Bing and Billie and Frank and Ella and Judy and Barbra

"""Dan Callahan casts a wide net over the eternal seas of twentieth-century music--the songs and the singers who keep us forever young, like themselves, lost in the awesome wonder of why we're here. The voices of these six great vocalists are alive in all their glory in the pages of this very compelling book."" --David Kaufman, author of Some Enchanted Evenings: The Glittering Life and Times of Mary Martin and Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door ""In an erudite study that reads like a page-turning novel, Dan Callahan deftly weaves together the stories of six great singers to create a rapturous meditation on the intimate effects of the human voice, the complexities of the drive to perform, and the endless riches of American popular song. He writes with a passion that heightens and sharpens his sensitivity to these voices and lives. The whole book sings."" --Imogen Sara Smith, author of In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City and Buster Keaton: The Persistence of Comedy ""The intertwined lives and careers of these singers give us a sweeping and evocative view of the musical and cultural world of the last century. Few artists define that time better than these six, whose musical leaps and disappointments; romances and marriages; passion, productivity, and poignance tell a story of America's heart. I couldn't stop reading Callahan's masterful work; it transported me right into that magical era."" --Sheila Weller, author of Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation ""The American songbook is a glorious assemblage of styles, traditions, and inventions. Its legendary stars have always crossed and cross-wired predictable boundaries, not just of music but of class, race, and temperament. Call the roll of the greats: Bing, Billie, Frank, Ella, Judy, and Barbra. Open this vibrant portrait gallery of a book and immerse yourself in the particulars of their lives and art. Dan Callahan is an astute critic and an engrossing storyteller."" --Margo Jefferson, author of Negroland and Constructing a Nervous System"