And There I Stood with My Piccolo (1948)
by Meredith Willson
Meredith Willson, native of Mason City, Iowa, reflects on his life from the time he was a small child until just before he decided to write his famous Broadway musical, The Music Man. From playing under John Philip Sousa in his famous band, to playing first flute with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Maestro Arturo Toscanini, to directing musical shows in Hollywood, Willson traveled across the United States (and the rest of the world) to follow his dreams of being in show business.
Willson's charming and modest personality shines through this autobiography, engaging the reader like a good friend. This light read will make you laugh and reach for the next book in this mini-series, "But He Doesn't Know the Territory."
Toronto Public Library: 780.924 W387 W387.2 (click for location)
Goodreads
Kirkus Review:
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.
by Meredith Willson
Meredith Willson, native of Mason City, Iowa, reflects on his life from the time he was a small child until just before he decided to write his famous Broadway musical, The Music Man. From playing under John Philip Sousa in his famous band, to playing first flute with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Maestro Arturo Toscanini, to directing musical shows in Hollywood, Willson traveled across the United States (and the rest of the world) to follow his dreams of being in show business.
Willson's charming and modest personality shines through this autobiography, engaging the reader like a good friend. This light read will make you laugh and reach for the next book in this mini-series, "But He Doesn't Know the Territory."
Toronto Public Library: 780.924 W387 W387.2 (click for location)
Goodreads
Kirkus Review:
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.
"But He Doesn't Know the Territory" (1959)
by Meredith Willson
Follow Meredith Willson, writer of The Music Man, through his journey of creating one of the most popular musicals to reach Broadway. After his first book, And There I Stood with My Piccolo, Willson was approached by two producers to write a musical about his "Iowa boyhood" and his charm reflected in the novel. He then spends over six years drafting, scrapping, re-writing, and finally auditioning his great musical for the great Kermit Bloomgarden. The ups and downs, the disappointments, and finally the successes of the musical draw the reader in, enriching their experience of The Music Man and leave them wanting more.
Toronto Public Library: 780.92 WIL WIL (click for location)
Goodreads
Kirkus Review:
Meredith Willson is the author and composer of the very successful musical comedy- The Music Man- as well as several jocular and not always funny books- And There I Stood With My Piccolo- Eggs I Have Laid, etc. While he has every right to be justly proud of his Broadway success,the sad fact is that only those who are intimately familiar with both the words and score of his show, or particularly interested in it, will be likely to get the most out of this book. It is a detailed and highly subjective account of the writing of the show from the moment of inspiration and inception to the opening night in New York-- and he is lavish with his own reactions as well as the reactions of others when faced with his material. He also writes a highly involuted backwoods baroque English- as though he had never known an unhappy moment in his life.... William Gibson did the same sort of thing for his Two for the Seesaw which might possibly indicate the offstage audience appeal. It seems marginal.
by Meredith Willson
Follow Meredith Willson, writer of The Music Man, through his journey of creating one of the most popular musicals to reach Broadway. After his first book, And There I Stood with My Piccolo, Willson was approached by two producers to write a musical about his "Iowa boyhood" and his charm reflected in the novel. He then spends over six years drafting, scrapping, re-writing, and finally auditioning his great musical for the great Kermit Bloomgarden. The ups and downs, the disappointments, and finally the successes of the musical draw the reader in, enriching their experience of The Music Man and leave them wanting more.
Toronto Public Library: 780.92 WIL WIL (click for location)
Goodreads
Kirkus Review:
Meredith Willson is the author and composer of the very successful musical comedy- The Music Man- as well as several jocular and not always funny books- And There I Stood With My Piccolo- Eggs I Have Laid, etc. While he has every right to be justly proud of his Broadway success,the sad fact is that only those who are intimately familiar with both the words and score of his show, or particularly interested in it, will be likely to get the most out of this book. It is a detailed and highly subjective account of the writing of the show from the moment of inspiration and inception to the opening night in New York-- and he is lavish with his own reactions as well as the reactions of others when faced with his material. He also writes a highly involuted backwoods baroque English- as though he had never known an unhappy moment in his life.... William Gibson did the same sort of thing for his Two for the Seesaw which might possibly indicate the offstage audience appeal. It seems marginal.
Title image found here.