Bing and Billie and Frank and Ella and Judy and Barbra

Callahan (The Camera Lies: Acting for Hitchcock) brings a wealth of arts editing and theatrical expertise to this fascinating biographical treatment of a sextet of the most familiar and well-regarded U.S. popular singers of the 20th and 21st centuries. What sets the book apart is the author’s ability to interweave the singers’ stories and contrast their voice qualities, technical abilities, and, in some cases, their movie and television appearances. Chapters focus on either individuals or duos, depending on how their careers intersected. Due to the book’s chronological structure, Barbra Streisand doesn’t appear until more than halfway through, but her narrative and interactions with others are not given short shrift. Trumpeter Louis Armstrong maintains a fatherly presence in nearly all the stories as well. Contemporary photographs are sprinkled throughout, and the chapter notes add context.