They're Playing Our Song: Conversations with America's Classic Songwriters

This was just what I was looking for after taking a course on lyricists at Cal State Channel Islands. I noticed that the instructor had this by his side and mentioned it. There is so much information on the individual writers of the type that you would never find in their normal-type bios; that alone made it worth the price.

The other reviewers are correct in their assessment of the charm of the anecdotes in this book. The annoying aspect of the book is the appalling number of typos on nearly every page. Did no one proofread this?

This is a delightful and erudite picture of an industry that has touched every one of us, by a master of humor, insight, and deep personal knowledge of his subjectan d subjects. In this, the second...or third... important reprinting one would encourage anyone who enjoys our popular, not rock nor roll nor rap, music history to be amused by this volume.

I found this book in a second hand store in Sydney (Australia, where I live) about ten years ago. All I can say is I keep coming back to it and rereading it about once a year. It's chock full of anecdotal gems about famous and not-so-famous songwriters of the 20th century. To read of a young Leo Robin daring to tell Maurice Chevalier how to sing a song, or of Frank Loesser punching a soprano in the nose (and then yelling 'Forgive me') is priceless. If you have any interest in 20th century popular music, get it.

What makes the collection fascinating is that much of this book is in the voices of the songwriters, or in the voices of those who knew them well. And if anyone is an expert on the lore of America's music, it's Max Wilk. The book was originally written in 1971. When it was updated 15 years later, many of the songwriters Wilk had originally interviewed were gone, so reading these chapters in the colorful voices of talents like the late Johnny Mercer, Ira Gershwin, Dorothy Fields, and Harry Warren, who, cigar in his mouth, told him about his three Oscars ("Ah, I use 'em for doorstops!")-- it's irreplaceable. Even Irving Berlin, reclusive and rather irascible, offered his own glimpse into the man behind all those songs. "If it's a collection of gags about the music business," said Berlin, "don't bother talking to me. I'm not a comedian." All these stories are there, plus those of other show business legends like Robert Russell Bennett, Joshua Logan, and nonagenarian P.G. Wodehouse. Taking this wealth of ingredients, Max Wilk put it all together, gave it a stir, got the mix cooking, and then sat back to let the voices take over. For all those who love the heritage of American popular music, get this book, sit back, and read about the masters. Then put on your CDs and listen again to the familiar music they wrote for us.END