The Stardust Road

Composer, singer, lyricist, and actor Hoagy Carmichael (1899–1981) was one of America's most versatile songwriters, crossing the boundaries of jazz, Tin Pan Alley, blues, and film. His classic songs "Stardust," "Georgia on My Mind," "Heart and Soul," and numerous others have been recorded by artists as diverse as Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Garcia, Dizzy Gillespie, Jerry Lee Lewis, Willie Nelson, Charlie Parker, Paul Robeson, and Mel Tormé. This book combines for the first time Carmichael's two autobiographies— The Stardust Road (1946) and Sometimes I Wonder (1965)—with new photos exclusive to this edition. Here you will find reminiscences of his childhood and education in Indiana; his musical collaborations with Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and Johnny Mercer; and his acting career ( To Have and Have Not, The Best Years of Our Lives, Young Man with a Horn ). More than just the story of an extraordinary life, these memoirs convey the excitement and energy of the early days of jazz.