Somewhere for Me: A Biography of Richard Rodgers

by Meryle Secrest

No American composer has been more widely celebrated, nor so consistently misunderstood as Richard Rodgers. Although he was one of America's most brilliant and prolific composers, whose credits include more than 900 published songs, 40 Broadway musicals and numerous films, Rodgers is widely believed to be the almost stolid opposite of who he really was. Meryle Secrest shows us for the first time his complex nature and the inspiration for his art. Looking intensely at Rodger's unparalleled career, Secrest follows his close and fruitful working relationship with Lorenz Hart, a collaboration that resulted in more than thirty musicals but was ultimately undone by Hart's alcoholism. Moving on to Rodger's second collaborator, Secrest records the triumphs with the gifted and more stable Oscar Hammerstein, including Carousel , South Pacific and The King and I , along with many more. Rodgers' personal life is explored, as well. Secrest writes about the composer's childhood, and how, from an early age, he used music to escape. And she explores Rodgers' own battle with alcohol, as well as the deep tensions in his 49-year marriage to Dorothy Feiner. Somewhere for Me is both a vivid portrait of American musical theatre, and an illuminating examination of one of its greatest artists.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

478 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Meryle Secrest was born and educated in Bath, England, and lives in Washington, DC. She is the author of twelve biographies and was awarded the 2006 Presidential National Humanities Medal.

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough, excellent, absorbing, well-researched life and works biography.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Meryle Secrest's biographies. They are well written, not overly bitchy, and well researched. She gets good interviews. Richard Rodgers doesn't come out of this smelling like a rose though; smelling like something between shit and sewage. He might have been cold, distant, a womanizer, an alcoholic, but he was brilliant.

[Bradley Roth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard Rodgers is absolutely fascinating. The book is okay.

[Pollypollack · Rating 4 out of 5]

His (and Hammerstein's) talents were so amazing that I wanted to read more about them. This book is
very comprehensive and well-researched.