Full Description
The music of Broadway is one of America's most unique and popular calling cards. In Broadway to Main Street, author Laurence Maslon tells the story of how the most beloved songs of musical theater made their way from the Theater District to living rooms across the country.
The crossroads where the music of Broadway meets popular culture is an expansive and pervasive juncture throughout most of the twentieth century--from sheet music to radio broadcasts to popular and original cast recordings--and continues to influence culture today through television, streaming, and the Internet. The original Broadway cast album is one of the most successful, yet undervalued, genres in the history of popular recording. The history of Broadway music is also the history of American popular music; the technological, commercial, and marketing forces of communications and media over the last century were inextricably bound up in the enterprise of bringing the musical gems of New York's Theater District to living rooms along Main Streets across the nation.
Featuring interviews with Stephen Schwartz, Chita Rivera, Steve Lawrence, and prominent record producers and music critics, the story of this commercial and emotional phenomenon is told here in full. This updated edition--which features commentary on the repackaged Wicked cast album--is an ideal companion for all fans of American musical theater and popular music.
Contents
CHAPTER 1: Turn Over for Act Two: Content and the Context of Broadway CHAPTER 2: The Jewish Population of Tennessee: Sheet Music and the Imprimatur of Broadway CHAPTER 3: Face the Music (and Dance): The Gramophone and the Voice of Broadway CHAPTER 4: The Majestic Theater of the Air CHAPTER 5: The Farmer and the Cowman Should Be Friends CHAPTER 6: Every Home's a First Night CHAPTER 7: Songs for Swingin' Show Fans CHAPTER 8: "And My Fair Lady Is a Terrific Show, They Say" CHAPTER 9: Hymn for a Sunday Evening CHAPTER 10: A Few of My Favorite Things CHAPTER 11: Was There Too Much of a Crowd, All Too Lush and Loud? CHAPTER 12: Losing My Timing This Late in My Career CHAPTER 13: "You Never Seen a Show Like This Before!" CHAPTER 14: "We're Gonna Make You Popular": Merch and the Commodification of Broadway CHAPTER 15: History Has Its Eyes on You: The Internet and the Streaming of Broadway
