For many years, I've always been attached to what they call the Great American Songbook, and Kern was a great leader of that because he had the classical training of Europe. He impressed all the greatest composers, like Cole Porter and Gershwin. They couldn't believe he was writing the songs he was writing.

Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett

Always American Attached Because Been Believe Call Classical Composers Europe Gershwin Great Great American Greatest Had He Impressed Leader Like Many Songs Training Writing Years

Related Quotes

In America, at the beginning of talkies, they pulled Fred Astaire from the theaters and put him on the screen and had all of these great composers write songs for him. They call it the Great American Songbook; I call it the Fred Astaire Songbook because they were written for him.

— Tony Bennett

AmericaAmericanAstaire

I've got a collection of songs that I've had, I keep adding to and they're all great American composers. I wanted to showcase American composers and I've done that on a lot of my records and played things by American composers that I really respect.

— Charlie Haden

AddingAmericanCollection

Dennis Hopper is one of the great American lives.

— Jeffrey Deitch

AmericanGreatGreat American

The great American novel has not only already been written, it has already been rejected.

— W. Somerset Maugham

AmericanBeenGreat

Gore Vidal has been a friend of mine for years, and he's one of the greatest writers in American history.

— Cybill Shepherd

AmericanAmerican HistoryBeen