Chronicles the creation of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man—reprinted now as the Broadway EditionComposer Meredith Willson described The Music Man as “an Iowan’s attempt to pay tribute to his home state.” Now featuring a new foreword by noted singer and educator Michael Feinstein, this book presents Willson’s reflections on the ups and downs, surprises and disappointments, and finally successes of making one of America’s most popular musicals. Wil...

And There I Stood with My Piccolo, originally published in 1948, is a zesty and colorful memoir of composer Meredith Willson’s early years—from growing up in Mason City, Iowa, to playing the flute with John Philip Sousa’s band and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, to a successful career in composing for radio and motion pictures in Hollywood. It was apparent to everyone, except maybe Willson himself, that he was on his way to something big.Lighthearted and inspiring, it...

Back in print: the playful and personal memoir of Meredith Willson’s creative tribulations and triumphs before The Music ManComposer, musical director, writer, lecturer, and piccoloist Meredith Willson laid many eggs throughout his career—but not all those eggs would hatch quite so gloriously as his Broadway hit The Music Man. In Eggs I Have Laid, Willson genially chronicles the failures that he faced as he made his place in show business...