili,
Hi-Lo“ from her Lazy Afternoon album. I
mentioned a lot of names, but those are the females I love best!
For male vocalists, I was raised on
Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. They will
always be the best in my opinion. I also
love Mel Torme. To be perfectly honest,
some of my favorite male vocalists are the songwriters singing their own
songs. Koch International Records and
the Library of Congress released wonderful albums of „singing songwriters“. Songwriters like Sammy Fain, Frank Loesser,
Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and Hugh Martin all have albums featuring them
singing their own songs. These are my
favorite recordings. Hearing the
songwriters sing and play their own work is the best. You feel like you are listening to them
demonstrating a song to a director or singer for the first time. Many of them were not professional singers,
but there is something about hearing the songwriter sing their own songs that
is magical.
Could you describe let’s say
Top 5-10 songs you would like to take to a desert island with you and why?
Another tough question! This list changes all the time (almost
daily), but I will give you my top 10 right now in no particular order:
(1) Better Luck Next Time (Irving
Berlin)
I have so many favorite Irving Berlin
songs, but this one is very unique from other songs in his catalogue. And who could forget Judy singing it in
Easter Parade?
(2) Someone to Watch Over Me (George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin)
This will always be a favorite of
mine. It’s a beautiful marriage of words
and music and one of the best songs by George and Ira.
(3) It’s Easy to Remember (Richard
Rodgers and Lorenz Hart)
I love almost every version of this
song I have heard. The phrasing of the
music is lovely and the lyrics are so evocative. I love the chord progression in the bridge. It’s always hard to listen to those lyrics
and think about Larry’s life. Still,
they are beautiful words. Peggy King has
my absolute favorite version of this song from her album „Wish Upon a
Star“. Percy Faith’s arrangement on that
recording was just wonderful.
(4) Bill (Jerome Kern, Oscar
Hammerstein II, P.G. Wodehouse)
Oscar was very vocal about giving
lyric credit to P.G. Wodehouse. Just
reading over the lyrics, you can tell it is a Wodehouse lyric: „He can’t play
golf or tennis or polo/or sing a solo/or row“. Sounds a lot like Bertram Wooster! This is one of the most beautiful Kern melodies in my opinion (next to
„The Didn’t Believe Me). Outside of
Helen Morgan’s definitive recording of the song, Margaret Whiting has the best
version out there.
(5) You Are For Loving (Hugh Martin
and Ralph Blane)
Another melody with beautiful
phrasing and wonderful rhyming patterns.
This is a lyric that reads like poetry. A wonderful combination of words and music. This song has so much Hugh Martin in it. Listen to this lyric: „You are for loving/and
loving, and loving, and loving/by someone just as wonderful as you/and so I
guess I’ll never do“. That’s not a
character for a situation. That‘s Hugh
talking! He was very self-reflective,
and his thoughts, dreams, and, in this case, vulnerabilities can be seen so
clearly in his writing. In some ways,
more than any other lyricist that comes to mind.
(6) It’s Been a Long Long Time (Jule
Styne & Sammy Cahn)
This is a great song because it has a
timeless theme. To the Great American
Songbook novice, „It’s Been a Long, Long Time“ is a song about two people who
are reuniting after „a long, long time“.
However, it takes on a totally different meaning when you think about
the year it came out: 1945. The lyrics
are being sung by a person welcoming home his or her lover at the end of World
War II. It’s a timeless theme, but it
takes on a special meaning when you think about the history. I love stories behind songs like that.
(7) You Took Advantage of Me (Richard
Rodgers & Lorenz Hart)
I love the musical phrasing of this
song. Lee Wiley recorded my favorite
version of the song.
(8) I’ll See You In My Dreams (Isham
Jones & Gus Kahn)
This is a wonderful song. Jeannette MacDonald’s version of this song is
one of the few recordings that can move me to tears any time I hear it.
(9) In the Shade of the New Apple
Tree (Harold Arlen and E.Y. „Yip“ Harburg)
I guess this is an odd Arlen/Harburg
collaboration to select, but without it, their score to „The Wizard of Oz“ may
never have happened. This song from
their 1937 show „Hooray for What!“ caught the attention of Arthur Freed who
thought it was exactly the tone that would fit with the 1939 musical, so he
hired them.
(10) I Cling to You (Vernon Duke and Ted
Fetter)
This is a very underrated song from
The Ziegfeld Follies of 1933. I only
know of a few recorded versions – Hildegarde and Anthony Perkins (!!!) recorded
nice renditions. It is a great little
gem that is not nearly as well known as it should be.
I have learned so much from
listening to your radio program. Can you please tell us more about it? I know
you have been enjoying it very much... And so have we!
I should begin by saying that my show
is recorded at Elmhurst College, the school where I did my undergraduate work
in Elmhurst, Illinois. Their radio
station, WRSE, broadcasts locally. I
record and archive each of my shows. They are housed at my friend Peggy King’s
website (http://peggyking.org/DonRomanoPageFour.htm)
for you all to listen to. They are
generously posted by Al, who manages her webpage. I am very grateful to him for doing this.
On my radio show, I play popular
American music from 1900 to about 1950. I always have exceptions, but that is the general time range I pull
from. The songs come from Hollywood
flims, Tin Pan Alley, and Broadway shows. Those are the songs that make up the Great American Songbook. I scour record stores, antique stores, the
Internet, and various other sources for the material I play. I enjoy playing some favorite standards that
everybody knows and loves, but I also look for obscure songs that are forgotten
about. Oftentimes popular recording
artists omit precious verses because they were too wedded to the show they came
from or they were simply not commercial enough. I try to play recordings that feature the verses so my listeners know
how the songwriter intended the song to be heard. Oftentimes, the verse gives the refrain a
different context. For example, I did
not know Rodgers and Hart’s „Here in My Arms“ had a verse. Then I heard Lee Wiley’s version, and I found
that the verse was almost essential to the refrain! I have also begun playing old time radio
shows such as George Burns & Gracie Allen, The Edgar Burgen and Charlie
McCarthy Show, Our Miss Brooks, and The Fred Allen Show. Oftentimes the broadcasts I play are related
to the Great American Songbook one way or another.
The general format of my show is very
simple. I usually do not have much time
to prepare themes for my shows throughout the week, so the format is very
similar to having your Ipod on „shuffle“ mode. I generally play four songs in one set. After the set is complete, I talk about the songs I played. I try to provide facts, interesting
background stories, and information about the particular recording. It is very simple, but it is a format that
has worked well.
You are also an active collector
of photos, sheet music and other things. Do you have any really special pieces
you treasure? Perhaps personally signed photos?
I
began collecting autographed photos and sheet music a few years ago. I tend to find my treasures on ebay.com or
Amazon.com for very reasonable prices. My collection is not nearly as impressive as people who have done it for
a long time, but I have some gems. From
the top of my head, here are a few of my favorites: I have a piece of sheet
music for the song “I Said No” that is signed by Frank Loesser. I have a copy of Meredith Willson’s “Eggs I
Have Laid” that is signed by him. I have
a copy of Lyrics on Several Occasions signed by Ira Gershwin, a gift from my
mother. Another favorite is a book of
records featuring Hildegarde singing Noel Coward songs. It is signed by her. I have a photograph signed by the three
Boswell Sisters. The most fascinating
autograph I have is a single envelope signed by Fred Astaire, Dorothy Lamour,
Lillian Gish, Andy Griffith, and Bob Hope. It is the most unbelievable item in my autograph collection. It was very inexpensive, and I was able to
purchase it as a college student with a part-time job! I love collecting autographs. I have scanned most of my collection, and I
post the scans on my Facebook page for all of you to view and enjoy.
In
2010, I purchased a number of items from the estate of Blossom Dearie. I managed to purchase many of the items very
inexpensively. The items I purchased
include several unpublished personal photographs of Blossom, signatures, record
albums, gifts from family members, a handwritten leadsheet, lyric sheets, and
personal items. The most interesting
items include two autographs. The first
is a fan letter from Cary Grant. In the
letter, he thanks Blossom for sending him a few of her records. It is typewritten on his Faberge
letterhead. The second item is a signed
photograph of Jo Stafford. Jo inscribed
it: “To Bloss, Love Jo”. Since Blossom
and Jo are two of my favorite interpreters of the Great American Songbook, this
is a particularly special item in my collection.
If you could go back in time, who would you like to meet? What would
you ask the person / people?
For
me, I think the composer shrouded in the most mystery is Irving Berlin. Most people who listen to my show or follow
my Facebook Page know he is my favorite songwriter. Think about the man for a moment. His family came penniless to America from
Russia after watching their home burn to the ground. He came from a Yiddish-speaking home and
stopped going to formal school at age eight. He learned to play piano while he was a singing waiter in the seedy
Pelham Café in the Lower East Side, Chinatown.
He could not read or write music the way his contemporaries could. How did such a man go on to become one of the
greatest songwriters in history? What
was the method behind his songwriting? How did he write song after song after song – many of them hits? What did his songwriting process look
like? What kind of a person could write
a song like “Always” in 1925 and then write a song like “I Don’t Want to Be
Married (I Just Want To Be Friends)” in 1931?
How could an immigrant whose native tongue was Yiddish have such a
command for the English language? How
could he make such sophisticated rhymes and observations about American society
and culture while he was still so young? What kind of experiences did he have to write these songs? How much of himself did he invest in his
songs? What did he think of his career
in his later life? In the few interviews
we have of Berlin, he seems to take a very business-like approach to writing
songs – write from the heart (not the brain) and keep it simple if you want to
write a hit. He was less like a songwriter
and more like a hit-writing machine! I
feel like I would have a lot of questions to ask him. Knowing Irving Berlin from the countless
books I have read, however, I do not think he would be very willing to answer
them.
Don with Michael Feinstein
Apart from being Great American Songbook expert, you also enjoy other
art forms. How about opera and operetta? Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the
most wonderful companies (I know that because I lived in Chicago 10 years ago)…
Opera
is something I have recently discovered. The Lyric Opera set up a wonderful program called NExT for students
enrolled in school. When you sign up for
the program, tickets are a mere $20.
Fortunately I will be a student until 2017! The lovely Renee Fleming is
the artistic director at the Lyric and does a great job overseeing the
productions. Among my favorites from
this past season were “Die Fledermaus” and “Madama Butterfly”. I am very excited for Gershwin’s “Porgy and
Bess” next season. I have been getting a
great education from their pre-opera lectures. The whole experience is just wonderful, and I am sorry I had not
discovered it sooner.
I
have seen almost every show this past season. Last season I went to see Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!”. I sat in my seat imagining it was opening
night in 1943 and Dick and Oscar were in the front seats watching as the
audience heard songs like “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’” and “I Cain’t Say No”
for the first time. I imagined what it
would be like knowing that your production would change the way musical theater
would be produced for generations. Maybe
that sounds a bit silly, but it was an exciting thought for me!
You currently study at Elmhurst College in Illinois. What would you like to do after you finish your education?
I graduated from Elmhurst College in 2011 and I now attend Midwestern University where I am working on my Psy.D., a doctorate degree in clinical psychology. I oftentimes use music to connect with patients. I have always thought about writing a book or paper about psychology based on the songs of the Great American Songbook. Think about a songwriter like the tragic Lorenz Hart. He had a well documented history of alcoholism and depression. He wrote the lyric, „All alone/all at sea/why does nobody care for me?“ from „A Ship Without a Sail“. That sounds like a quote from a therapy session to me. Sadly, I believe it is one of the most autobiographical songs he wrote. How might a clinician understand Larry from a psychological perspective? I have some ideas that are much too dense to include here, but I believe a psychological conceptualization of the Great American Songbook would be interesting. Certainly unconventional in its approach. Maybe I will call the book „The Psychology of the Great American Songbook and Its Songwriters“.
You currently study at Elmhurst College in Illinois. What would you like to do after you finish your education?
I graduated from Elmhurst College in 2011 and I now attend Midwestern University where I am working on my Psy.D., a doctorate degree in clinical psychology. I oftentimes use music to connect with patients. I have always thought about writing a book or paper about psychology based on the songs of the Great American Songbook. Think about a songwriter like the tragic Lorenz Hart. He had a well documented history of alcoholism and depression. He wrote the lyric, „All alone/all at sea/why does nobody care for me?“ from „A Ship Without a Sail“. That sounds like a quote from a therapy session to me. Sadly, I believe it is one of the most autobiographical songs he wrote. How might a clinician understand Larry from a psychological perspective? I have some ideas that are much too dense to include here, but I believe a psychological conceptualization of the Great American Songbook would be interesting. Certainly unconventional in its approach. Maybe I will call the book „The Psychology of the Great American Songbook and Its Songwriters“.
I have also dreamed about writing biographical books on the
side. For example, there is no
definitive work about supper club singer Hildegarde. Besides her pseudo-autobiorgraphy „Over 50 –
So What!“, I think there is a huge gap in the literature regarding her life and
career. Her papers are housed at the
Marquette University Library Archives. The library is not terribly far from me. I plan on making a visit to look through her papers and listen to the
rare recordings that are housed there.
Maybe I can begin taking notes about her life and how I would outline
the book. I know writing a book is a lot
of work and an extremely difficult undertaking, but I think I am fanatical
enough to do it. Unfortunately that
dream needs to be put off for awhile – I have a dissertation to complete first!
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