Jewish chauvinism aside, it’s a fact that Jews composed the great majority of tunes that make up the body of work known as the Great American Songbook. David Lehman, in A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs (Shocken/Nextbook) details how Jewish musical geniuses — Berlin, Gershwin, Hammerstein, Bernstein et al. — were inspired by American life and by their African-American peers in blues and jazz, and wrote so many lasting tunes. It is hard to imagine what 20th century American popular culture would be without the Jewish composers, who decided that “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” — M.S.
