Elisabeth Welch: Soft Lights and Sweet Music

Author:   Stephen Bourne ,  Ned Sherrin
Publisher:   Scarecrow Press
Volume:   120
ISBN:  

9780810854130


Pages:   200
Publication Date:   12 May 2005
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Elisabeth Welch: Soft Lights and Sweet Music


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Overview

In Elisabeth Welch: Soft Lights and Sweet Music, author Stephen Bourne celebrates the stage, screen, and radio career of this sophisticated African American actress and singer, who always defied categorization. Spanning almost a century of popular music, she did not fit the definition of jazz, torch, pop or ballad singer but defined her art quite simply as telling a story in song. Whatever she sang, she demonstrated that she had no peer in the art of interpreting songs by the likes of Cole Porter, Noel Coward, Irving Berlin, and Jerome Kern. Her story is a fascinating one that brings readers insight about the life and times of this musical legend.

Full Product Details

Author:   Stephen Bourne ,  Ned Sherrin
Publisher:   Scarecrow Press
Imprint:   Scarecrow Press
Volume:   120
Dimensions:   Width: 16.40cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 22.70cm
Weight:   0.318kg
ISBN:  

9780810854130


ISBN 10:   0810854139
Pages:   200
Publication Date:   12 May 2005
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Foreword Part 2 Acknowledgments Part 3 Introduction Chapter 4 1 Girlie Chapter 5 2 The Jazz Age Chapter 6 3 Paris Chapter 7 4 Cole Porter, Ivor Novello, and Noël Coward Chapter 8 5 Soft Lights and Sweet Music Chapter 9 6 Paul Robeson Chapter 10 7 Keep the Home Fires Burning Chapter 11 8 A Marvellous Party Chapter 12 9 Derek Jarman and The Tempest Chapter 13 10 Renaissance Chapter 14 11 Finale Chapter 15 12 Invisible Women: A Survey of Black Women in British Films Part 16 Appendix A: Elisabeth Welch's Credits Part 17 Appendix B: Cast List Part 18 Bibliography Part 19 Index Part 20 About the Author

Reviews

...a sterling celebration of Welch as a musical artist and a vibrant personality, and as such is definitive. Bourne's daunting research has resulted in appendices that are sensationally good - comprehensive listings of the star's radio performances, her theatre work - in New York, Paris and the provinces as well as the West End, her films (with cast lists and song titles), her television work (nearly 100 titles), and her concerts, plus a discography, and even the records she chose on her two appearances on Desert Island Discs. What's On In London Stephen Bourne's highly readable biography of Welch (with a warm introduction by her friend and the Oldie's memorial writer, Ned Sherrin) traces the life of this unique entertainer whose talent transcended the generation gap. When Welch was in her eighties she was still appearing in sell-out concerts in London and New York where her fans included young and old alike. Oldie ...Welch led a fascinating life, all of which is captured in this charming biography...An affectionate tribute full of fascinating anecdotes, this will delight fans of the star, as well as those with an interest in popular song. FOUR STARS!> Film Review Stephen Bourne's book serves as a classy tribute to a classy lady. British Pictures Elisabeth Welch was an important figure in the world of African American entertainment in the inter-war years and as such was long overdue a biography. This book neatly covers the facts... Vjm's Jazz and Blues Mart, No. 146 (Summer 2007) She had a longer recording career than Sinatra or Elvis, recording in every decade from the 1920s to the 1990s. In America, she shared the stage with the legendary Josephine Baker, popularized Cole Porter's Love For Sale, and introduced Stormy Weather (in 1979, she sang it at the end of Derek Jarman's The Tempest) to British audiences. She launched the Charleston, for heaven's sake, yet so few of us remember this massively important figure, Britain's first black star. This timely biography by Welch's close friend and uber-fan, Bourne, should hopefully go some way to addressing her absence. Gay Times ...Welch led a fascinating life, all of which is captured in this charming biography...An affectionate tribute full of fascinating anecdotes, this will delight fans of the star, as well as those with an interest in popular song. FOUR STARS! Film Review


...a sterling celebration of Welch as a musical artist and a vibrant personality, and as such is definitive. Bourne's daunting research has resulted in appendices that are sensationally good - comprehensive listings of the star's radio performances, her theatre work - in New York, Paris and the provinces as well as the West End, her films (with cast lists and song titles), her television work (nearly 100 titles), and her concerts, plus a discography, and even the records she chose on her two appearances on Desert Island Discs. What's On In London Stephen Bourne's highly readable biography of Welch (with a warm introduction by her friend and the Oldie's memorial writer, Ned Sherrin) traces the life of this unique entertainer whose talent transcended the generation gap. When Welch was in her eighties she was still appearing in sell-out concerts in London and New York where her fans included young and old alike. Oldie ...Welch led a fascinating life, all of which is captured in this charming biography...An affectionate tribute full of fascinating anecdotes, this will delight fans of the star, as well as those with an interest in popular song. FOUR STARS! Film Review Stephen Bourne's book serves as a classy tribute to a classy lady. British Pictures Elisabeth Welch was an important figure in the world of African American entertainment in the inter-war years and as such was long overdue a biography. This book neatly covers the facts... Vjm's Jazz and Blues Mart, No. 146 (Summer 2007) She had a longer recording career than Sinatra or Elvis, recording in every decade from the 1920s to the 1990s. In America, she shared the stage with the legendary Josephine Baker, popularized Cole Porter's Love For Sale, and introduced Stormy Weather (in 1979, she sang it at the end of Derek Jarman's The Tempest) to British audiences. She launched the Charleston, for heaven's sake, yet so few of us remember this massively important figure, Britain's first black star. This timely biography by Welch's close friend and uber-fan, Bourne, should hopefully go some way to addressing her absence. Gay Times ...Welch led a fascinating life, all of which is captured in this charming biography...An affectionate tribute full of fascinating anecdotes, this will delight fans of the star, as well as those with an interest in popular song. FOUR STARS! Film Review


Author Information

Stephen Bourne, one of Britain's leading authorities on Black history, is a regular contributor to Black Filmmaker magazine and has been interviewed in several documentaries, including Black Divas (1996) and Paul Robeson: Here I Stand (1999). He is the author of Black in the British Frame: The Black Experience in British Film and Television (2001).

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