Carole Bayer Sager

Very good autobiography by songwriter Carole Bayer Sager. While I can relate to some of her insecurities as a child, I was surprised to find that even after she was successful, she was still insecure about so many things. Being a lyricist seemed to come easy to Sager but her relationships with men were difficult. She seemed to always find men who constantly criticized her. It was interesting to read about her different collaborators as well as her relationships with Marvin Hamlisch (who she did not marry) and Burt Bacharach (who she did marry). I'm glad she was able to finally find someone who loves her for herself. I would have liked to have heard a bit as to what she thinks of lyrics by some of the great songwriters, i.e. Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, but that is not mentioned at all.… (más)

They're Playing Our Song, Carole Bayer Sager's memoir, was, for me, very uneven and somewhat disappointing. Part of it was my expectations and part of it was simply who she apparently is.

I have long admired her songwriting abilities and looked forward to this memoir. I think I was expecting to hear about life's usual ups and downs, about struggles and accomplishments, all told with a compassionate voice and maybe even a bit of wisdom thrown in. That is, in many ways, how I heard many of her lyrics over the years. While some compassion was there and even some wisdom, it seemed like her career consisted far more of succeeding in spite of people's failings rather than through collaboration, which is strange since her musical success was largely the result of who she collaborated with.

I don't want to sound overly negative, I did enjoy the book and most of the stories within it. Perhaps I put her on too high a pedestal and when she didn't seem to come near that height I was disappointed. I would still recommend this book to anyone who remembers her music fondly as well as anyone interested in behind the scenes celebrity tell-alls. The tell-all part is probably where I sometimes lost interest and lowered the pedestal a couple notches.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (más)