It Aint Necessarily So

It Ain’t Necessarily So (1985) by Larry Adler – Fontana

ISBN: 9780006369455
Condition: Good
Published: 1985
Offered by: Crappy Old Books

There was a time when becoming an internationally celebrated musician generally required years of formal training, an expensive instrument and the ability to persuade one’s parents that playing music constituted a respectable alternative to finding proper employment.

Larry Adler, demonstrating a magnificent disregard for convention, decided to conquer the entertainment world with a harmonica.

Welcome to It Ain’t Necessarily So, the wonderfully outspoken autobiography of one of the twentieth century’s most extraordinary musicians, a man who transformed the humble mouth organ from something associated with railway platforms, seaside holidays and enthusiastic amateurs into an instrument capable of holding its own in the world’s finest concert halls.

Born in Baltimore in 1914, Adler possessed an astonishing musical talent, considerable ambition and a personality apparently designed to ensure that nobody within earshot remained unaware of either.

His remarkable career brought him into contact with some of the greatest personalities of the entertainment world, including George Gershwin, Fred Astaire, Jack Benny and Al Jolson. He performed with distinguished orchestras, inspired compositions from serious classical musicians and demonstrated that a harmonica could produce rather more sophisticated results than the average schoolboy’s interpretation of Oh! Susanna.

But Adler’s life was considerably more complicated than a succession of triumphant musical performances.

Hollywood, international celebrity, romantic entanglements and political controversy all played their parts in a career that frequently resembled an elaborate theatrical production whose leading character had declined to read the script.

During the McCarthy era, Adler found himself caught up in America’s anti-communist investigations, suffering professional blacklisting and political hostility. His subsequent move to Britain brought a new chapter in his remarkable career, although it did little to moderate his enthusiasm for expressing forthright opinions.

And opinions he certainly possessed.

Adler’s autobiography is filled with anecdotes, sharp observations, celebrity encounters and the sort of gloriously indiscreet recollections that make one suspect several prominent individuals would have preferred him to concentrate exclusively on playing the harmonica.

The book’s title, borrowed f

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