Overview

Women built the popular song industry of Tin Pan Alley, yet many of their stories have seldom been told. They blazed the trail for women in music today and set an inspiring example for generations to come. Songs She Wrote celebrates women’s contributions to popular music by looking at dozens of well-known songwriters, lyricists, and composers in the first half of the twentieth century like Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, and Dorothy Parker and unearths more unknown women who made major contributions. Learn about Maria Grever (“What a Difference a Day Made”) who was the first female Mexican to achieve international acclaim and the fascinating story of African American lyricist Lucy Fletcher (“Sugar Blues”), among many others. Women in the popular music business went through struggles different from their male colleagues, making their triumphs all the more impressive. Their combined sagas convey an epic about women in the world of American popular music.

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9781538158654

Table of Contents

Reviews

Songs She Wrote is a must-read for fans of the Great American Songbook. In this meticulously researched and fascinating book, Michael Garber gives long-overdue recognition to some of the unsung heroines of music who, against great odds, came up through the ranks of the male-dominated Tin Pan Alley. Stories of these trailblazing women and their songs are brought to life with vivid detail. --Holly Foster Wells, Peggy Lee's granddaughter, president, Peggy Lee Associates, LLC A compelling account of the contribution of female songwriters to the Great American Songbook. Michael Garber's book uncovers a hidden history with nuanced, sympathetic analysis of key composers & lyricists and their songs. Rich in detail, Garber's book gives the female songwriting pioneers of popular music the recognition they deserve. --Lucy O'Brien, author of Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter In this brilliantly researched and highly accessible book, Michael Garber reveals a previously unacknowledged, yet highly significant, musical genre: that of women songwriters of Tin Pan Alley. The importance and originality of Garber's work cannot be overstated, and whether the reader's focus is American popular music or women's studies or both, it cannot be recommended highly enough. --Peter Muir, author of Long-Lost Blues: Popular Blues in America, 1850-1920 Michael Garber has compiled a fascinating history of woman songwriters. And there are more than you think! You may not know their names, but you know their songs. This remarkable book isn't just a list of songs and their histories--it's a celebration of songs that have lasted over a hundred years, and they are still as fresh as the day they were written. --Ken Bloom, Grammy Award-winning theatre historian, playwright, director, record producer, and author

A compelling account of the contribution of female songwriters to the Great American Songbook. Michael Garber#39;s book uncovers a hidden history with nuanced, sympathetic analysis of key composers amp; lyricists and their songs. Rich in detail, Garber#39;s book gives the female songwriting pioneers of popular music the recognition they deserve.--Lucy O'Brien, author of Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter Michael Garber has compiled a fascinating history of woman songwriters. And there are more than you think! You may not know their names, but you know their songs. This remarkable book isnrsquo;t just a list of songs and their historiesmdash;itrsquo;s a celebration of songs that have lasted over a hundred years, and they are still as fresh as the day they were written.--Ken Bloom, Grammy Award-winning theatre historian, playwright, director, record producer, and author Songs She Wrote is a must-read for fans of the Great American Songbook. In this meticulously researched and fascinating book, Michael Garber gives long-overdue recognition to some of the unsung heroines of music who, against great odds, came up through the ranks of the male-dominated Tin Pan Alley. Stories of these trailblazing women and their songs are brought to life with vivid detail.--Holly Foster Wells, Peggy Lee's granddaughter, president, Peggy Lee Associates, LLC In this brilliantly researched and highly accessible book, Michael Garber reveals a previously unacknowledged, yet highly significant, musical genre: that of women songwriters of Tin Pan Alley. The importance and originality of Garberrsquo;s work cannot be overstated, and whether the readerrsquo;s focus is American popular music or womenrsquo;s studies or both, it cannot be recommended highly enough.--Peter Muir, author of Long-Lost Blues: Popular Blues in America, 1850-1920

A treasure for those interested in music and women’s history. The easy-to-read narrative will appeal to a wide variety of readers. * Library Journal * Unique in its breadth, acting as both a studied appreciation of the songs the women created and the incredible impact they made in a male-dominated field … Songs She Wrote is an overdue celebration of the women behind the music. * Booklist * Extraordinary, exceptional, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, Songs She Wrote: Forty Hits by Pioneering Women of Popular Music by Michael G. Garber is an original work of meticulous scholarship and especially recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library 20th Century Music Appreciation & History collections in general, and supplemental Women's Music History curriculum studies lists. * Midwest Book Review * A compelling account of the contribution of female songwriters to the Great American Songbook. Michael Garber's book uncovers a hidden history with nuanced, sympathetic analysis of key composers & lyricists and their songs. Rich in detail, Garber's book gives the female songwriting pioneers of popular music the recognition they deserve. -- Lucy O'Brien, author of Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter Michael Garber has compiled a fascinating history of woman songwriters. And there are more than you think! You may not know their names, but you know their songs. This remarkable book isn’t just a list of songs and their histories—it’s a celebration of songs that have lasted over a hundred years, and they are still as fresh as the day they were written. -- Ken Bloom, Grammy Award-winning theatre historian, playwright, director, record producer, and author Songs She Wrote is a must-read for fans of the Great American Songbook. In this meticulously researched and fascinating book, Michael Garber gives long-overdue recognition to some of the unsung heroines of music who, against great odds, came up through the ranks of the male-dominated Tin Pan Alley. Stories of these trailblazing women and their songs are brought to life with vivid detail. -- Holly Foster Wells, Peggy Lee’s granddaughter, president, Peggy Lee Associates, LLC In this brilliantly researched and highly accessible book, Michael Garber reveals a previously unacknowledged, yet highly significant, musical genre: that of women songwriters of Tin Pan Alley. The importance and originality of Garber’s work cannot be overstated, and whether the reader’s focus is American popular music or women’s studies or both, it cannot be recommended highly enough. -- Peter Muir, author of <i>Long-Lost Blues: Popular Blues in America, 1850-1920</i>

Author Information

Michael G. Garber is an internationally respected expert on Tin Pan Alley and the American musical on stage and screen. He was a research fellow of the University of Winchester and the University of London, Goldsmiths College. He is the author of My Melancholy Baby: The First Ballads of the Great American Songbook, 1902-1913.

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