A Ship Without A Sail: The Life of Lorenz Hart

A Ship Without A Sail: The Life of Lorenz Hart

An unforgettable portrait of an exuberant yet troubled artist who so enriched the American songbook

â€œBlue Moon, â€ â€œWhere or When, â€ â€œThe Lady Is a Tramp,â€ â€œMy Funny Valentine,â€ â€œIsnâ€™t It Romantic?,â€ â€œMy Romance,â€ â€œThereâ€™s a Small Hotel,â€ â€œFalling in Love with Love,â€ â€œBewitched, Bothered and Bewilderedâ€â€”lyricist Lorenz Hart, together with composer Richard Rodgers, wrote some of the most memorable songs ever created. More than half a century after their collaboration ended, Rodgers & Hart songs are indispensable to the repertoire of nightclub singers everywhere. A Ship Without a Sail is the story of the complicated man who was Lorenz Hart.

His lyrics spin with brilliance and sophistication, yet at their core is an unmistakable wistfulness. The sweetness of â€œMy Romanceâ€ and â€œIsnâ€™t It Romantic?â€ is unsurpassed in American song, but Hartâ€™s lyrics could also be cynical, funny, ironic. He brought a unique wit and elegance to popular music.

Larry Hart and Richard Rodgers wrote approximately thirty Broadway musicals and dozens of songs for Hollywood films. At least four of their musicalsâ€”On Your Toes, Babes in Arms, The Boys from Syracuse, and Pal Joeyâ€” have become classics. But despite their prodigious collaboration, Rodgers and Hart were an odd couple. Rodgers was precise, punctual, heterosexual, handsome, and eager to be accepted by Society. Hart was barely five feet tall, alcoholic, homosexual, and more comfortable in a bar or restaurant than anywhere else. Terrified of solitude, he invariably threw the party and picked up the check. His lyrics are all the more remarkable considering that he never sustained a romantic relationship, living his entire life with his mother, who died only months before he died at age forty-eight.

Gary Marmorsteinâ€™s revelatory biography includes many of the lyrics that define Hartâ€™s legacyâ€”those clever, touching stanzas that still move us or make us laugh.
Country USA
Manufacturer Simon & Schuster
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2012-07-03
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Simon & Schuster
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2012-07-03
Format	Kindle eBook

A Ship Without A Sail: The Life of Lorenz Hart

You might also like...