Fine and Dandy
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The Life and Work of Kay Swift
Vicki Ohl
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Format: ClothPrice: $65.00
The first biography of a composer who broke the gender barrier on Broadway
Kay Swift (1897–1993) was one of the few women composers active on Broadway in the first half of the twentieth century. Best known as George Gershwin’s assistant, musical adviser, and intimate friend, Swift was in fact an accomplished musician herself, a pianist and composer whose Fine and Dandy (1930) was the first complete Broadway musical written by a woman. This fascinating book—the first biography of Swift—discusses her music and her extraordinary life.
Vicki Ohl describes Swift’s work for musical theater, the ballet, Radio City Music Hall’s Rockettes, and commercial shows. She also tells how Swift served as director of light music for the 1939 World’s Fair, eloped with a cowboy from the rodeo at the fair, and abandoned her native New York for Oregon, later fashioning her experiences into an autobiographical novel, Who Could Ask for Anything More? Informed by rich material, including Swift’s unpublished memoirs and extensive interviews with her family members and friends, this book captures the essence and spirit of a remarkable woman.
Vicki Ohl is professor of piano and theory at Heidelberg College.
“This first full-scale biography of Kay Swift is a comprehensive examination of her life and work in all its phases.”—Geoffrey Block, author of Richard Rodgers, Yale Broadway Masters
“Vicki Ohl has written a superb, richly-nuanced biography of the American composer Kay Swift, beloved colleague of George and Ira Gershwin. Her compelling chronicle of Swift’s life and work is highly recommended.”—Robert Kimball, artistic advisor to the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts, co-author of The Gershwins, and editor of The Complete Lyrics of Ira Gershwin
“Kay Swift’s most compelling creations stand on their own. And at last her legacy is receiving the thorough reevaluation that it deserves.”—Will Friedwald, New York Sun
“Ohl . . . deserves credit . . . for producing what surely will be the definitive biography of this fascinating woman.”—
Publishers Weekly
"Vicky Ohl's beautitully written biography . . . makes it clear that Swift was an important musical talent who led a fasinating life."—Stephen Peithman, stage-directions.com
“[An] engaging and thoroughly researched chronicle of [Swift’s] long and creative life. . . . Ohl devotes proper attention to Swift’s music, offering generous examples from her songs and classical scores, photos, a valuable bibliography, and a comprehensive list of her compositions.”—Wholenote
"Ohl has done a good job of conveying, through words and well-chosen musical examples, the verve and ability of Kay Swift. This is an enjoyable book; I recommend it."—Justin E. A. Busch, Ohioana Quarterly
Publication Date: June 10, 2004
15 b/w photographs + 21 musical examples
