Читать книгу They're Playing Our Song - Max Wilk - Страница 11

Max Wilk and I have been friends through the years, and when he wanted to stop by one day to see me, I wondered what it was about. It turned out he was writing a book about some of the greatest songwriters in the country, many of them very good friends of mine. He wanted to know more about my father, Richard, and that brought up some of the men my father wrote with: Leo Robin and Johnny Mercer. Then we discussed some of my father’s dearest friends, like Harry Warren and others. And so the afternoon went by and we finished talking much later that evening.

In discussing my singing career, I told him of various memories I had with singing certain songs. I told him how instrumental Johnny Mercer was in finding great songs for me on Capitol Records, such as Moonlight in Vermont. I know whenever I sing anywhere, people always come up to me and say “When you sang Thanks for the Memory, it reminded me of my wedding. It was my husband’s and my favorite song.” Or “I fell in love with my wife in summer camp, and the song they were playing that year on the jukebox was It Might as Well Be Spring.”

I told Max about a young man, age fifteen, who came in with his family to hear me sing at the Algonquin Hotel, and after my performance he asked me for an autograph. Then he said, “Miss Whiting, may I talk to you a minute? I’ve been exposed to classical music and Rock ‘n Roll. May I ask what you call the music you sing?” I told him it was Pop music—or in terms of today’s lingo, middle-of-the-road. “Well,” he said, “it’s awesome, it’s wonderful, I never heard lyrics like that, and it’s something I will never forget.”

Songs evoke memories more than anything else in the world, and that’s why I think this book is such a treasure for everyone who loves music. I thank Max for writing it.

MARGARET WHITING