AND THERE I STOOD WITH MY PICCOLO

by Meredith Willson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 16, 1948

Nostalgia, a naivete which may be a little disingenuous, and a gentle, easy humor for these moments musicals in the career of Meredith Willson, piccolo player, composer, and part of radio's show business. From a Mason City, Iowa, childhood which began his musical education at the piano- but didn't get much beyond ""Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam""- to New York and serious study of the flute under Georges Barrere. Trouping with Sousa, playing at theatres in between, the Philharmonic for many years- from Mongelberg to The Presence (Toscanini), and finally the lure of the West Coast (or money?) and a little about everyone in radio and motion pictures with a general geniality for all as his program, Maxwell House, put a great many celebrities on the air. The war, and army shows, and finally back to Hollywood- and a wife... An attractive, amusing recall of several decades in music which is more personality-conscious than personal, makes the most of a minor career with none of the primadonma plumage of this profession.

Pub Date: Sept. 16, 1948

ISBN: 0816667691

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1948

Categories: NONFICTION