What do you think?
Rate this book
Inventing Champagne: The Worlds of Lerner and Loewe
Looks at the Broadway songwriting team's complex professional relationship as well as glimpsing into their glamorous private lives and their friendships with other celebrities
350 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1990
14 people want to read
About the author
Gene Lees
42 books6 followersFrederick Eugene John Lees (February 8, 1928 – April 22, 2010) was a Canadian music critic, biographer, lyricist, and journalist.
Lees worked as a newspaper journalist in his native Canada before moving to the United States, where he was a music critic and lyricist.
Lees worked as a newspaper journalist in his native Canada before moving to the United States, where he was a music critic and lyricist.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 6, 2016
I doubt I would have selected this book had it not fallen into my lap free, but I do not regret having read it. I learned a great deal about two of the greatest creators of early twentieth century Broadway musicals, and a fair amount about many other people connected to that world and those people. I have something of a better understanding of why everyone says My Fair Lady was the pinnacle both of their own work and of the medium, why Camelot, which I enjoy on film and love on the stage, is considered a disaster, and what path brought this duo to their place in history. I also learned quite a bit about them personally that was at best disappointing, including their failed marriages, and Lerner's drug use. It is a well-constructed and well-told history, in the main.
One part of it that I found perhaps a bit annoying occurred more frequently in the early chapters. The author would recount some episode or incident from the lives of one or both of the featured creators, and then explain why despite being popularly believed and even elsewhere published the story is almost certainly untrue. It seems that Lerner particularly, but to some degree perhaps also Loewe, was not above "embellishing" his life story. Thus we do not know where Loewe studied piano and composition because he claimed to have teachers who could not have taught him, and we have events that could not have happened when or where claimed. It seems, though, that the author is in part writing for an audience who already has heard much about his subjects and he wishes to let them know when what they have heard is not the truth.
He also has the habit of opining occasionally about subjects, in which what he declares sounds credible but is not verifiable. He explains that the Broadway musical died because of the rise of television, but not, as one might extrapolate, because people could now be entertained in their own homes; that had already begun with radio. Rather, in the early part of the century radio was dominated by radio networks based in New York City. These networks were closely tied to the New York culture, and so it was typical for them to broadcast live concerts of symphonies and jazz ensembles, and performances of show tunes. When television started conquering entertainment, the radio networks were largely dismantled in favor of television networks, and local radio stations in need of programming shifted their dependence away from New York-based networks to record companies. It is, as I say, a credible explanation, but it is not well supported. After all, he elsewhere notes that Ed Sullivan was significantly responsible for the rise in America of Elvis Presley and The Beatles, and those influences may have done more to shift American listeners away from Broadway (which apparently has its roots in Austrian and German Operetta) to the new music. On the other hand, it does seem that Lerner's subsequent efforts to create something great all failed, and the author says that it was partly because he never understood that he should write for the theater audience (as Sondheim apparently learned) instead of for the rest of the world.
We also see a significant contrast between the two creators, Lerner pushing himself to exhaustion trying to get one more hit and losing a great deal of his accumulated wealth in the process, Loewe retiring after his first coronary trouble and enjoying the fruits of his early success for the remainder of his life. Lerner's life is filled with all the good things and is terribly sad.
It is worth reading if you have an interest in twentieth century history, the history of modern popular music and theater, or the rich and famous. There are connections to the Kennedys, the movie industry, London and Paris; we see the rise of Rex Harrison, Richard Burton, Robert Goulet, and Julie Andrews, among others, and rub shoulders with composers like Porter, Hart, and Webber. It is not an inspiring story, though, and it certainly is not one that gives insight in how to become rich and famous, although it might cause you to wonder whether that's all it's cracked up to be.
One part of it that I found perhaps a bit annoying occurred more frequently in the early chapters. The author would recount some episode or incident from the lives of one or both of the featured creators, and then explain why despite being popularly believed and even elsewhere published the story is almost certainly untrue. It seems that Lerner particularly, but to some degree perhaps also Loewe, was not above "embellishing" his life story. Thus we do not know where Loewe studied piano and composition because he claimed to have teachers who could not have taught him, and we have events that could not have happened when or where claimed. It seems, though, that the author is in part writing for an audience who already has heard much about his subjects and he wishes to let them know when what they have heard is not the truth.
He also has the habit of opining occasionally about subjects, in which what he declares sounds credible but is not verifiable. He explains that the Broadway musical died because of the rise of television, but not, as one might extrapolate, because people could now be entertained in their own homes; that had already begun with radio. Rather, in the early part of the century radio was dominated by radio networks based in New York City. These networks were closely tied to the New York culture, and so it was typical for them to broadcast live concerts of symphonies and jazz ensembles, and performances of show tunes. When television started conquering entertainment, the radio networks were largely dismantled in favor of television networks, and local radio stations in need of programming shifted their dependence away from New York-based networks to record companies. It is, as I say, a credible explanation, but it is not well supported. After all, he elsewhere notes that Ed Sullivan was significantly responsible for the rise in America of Elvis Presley and The Beatles, and those influences may have done more to shift American listeners away from Broadway (which apparently has its roots in Austrian and German Operetta) to the new music. On the other hand, it does seem that Lerner's subsequent efforts to create something great all failed, and the author says that it was partly because he never understood that he should write for the theater audience (as Sondheim apparently learned) instead of for the rest of the world.
We also see a significant contrast between the two creators, Lerner pushing himself to exhaustion trying to get one more hit and losing a great deal of his accumulated wealth in the process, Loewe retiring after his first coronary trouble and enjoying the fruits of his early success for the remainder of his life. Lerner's life is filled with all the good things and is terribly sad.
It is worth reading if you have an interest in twentieth century history, the history of modern popular music and theater, or the rich and famous. There are connections to the Kennedys, the movie industry, London and Paris; we see the rise of Rex Harrison, Richard Burton, Robert Goulet, and Julie Andrews, among others, and rub shoulders with composers like Porter, Hart, and Webber. It is not an inspiring story, though, and it certainly is not one that gives insight in how to become rich and famous, although it might cause you to wonder whether that's all it's cracked up to be.
October 22, 2024
First, the 2 reviews here are accurate and thorough. Have to confess to speed reading most of the last third of the book which covered the post 'Camelot' portion of their lives. I grew up in this era and was fortunate to see Rex Harrison and Stanley Holloway at the National Theater in DC during a revival of 'My Fair Lady' in the early '60's (if my memory is correct). Definitely a fan of the song writers -Lerner and Loewe, Rodgers and Hammerstein, David and Bacharach, Holland Dozier and Holland . . . . etc. I would recommend this to readers of a certain age for which these movies and songs were a part of your life. Otherwise, could be heavy slogging. Although, a great deal of research surrounding the music and personalities of the heyday of Broadway are included. Wondering why Lees hasn't put together a history of Columbia, Capital, A&M and Decca from back in the day?
June 24, 2009
This book probably deserves better than 3 stars from me, given that I tore through it in no time. I really enjoyed this author's "Waiting for Dizzy," a collection of essays about jazz and jazz musicians. This one (a/k/a "Inventing Champagne") ended up spending a little too much time on Behind-the-Music stories, mainly about Lerner, who married 8 times, had a pretty serious drug problem, lived above his means (7x alimony not helping there), ran afoul of the IRS, and burned out a number of co-collaborators. In contrast, Loewe retired much earlier and lived a quiet, private life so there is much less on him. I would have preferred a little more about how they put music and lyrics together, particularly for My Fair Lady, and about how popular music and musicals changed in the years covered here. The author does comment on both, just less than I would have liked.
I would still recommend this book to anyone interested in American musicals. I look forward to reading more books by Gene Lees.
I would still recommend this book to anyone interested in American musicals. I look forward to reading more books by Gene Lees.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews