Michael Feinstein's American Songbook (2010)

MICHAEL FEINSTEIN'S AMERICAN SONGBOOK returns for a second season with three new episodes that take viewers on a musical journey across America and through time, as the acclaimed musician and five-time Grammy-nominated vocalist goes broader and deeper in his ongoing quest to celebrate and preserve classic 20th century popular song. Episode 1, 'Time Machines' explores how technology has preserved--and altered--the way we think about the great songs and singers of the past. Feinstein introduces viewers to Soundies (the original music videos,) the historic Kansas City building where "jam sessions" were born, and an eclectic array of performers and collectors who help keep the music alive, including the avid collector and music lover Hugh Hefner, who shares rare footage of cabaret legend Bobby Short, and the British crooner Al Bowlly. Episode 2 'Lost and Found' investigates a mysterious musical manuscript attributed to Irving Berlin and unveils an unpublished, unrecorded song by legendary Broadway composer/lyricist Jerry Herman. Along the way he meets a Wisconsin collector with a giant 'storage condo' containing rare Irving Berlin recordings. Episode 3 'Saloon Singers' celebrates the allure of musical nightlife from Delta juke joints to Las Vegas showrooms, where Feinstein examines the legacy of Liberace, the original King of Bling. He visits nightclub pioneer Rose Marie (she literally 'opened' Las Vegas in 1946) and the poet and author Maya Angelou, who once earned her living doing a calypso nightclub act in San Francisco.