The Gershwins and Me. A Personal History in Twelve Songs by Michael Feinstein with Ian Jackman
signed first edition
2012 · New York
by FEINSTEIN, MICHAEL, IRA & GEORGE GERSHWIN
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. First Edition. First Printing. Signed by the author Michael Feinstein and dated by him in the year of publication with a small heart drawing next to his signature. Quarto, 351 pages. Illustrated. As new in an as new dust jacket. A loving and insightful history of Ira and George Gershwin by entertainer, singer, and the “Ambassador of the Great American Songbook”, Michael Feinstein, related through twelve chapters, each highlighting an individual Gershwin song, from ‘Strike Up the Band’ (1927) to ‘Love Is Here to Stay’ (1938). Includes a CD of Michael Feinstein’s original recordings of each of the twelve songs profiled in the book. With photographs throughout of personal moments and much rare Gershwin memorabilia Feinstein has collected over the years. As the publisher notes: “Michael Feinstein was just twenty years old [1977] when he got the chance of a lifetime: a job with his hero, Ira Gershwin. During their six-year partnership, the two became close friends. Feinstein blossomed under Gershwin’s mentorship, and Gershwin was reinvigorated by the younger man’s zeal for his and his brother George’s legacy....No other writer could give us such an authoritative inside perspective on these titans of American culture.” Sadly, George Gershwin passed away in 1937. In 1986, as a tribute to the music and the men he loved, Feinstein recorded his first CD, ‘Pure Gershwin’, which was released the following year to great acclaim. He is also a multi-platinum-selling, five-time Grammy-nominated recording artist and currently serves as Artistic Director for The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana. (Inventory #: 20890E)