Melody makers
Sammy Cahn
The Great American Popular Singers Henry Pleasants (Gollancz £3.75) I find myself sitting here in my dressing room reading and, would you believe, reviewing Henry Pleasants' The Great American Popular Singers. I immediately became fascinated with the subjects, and the subject-matter which Mr Pleasants has so meticulously researched. For anyone with as much of singers and of songs in them as I have, the book is a delight. It is a great 'joy to renew acquaintances with old and dear friends, and I found myself wishing that I had met Mr Pleasants when he was writing the book. I could have added one or two anecdotes iNnvehliudechhde might have enjoyed and might have Two of the greatest of the American popular singers must be Al Jolson and Frank Sinatra and I can, for instance, remember a personal incident which included both of them. It happened at a surprise birthday party for the famous (or is it infamous?) Harry Cohen of Columbia Picture Studios. It was during the period when they were casting the film The Jolson Story and, having written an evening of parodies based on Cohen's life, I needed Jolson to participate. All he was required to do was to say the one word, "Mammy," and then sing the
song. The moment we met at the party, he confronted me with "So you're Frank Sinatra's friend?" I admitted to this, and he then whipped out of his gleaming white jacket (over a white turtle-neck sweater and white slacks, I remember) five sheets of legal -paper which contained his stock holdings. The first item was 100,000 shares in A.T. & T. He said, "Sinatra will never have anything like this!"
Jolson sang 'Mammy' that night as though he wanted the part for himself (which he did), and he received a tremendous reaction of bravos and hurrahs. Jolson had an amazing ability to be the luckiest man in the world when he sang `Oh Boy I'm Lucky' and the saddest man in the world when he sang 'Sonny Boy'. Sinatra also sang that night, to a similar reception. And if Jolson is looking down (or up) at us at this moment, let me tell you, Al, that Frank now has the same amount of stock holdings.
Mr Pleasants is full of similar stories and the information pours out of his hook. I found it very moving to see the pictures of singers which I had actually seen being taken. I knew them all, and I knew much of what is written• here, but I didn't know everything which Mr Pleasants tells. It has been fascinating for me to meet many of the contemporary singers which Mr Pleasants mentions; I admire Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack and Dionne Warwick and I now feel that I know them better after reading the book. I do not know if you can 'sum up' such a voluminous history, but if you like singing and singers then this book is a 'must'. Think of the joy of reading about these singers as you listen to them (I happen to have one or two of Sinatra's albums handy!).
Sammy Cahn, the songwriter, has won four Academy Awards: for Three Coins in The Fountain, All The Way, High Hopes and Call Me Irresponsible. He has also won the only Emmy ever given for a song with Love and Marriage.
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