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Romancing the vernacular : Sammy Cahn and the enactment of request

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dc.contributor.advisor Rabinowitz, Ivan Arthur
dc.contributor.author Holloway, Marilyn June
dc.date.accessioned 2017-01-04T08:56:34Z
dc.date.available 2017-01-04T08:56:34Z
dc.date.issued 2016-04
dc.identifier.citation Holloway, Marilyn June (2016) Romancing the vencacular : Sammy Cahn and the enactment of request, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/21897> en
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10500/21897
dc.description.abstract The lyrics of Sammy Cahn played a dominant role in shaping the Golden Age of American light music. He remains the most successful lyricist in cinema history, in terms of Academy Awards and Nominations, yet he has received little acclaim for his achievements. This thesis explores the diverse constituents of his creative genius, focusing on his ability to “romance the vernacular”, and write “bespoke” material on request. The argument follows a chronological path, tracing the major influences on Cahn’s life: vaudeville and musical theatre, the growth of the film industry, and the collaborators and performers who helped him achieve a level of mastery that he sustained for nearly fifty years. Particular emphasis is placed on his relationship with Frank Sinatra, on both a personal and professional level. Cahn had an acute awareness of the human condition and his ability to convey a range of emotions to match mood and moment displayed consummate craft and intellect, with a self-confidence that bordered on bravado. His contemporaries in the Golden Age of popular song have received due recognition, yet little has been written about Cahn, whose appreciation of the interaction between spontaneity and creativity remains unsurpassed by fellow lyricists. He had an intuitive understanding of the vernacular and an instinctive ability to write to order. The imagistic texture of the lyrics coupled with the prosodic intonation demonstrate an intimate correlation between personality and composition which is supported by biographical content. The argument, augmented by an audio-documentary, develops systematically through a study of the lyrics, focusing on the cultural and musicological significance of Cahn’s oeuvre. The material for both the written text and the two accompanying CDs are from personal archives and the Margaret Herrick Library in Los Angeles, which is the repository for the Sammy Cahn Collection, bequeathed to that institution after the death of Cahn in 1993. en
dc.format.extent 1 online resource (iv, 216 leaves) : color illustrations, photographs
dc.language.iso en en
dc.subject Sammy Cahn en
dc.subject Vitaphone en
dc.subject Vernacular en
dc.subject Vaudeville en
dc.subject Parody en
dc.subject Jule Styne en
dc.subject Jimmy van Heusen en
dc.subject Frank Sinatra en
dc.subject Song lyrics en
dc.subject Rhyme en
dc.subject.ddc 780.268
dc.subject.lcsh English language -- Accents and accentuation en
dc.subject.lcsh English language -- Intonation en
dc.subject.lcsh English language -- Spoken English en
dc.subject.lcsh Cahn, Sammy -- Interviews en
dc.subject.lcsh Cahn, Sammy -- Songs and music en
dc.subject.lcsh Cahn, Sammy -- Appreciation en
dc.subject.lcsh Cahn, Sammy -- Criticism and interpretation en
dc.subject.lcsh Cahn, Sammy -- Friends and associates en
dc.subject.lcsh Lyricists -- United States -- 20th century en
dc.title Romancing the vernacular : Sammy Cahn and the enactment of request en
dc.type Thesis en
dc.description.department English Studies en
dc.description.degree D. Litt. et Phil. (English)


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