The year was 1905, the name of the show was The Earl and the Girl, the hit tune was “How’d You Like to Spoon With Me?” and it started an unknown young songwriter named Jerome Kern on the road to success. Forty years and 1,000 songs later, at the time of his death, Jerome Kern was already a legend in Tin Pan Alley.
Now the fantastic life story of this gentle little “music man” is told for the first time in a full-scale biography. David Ewen has painted a masterful portrait of Kern—the warm and ebullient human being, the creative genius whose melodies transformed America’s taste in popular music.
Here is Kern the composer as seen through the eyes of his celebrated collaborators: Otto Harbach, Guy Bolton, Oscar Hammerstein II; as the creator of the memorable songs: “Who?”, “Look for the Silver Lining,” “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” and the one that had the composers themselves swooning—“Οl’ Man River.” Here, too, are the stories behind the great musicals of a glittering era: Sally, Roberta, Music in the Air, and, of course, Show Boat— the American classic that is perhaps Kern’s greatest monument.
Interlaced throughout the book are warm glimpses of a successful man who enjoyed living and lived well: his youth in New York City and on the Continent, his marriage to Eva Leale, his days as friend and host to the famous of Broadway and Hollywood.
Copiously illustrated with nostalgic photographs, THE WORLD OF JEROME KERN includes listings of Kern’s songs, as well as the Broadway productions and motion pictures for which he wrote the scores.