Sigman Songbook
Documents a Life in Music

Amsco Publications, a subsidiary of Music Sales Corporation, has announced the release of The Carl Sigman Songbook, a lavish, 196 page volume that chronicles the life and songs of a pillar of American popular music.

The Carl Sigman Songbook includes piano and guitar arrangements of 43 of Sigman’s most popular hits along with a comprehensive biography that tells his life story through the stories of his songs.

Amsco introduced the book in late January at the NAMM show, the annual convention put on by the trade association of the international music products industry. It will be sold in music stores worldwide and through Amazon.com.

Carl Sigman (1909-2000), an inaugural member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, enjoyed a career that spanned five decades. He sometimes both wrote words and music, but more often collaborated with the greatest writers of his era, including Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Jimmy Van Heusen, Bob Russell, Gilbert Becaud, Francis Lai and Bob Hilliard. The list of Sigman standards includes “(Where Do I Begin) Love Story,” “It’s All In The Game,” “Ebb Tide,” “What Now My Love,” “Arrivederci Roma,” “Buona Sera,” “Crazy He Calls Me,” “Answer Me,” “I Could Have Told You,” and many, many more.

 

 

Carl’s son Michael, an editor and publisher of magazines, newspapers and music, wrote the biography. He and his mother, Carl’s widow Terry, compiled the memorabilia and photos that also make The Carl Sigman Songbook a standout among songbooks.

Barrie Edwards, president of Music Sales, which acquired the publishing rights to the Sigman catalogue last July, said, “Part of the reason we were so excited about getting involved with Carl Sigman’s music was the potential of these songs to be introduced to a new audience of musicians and singers through the publication of a songbook. Though everyone knows these songs, few are aware that the same person wrote them, and this is the first time they’ve been compiled in one place.”

Michael Sigman said, “My father was mentored by Johnny Mercer, went on to write with the best composers and lyricists of his time, and had his songs recorded by everyone from Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday to Joni Mitchell and Van Morrison. Growing up, I heard these songs as they were being written and treasured the stories that went with each one. Carl would be astonished and thrilled that these songs, and these stories, continue to live on.”

A limited number of review copies of The Carl Sigman Songbook are available on request.