Singers and the Song, which appeared in 1987, is being rereleased in an expanded edition.

The new edition retains a number of famous pieces from the original volume, some in expanded form, such as Lees' classic profile of Frank Sinatra. Lees has also retained his essay on lyric writing, his piece on the art of Edith Piaf, and his admiring look at the genius of songwriter Johnny Mercer. The expanded edition offers seven new essays that are no less accomplished.

Here readers will find a tribute to "the sweetest voice in the world," Ella Fitzgerald; a moving interview with Jackie Cain and Roy Kral; Lees' account of his involvement with Bossa Nova music and his collaboration with Antonio Carlos Jobim.

We also read about Julius La Rosa, another of the great singers, the lyrics of Yip Harburg, Henry Warren's unforgettable compositions, and the elegant Arthur Schwartz, composer of "Dancing in the Dark" and many other masterpieces of the great period of American songwriting.