Tring Book Club - The Sanest Man in the Room by Don Black

 

I had expected an autobiography, but how wrong can you be. This is just a series of anecdotes littered with stacks of lyrics to pad out the book. The only reason it didn't get one star is that it provoked lots of research into songs and singers with whom I am familiar. It should also have got one star for the worst title of any book ever, (but typical of this boastful writing), no list of chapters at the beginning, even worse no index at the end (so lazy), the constant use of song lyrics to pad out the book and the last fifty pages of  a dash through "More Musicals" and "My Top Ten Musicals". Although I quite enjoyed the early chapters (three pages on average, including lyrics). But when he talks about an old school friend, it has to be Laurence Graff who made billions in diamonds. That is so typical.

I was amazed he was Matt Monro's manager for a while, after writing the lyric to a melody by Udo Jurgens. "Walk Away" became one of my favourite songs of all time, by the best crooner ever. Then next up came his first collaboration with John Barry when they wrote the theme song for "Thunderball". I did like to hear about their work together on so many Bond movies. I had to agree that the lyrics for Lulu's "To Sir With Love" are quite special: "who has taken you from crayons to perfume" and "for closing books and long last looks" could not be better.

Early on, I jumped forward to a batch of photos and found Don Black next to A R Rahman. What were they doing together? I knew Rahman mainly for his brilliant score for Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" and the great dance routine at the end to "Jai Ho". I found a video on YouTube of the author talking about his collaboration with Rahman on the musical "Bombay Dreams".

I have to admit that Don Black's body of work is huge. Just to pick a few: the two songs with Quincy Jones for "The Italian Job", ("On Days Like These" and "The Self Preservation Society"), working with Andrew Lloyd Webber on "Tell Me On A Sunday" (some of the best lyrics in any musical), the Oscar winning "Born Free" (not originally selected as the main theme for the movie) and a Connie Francis number "If I Never Sing Another Song". Her LP from 1959 was one of the first I ever owned. But Black picks out Connie singing his song "If I never sing another song" (first recorded my Matt Monro) which I found on YouTube.

But at the end of the book there are fifty pages in chapters called "More Musicals" and "My Top Ten Musicals". Just total rubbish and why this is not an autobiography. For something decent, read Dirk Bogarde's seven or Michael Palin's "Halfway to Hollywood".