About a week overdue at the library, I finally finished The
Singer and the Song by Gene Lees.
It started to drag a little around the ninth chapter, but I am so glad I
stayed with it, because the last chapter was magic. It describes in loving detail, the development of a musical
produced in the 80s, starring Sarah Vaughn singing poems written by the Pope.
All in all, this little compilation is a bit gossipy complete
with name-dropping, a bit of history and biography, and musical education. The author, who was a lyricist, wielded
his pen like an old-time storyteller slaving lovingly over flowery details on
every aspect. In this day and age, I found it charming, as well as engrossing. He explains how songs were put
together, about the people who played the music and sang, and what they were
like in real life. He died in 2010, but I wish I had known of him before,
because I would have liked to hear his music. He does have a Wikipedia page, so some information is
accessible, but his albums aren’t at this time. It was worth having to pay a fine to be able to finish all
the chapters in this great little book.
