http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/102011135

[Interview with Ernest Harburg : raw footage]

Raw interview footage used for the documentary Broadway, the American musical. Author Ernest Harburg, son of lyricist E. Y. (Yip) Harburg, speaks about his father's life and career as a songwriter who worked with many well-known composers. Topics of discussion include Yip's poverty as a child growing up in a tenement on New York's Lower East Side; his friendship and professional relationship with lyricist Ira Gershwin; his decision to become a full-time lyrcist after the failure of his electrical appliance business following the stock market crash in 1929; his introduction to composer Jay Gorney, and his first hit "I'm yours," which was recorded by Johnny Green; Yip's learning the craft of lyric writing by working with many composers; the creation of his hit song "Brother, can you spare a dime?" originally written for the Broadway musical Americana, including how the song came to be published, its meaning and structure, and its initial reception; Broadway as a bastion of artistic freedom; the artistic achievements of the immigrant Jewish community on the Lower East Side, including its second generation, particularly in songwriting; changes in the economics of producing shows on Broadway during the 1980s in comparison with the 1950s; the business tactics of producer David Merrick for the show 42nd Street; the "vintage period" of musicals produced on Broadway from the 1930s to the 1960s; Yip's desire to entertain as well as communicate social messages through his lyrics, as he does in his anti-war song Hooray for what? the show Bloomer girl, about a suffragette who invented bloomers, and musical Finian's rainbow, one of the first to contain a racially integrated chorus line; Yip's gifts as a collaborator who worked with over 60 composers; songwriting as a collaboration dependent equally on lyricist and composer; how rock music, after 1964, affected the popularity of Broadway show tunes; Broadway's formula which requires mixing commercial interests with artistic ones; the collaborative nature of creating shows on Broadway, the difficulties, and the rarity of success. Interview continues with audio only for last six minutes, with discussion on how words and music unite to make a good song; and the continuing relevance and popularity of "Brother, can you spare a dime?"

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