Just One of the Boys

This chapter explores three musicals for which Young co-wrote the libretto and/or lyrics: The Red Petticoat (music by Jerome Kern, text co-written with Paul West), When Love Is Young (music by William Schroeder, text co-written with William Cary Duncan), and His Little Widows (also with Schroeder and Duncan). The Red Petticoat and When Love Is Young were adaptations of earlier plays by Young. For both, the chapter compares Young’s original script with its musical libretto to try to distinguish Young’s writing style and voice from those of her collaborators. This task was more challenging for His Little Widows, as there was no previous material with which to compare it. Again, for each show, the chapter provides a synopsis and analysis of the libretto and lyrics.

“I Hate Parading My Serenading”

This chapter analyzes Porter's performing style by drawing on published reports and eyewitness accounts of his abilities. It compares aspects of his performances with those of some of his favorite singers in order to identify shared stylistic elements, as well as ways in which his interpretations were unique. Though it will be impossible to appreciate the full measure of Porter's art from the scant historical evidence that documented his performing, we certainly have more to work with than is the case with Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Vincent Youmans, and Richard Rodgers. The recordings not only make it possible to reconcile Porter's reputation as a performer with the evidence he left behind but also give us a rare opportunity to gain some insight into the interpretive qualities Porter was accustomed to and was able to bring out in the performance of his music.

Sentential Lyric-Types in the Great American Songbook

This article investigates the musico-poetic role played by the sentence in songs of George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Frederick Loewe, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers. The phrase-type can be understood as an architectural frame for both composers and lyricists, fundamental to both musical and lyrical designs and crucial to the interaction between the two. This study classifies lyrics that display sentential characteristics of repetition, intensification, and cadence and explores their correspondence to those features of musical sentences. The result is a more detailed picture of text-music relationships and phrase structure in the Great American Songbook.