Romancing the vernacular : Sammy Cahn and the enactment of request

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.