And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey

Considered by many the greatest figure in American music, Leonard Bernstein was a charismatic and controversial conductor, a gifted teacher, an accomplished pianist, and a highly admired composer. As a teacher, Bernstein communicated his love for music, whether classical or popular, through his Young People's Concerts, many of which were televised. At the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts, he taught many students who are now present-day conductors of American symphony orchestras. As a composer Bernstein is best known for his popular works, including the Broadway musicals West Side Story (1958), Candide (1956), and Wonderful Town; the film score for On the Waterfront ; and the ballet Fancy Free (1958). However, it was as a conductor with an exuberant, dynamic, and dramatic style that Bernstein captured the attention of the American public. Born to Russian-Jewish immigrants in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1918, Bernstein started taking piano lessons at the age of 10, using his own allowance to pay for the lessons. He continued his musical studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, in Philadelphia, where he quickly displayed his varied talents as a pupil of renowned conductor Fritz Reiner. At the age of 25, Bernstein became an overnight sensation when he substituted for an ailing conductor during a concert. In 1958, when he was named musical director of the New York Philharmonic, Bernstein became the first native-born American to head a symphony orchestra. His association with the New York Philharmonic lasted until 1969, when he resigned to concentrate on composing. Bernstein died in 1990. Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota. He is a singer-songwriter and artist. He emerged on the New York music scene in 1961. He has recorded 38 studio albums including Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, Blood on the Tracks, Oh Mercy, Time Out Of Mind, Love and Theft, and Modern Times. His songs include Blowin' in the Wind, The Times They Are a-Changin', and Like a Rolling Stone. He has published poetry and prose including a collection entitled Tarantula in 1971, a memoir entitled Chronicles: Volume One in 2004, and The Lyrics: 1961-2012 in 2016. He has received numerous awards including eleven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award. In 1988, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2008, the Pulitzer Prize jury awarded him a special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." In 2012, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. In 2016, Dylan received the Nobel Prize in Literature "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."