Fiorello!, a show about New York City mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, is fabulous. Check it out, even if you are not interested in musical theater.
Two of the best tunes are Little Tin Box and Politics and Poker. The show straddled the 1950s and 60s: According to the notes on YouTube–which are from Wikipedia–it opened on Broadway in November 1959 and ran until 1961. The original cast included Howard DaSilva and Tom Bosley, who won his greatest fame as Mr. Cunningham on Happy Days.
Here are some books to check out.
Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.
What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.
The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").
David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.
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