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Sources
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The following is a list of the principal sources used in creating the content
of this website.
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On The Sunny Side of the Street by Deborah Grace
Winer
The primary reference book on Dorothy Fields, and consequently the
source for much of the material on this website is On The Sunny
Side of the Street by Deborah Grace Winer.
Published in 1997, the book contains a wealth of material on Dorothy's life and
work. The author conveys a clear picture of her subject's upbringing and later
lifestyle, but Dorothy's character remains somewhat veiled; the reader is left
with the impression of someone kindly, charming and urbane, but with nothing
clearer than that.
This one reservation aside, I would recommend the book wholeheartedly. Winer
packs a great deal of information into the text, while maintaining readability.
Many of the anecdotes are fascinating, and there are hundreds of wonderful
illustrations of the subject, her family and friends, and of her films and
shows.
The lyrics to several songs are quoted in full; however since this is
principally a biography, there is little detailed analysis of her work.
The book is published by Schirmer Books.
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Ethan Mordden
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Ethan Mordden is an authority on the Broadway musical. Among his
most recent publications are four books each of which concentrates
on Broadway musicals from a different decade: the 1920s, the 1940s,
the 1950s and the 1960s.
Extensive research, breadth of knowledge, a confidence in his own
opinions and writing skills of a high order enable Mordden to bring
a succession of Broadway flops and triumphs to life. The books covering
the 40s to the 70s contain peachy descriptions of Fields' shows
as follows:
Beautiful Mornin' : The Broadway Musical in the 1940s has
Up in Central Park.
Coming up Roses : The Broadway Musical in the 1950s has
Arms and the Girl, A
Tree Grows in Brooklyn, By the Beautiful
Sea and Redhead.
Open a New Window: The Broadway Musical in the 1960s has
Sweet Charity.
One More Kiss: The Broadway Musical in the 1970s has Seesaw.
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Max Wilk : They're Playing Our Song
Max Wilk has written several books on popular song and songwriters.
This work is a unique collection of interviews he carried out with
the greatest American songwriters, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Dorothy Fields interview is particularly interesting - the reader
gains an impression of her personality, and there are several great
anecdotes.
This book is highly recommended.
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Henry Kane: How To Write A Song
This book, published in 1962, consists principally of interviews with 10 successful songwriters.
Dorothy Fields is one of them, along with Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael
and Noel Coward.
The interviews focus on advice for budding songwriters. Kane writes
well (he describes Johnny Mercer's accent ) and one gains a good impression
of the personalities of the subjects. The interview with Fields (spread
over 3 different occasions) appears to have occurred in 1955 or 1956.
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Show Music on Record: The First One Hundred Years
“A comprehensive list of original cast and studio cast performances issued
on comerical phonograph records, covering music of the American stage, scereen,
and television, with composer perrfomances and other selected collateral
recordings.”
This is a wonderful reference work by Jack Raymond, available in book form or
as a CD-ROM.
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Hollywood Song : The Complete Film & Musical Companion by Ken Bloom
An astounding reference work which lists all songs featured in the movies
Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick
to
Zorro's Fighting Legion
with 7037 other films in between.
This is a companion volume to Bloom's
American Song: The Complete Musical Theatre Companion
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Not Since Carrie : 40 Years of Broadway Flops by Ken Mandelbaum
Lots of fascinating detail is provided on two hundred flops, including Arms and
the Girl and Carnival in Flanders, to the book of which Dorothy Fields made a
contribution. Some of Mandelbaum's speculations on the reasons for the shows'
failures are less than persuasive.
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Broadway Babies Say Goodnight by Mark Steyn
A collection of essays on musicals by an outstanding critic and writer. His
view is strikingly individual, but is usually convincingly argued, particularly
when he writes about lyrics. Sometimes I am less clear on his arguments, as in
the chapter on gays and the musical, entitled “The Fags”, which has
offended many.
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Ladies Don't Write Lyrics by Mark Steyn
 For
Dorothy Fields' centenary Mark Steyn produced a 48-page booklet which
can be bought at his site. The booklet is cheaply produced but has
lots of illustrations. Most importantly it's full of great insights,
starting with a short general section and followed by pieces on 20
of her songs. The price includes a copy of the CD An Evening with
Dorothy Fields.
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Song by Song – 14 Great Lyric Writers by Caryl Brahms and Ned Sherrin
Short essays on 14 lyricists (Berlin, Porter, Gershwin, Hart, Hammerstein,
Fields, Dietz, Harburg, Coward, Mercer, Loesser, Lerner, Harnick, Sondheim),
packed with information, and some telling anecdotes (reliable old Sherrin) and
comments. Published 1984
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Radio programmes on Dorothy Fields
1. In July 2000 National Public Radio paid tribute to Dorothy Fields. The tribute is accessible via the Internet.
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2. In June 2002, Angela Richards and I appeared on Woman's
Hour to talk about Dorothy Fields.
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TV program on women songwriters
 In
1999 PBS broadcast a documentary about women songwriters, in which
Dorothy features prominently,now available on both VHS and DVD.
The program is called Yours for a Song: The
Women of Tin Pan Alley.
It's a very interesting program, and includes a lot of archive
photos and some clips of Dorothy, including her singing Blue
Again in the 1930s (with McHugh at the piano) and making
a TV appearance on Perry Como's show in the 1950s.
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Stage Door Canteen
In 1943 Dorothy (along with hundreds of other celebrities) made a guest appearance in this film comedy.
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