1913–1993 · American Lyricist
Sammy Cahn was the consummate professional lyricist of the Sinatra era — quick, witty, emotionally direct, and utterly committed to the singability of every syllable. He understood that a lyric is made to be performed, and he wrote accordingly: words that land, vowels that sing, and rhythms that the body wants to move with.
Sammy Cahn was born Samuel Cohen on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1913 and grew up steeped in Yiddish musical theater, vaudeville, and the rhythms of the streets. He developed one of the most facile lyrical minds in the history of the American song — he was famously able to write a lyric in the time it took his collaborator to play the tune once through. His primary partners were Jule Styne and Jimmy Van Heusen, and with Sinatra as his primary interpreter, he won four Academy Awards for Best Original Song.
This workshop features ten of Cahn's most jazz-friendly songs. The Tender Trap and Come Dance With Me are swinging, extroverted, and built for a big room; I Should Care and Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry are intimate and searching; I Fall in Love Too Easily is one of the most quietly devastating ballads in the canon. Singers will encounter a full range of emotional territory, all delivered with Cahn's characteristic economy and precision.
Cahn's words swing harder than almost any other lyricist's — he understood syncopation, he understood breath, and he understood the emotional arc a singer needs to carry a story from the first note to the last. Working with his catalogue is working with one of the masters of the craft.
Each song includes lead sheet and lyric sheet in both a men's and women's key, plus a practice backing track. In addition, there are YouTube links to a variety of artist renditions to inspire you.