Intimate Nights: The Golden Age of New York Cabaret [Paperback] Review

If life is truly a cabaret, than James Gavin has written a spectacular history of that night life. This updated edition of Gavin's 1992 book of the same title concerns the history of cabaret in America--and it's a real dazzler.
Beginning in the speakeasies of the '30s and progressing through the glamorous '40s and '50s to the repressive '50s, the book takes us to the wide-open sexuality of the '60s and '70s, the devastation from HIV of the '80s and early '90s to where we stand today. It's a show-biz history of an admittedly small niche in American entertainment, but an extraordinarily rich and creative one.From Bobby Short and Mabel Mercer through Phyllis Diller and Barbra Streisand and Peter Allen to the Callaway sisters, Barbara Cook and Ute Lemper, there is something here for all tastes and all moods.
The art of cabaret--and be sure it is an art--is the experience of sitting in a quiet club, some glamorous, some sewers, and listening to a singer perform . . . seemingly just for you.Old standards are reinterpreted, new material marveled at,forgotten songs recalled.The audience in encouraged to feel, think--and maybe have a drink or two.Scrupulously researched, Gavin has managed to not only create a chronological history (including the stars, and the genius accompanists, crafty presenters, scummy landlords and adoring fans) but lovingly describes performers and performances. But be forewarned: The discography at the end of the book is incredibly comprehensive, and by the time you've finished reading about these legendary talents, you're going to want pull out the charge card and hit amazon.com
So stop sitting alone in your room, buy this book, and discovers just how much more music you can hearplay, if, old friend, you come to the cabaret.

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Product Description:
- Fully revised updated and expanded edition of an ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award winner
- Cultural history plus celebrity anecdotes
- Up-to-the-minute look at the current New York cabaret scene
Intimate Nights is the definitive history of cabaret as it evolved in New York City in the years after World War II. But that doesn't mean it's dry and academic. Good heavens, no. Settle in for racy tales of nightlife, revealed in interviews with dozens of the people who lived it: Bobby Short, Eartha Kitt, Mabel Mercer, Bette Midler, and many more. Author James Gavin has tracked down rare, early stories about the legends who came out of New York nightclubs-and that means Barbra Streisand, Woody Allen, Nichols and May, Johnny Mathis, Carol Burnett, Lenny Bruce, among others. Part cultural history, part celebrity gossip, Intimate Nights offers an intimate look at the creatures of the nightclubs.

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