The Music Man

Chronicles the creation of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man—reprinted now as the Broadway Edition Composer Meredith Willson described The Music Man as “an Iowan’s attempt to pay tribute to his home state.” Now featuring a new foreword by noted singer and educator Michael Feinstein, this book presents Willson’s reflections on the ups and downs, surprises and disappointments, and finally successes of making one of America’s most popular musicals. Willson’s whimsical, personable writing style brings readers back in time with him to the 1950s to experience firsthand the exciting trials and tribulations of creating a Broadway masterpiece. Fresh admiration of the musical—and the man behind the music—is sure to result.

Rhyming, cumulative text adapted from a classic nursery song introduces six musical instruments, while glimpses through die-cut windows hint at who is playing each one.

Leslie Bricusse grew up in Pinner in the war years - with a family that's relationship with the theatre was limited to a grandmother who earned a living scrubbing the front steps of the London Apollo. But for Leslie's life was to be a little more privileged and his involvement with the Arts scene was to be phenomenal. Like most children Leslie turned his modest five by seven bedroom in south west London into a jungle of movie posters and train sets; he detested his weekly piano lessons and can't quite comprehend how his sister got him to attend tap dancing classes. At just six years of age, Leslie associated music with the hits of George Gershwin, but his interest in music was to be put relatively on hold for another six years; till one day he wondered down to the West End, on his way home from the public school he attended in Hampstead, and witnessed his first MGM musical: an experience that was to change his life. After 2 years National Service and a degree education at Cambridge University, Leslie was to become on of the greatest score writers of all time. With awards, including Oscars, for both stage and film scores including "Gold Finger: James Bond" and more recently, "Scrooge". This is a wonderfully written, detailed and witty account of life as an ordinary boy to becoming an extraordinary and talented figure in the music world.

This fantasy novel is about an epic adventure, where a young boy, named Jimmy, meets someone extraordinary, Cornelius, who shares the same love for music as him. Cornelius introduces Jimmy to the piano that's in his attic. And from there, they go on to a magical parallel universe. Enjoy this work of mystery, fantasy, adventure, and science fiction.Without further delay, Enjoy......The Music Man

And There I Stood with My Piccolo, originally published in 1948, is a zesty and colorful memoir of composer Meredith Willson’s early years—from growing up in Mason City, Iowa, to playing the flute with John Philip Sousa’s band and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, to a successful career in composing for radio and motion pictures in Hollywood. It was apparent to everyone, except maybe Willson himself, that he was on his way to something big. Lighthearted and inspiring, it is no surprise Willson’s tales caught the attention of prominent Broadway producers. In 1957, just nine years after the publication of this book, The Music Man became a Broadway sensation, winning five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Meredith Willson’s musical comedy is to this day arguably the most produced and beloved musical in American culture.

For half a century, Michael Jackson’s music has been an indelible part of our cultural consciousness. Landmark albums such as Off the Wall and Thriller shattered records, broke racial barriers, amassed awards, and set a new standard for popular music. While his songs continue to be played in nearly every corner of the world, however, they have rarely been given serious critical attention. The first book dedicated solely to exploring his creative work, Man in the Music guides us through an unparalleled analysis of Jackson’s recordings, album by album, from his trailblazing work with Quincy Jones to his later collaborations with Teddy Riley, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, and Rodney Jerkins. Drawing on rare archival material and on dozens of original interviews with the collaborators, engineers, producers, and songwriters who helped bring the artist’s music into the world, Jackson expert and acclaimed cultural critic Joseph Vogel reveals the inspirations, demos, studio sessions, technological advances, setbacks and breakthroughs, failures and triumphs, that gave rise to an immortal body of work.

As Dede Montgomery moves through grief to accept of the death of her father, the stories in My Music Man shed light on change, acceptance, and forgiveness amid close personal relationships and Oregon's natural landscapes. The reader is catapulted into autumn on the Willamette's riverbank in the 1960s with the author and her brothers, where they discover their father's own childhood stories and the intimate relationship he shares with the land. Tales about generations of family weave between time periods, held together by the constancy of place and colored by memories of picking berries and filberts, traveling through the West Linn locks, and swimming in the river on a hot summer day. Montgomery describes small-town life in a school where everyone knows everybody, and how it felt to be an only girl in what often felt like a never-ending sea of boys.

Dan Barker, ex-preacher and co-founder of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, travels widely, arguing in debates and speaking on his beliefs that Christianity is false, God does not exist, and the Bible is filled with errors and mythology. He has been touted as one of America's leading atheists. Yet close examination of his arguments shows that Barker's reasons for disbelief are poorly reasoned and miss the mark as they are aimed at a mistaken caricature of Christian theism. Answering the Music Man exposes Barker's misunderstandings of Christianity and provides compelling answers to Barker's arguments.