GUEST BLOG: Deconstructing a Song with Kleban Prize winner Amanda Yesnowitz
As the story goes, Dorothy Hammerstein once overheard a man at a lavish NYC event extolling the virtues of “Ol’ Man River.” Correcting the fellow, who attributed the song’s genius to Jerome Kern, she interjected sassily: “Jerome Kern wrote 'dum, dum, dum-dum.’ My husband wrote ‘Ol' Man River’.” Historically, lyricists get the short shrift. But ... read more