Publisher's Synopsis
Cole Porter, Fanny Brice, Lou Reed, Joni Mitchell: they all had something to sing about New York City. New York has musically inspired so many people in many diverse ways. This is an introduction to the best-loved songs and most evocative music written about America's premier city. Drawing on years of research, music historian Nancy Groce serves as a guide for this urban tour, which features the lyrics of many of the over 1000 songs written about New York. Some celebrate certain neighbourhoods, such as "My Pearl's a Bowery Girl" (1894) and "Chelsea Morning" (1967), some commemorate landmarks -"The Statue of Liberty Is Smiling" (1918) and "Stompin' at the Savoy" (1936) - while some pay tribute to the beautiful, musical, resilient city itself, such as 1977's smash "I Love New York" and the less insistent "I Happen to Like New York" (1930).;The musical landscape of New York - its multitudinous rhythms, melodies and messages - is explored in rich, sometimes gritty, detail through vintage photos, and illustrations of sheet-music covers and album jackets.
