Peter Duchin

This book was magical. Written by Peter Duchin, son of 1930's pianist/band leader Eddy Duchin who passed away at the young age of 41. Peter Duchin's mother passed when he was only 6 days old. He ended up being raised by Averell Harriman (governor of New York as well as involved in administrations of Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson and his spouse Marie Whitney. Duchin describes the lifestyle of the wealthy so vividly that you feel you are there in the various estates. Peter eventually followed show more in his father's footsteps, becoming a pianist and bandleader. He played at Sinatra's Palm Springs compound for Jack Benny's 80th birthday as well as Sinatra's Carnegie Hall concerts. However, most memorable was a night he sat at the piano and Fred Astaire spent 3 hours just singing the songs from the films and doing some dancing. These are magical moments and I am so glad Duchin shared them with the readers. show less

Not as magical as his first book. Some of this is not his fault as those he talked about in his first book (Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra are gone). I was sorry to read he was recovering from a stroke and then covid. I wish he had ended up the book with giving us an update as to how he was doing. I felt he spent way too much time on the Met Gala. He also spent no time in telling us about what happened to 2nd wife, Brooke Hayward, who he had dedicated the first book too and how he show more met the current wife, Virginia. show less

I wouldn't know myself, but I've been told that the arrangements in this book are difficult. But it's a well-produced volume with most of the carols one would want to have available for a carolsing.

A little meandering, but interesting none-the-less.