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Thank you for supporting the mission of the Great American Songbook Foundation.

The Great American Songbook Foundation preserves artifacts that tell the story of American music like the musical arrangements of Andy Williams, costume pieces of Ella Fitzgerald and early drafts of the hit Broadway musical The Music Man. Our Archives team also carefully preserves the career and legacy of our founder, Michael Feinstein.

Browse this collection of digitized materials from his personal collection featuring never-before-seen treasures ranging from Michael's childhood memorabilia to letters and snapshots featuring legendary names such as Ginger Rogers, Robert Wise, Liza Minnelli and Rosemary Clooney.

Note: This collection is currently in process of preservation. Please do NOT download, save, or share these photos or artifacts in any public capacity or post on social media.  

About the Collection

Likely one of the most comprehensive collections of an artist housed in the Songbook Archives, the Michael Feinstein Collection was made possible by Michael's mother (and personal archivist) Mazie Feinstein.

Listen to a bit of background on the collection from the founder himself!

Strike Up the Band

As Oscar Hammerstein II once wrote, "let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start," which for Michael began on September 7, 1956 at exactly 6:37 p.m. 

Michael was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, where he started playing piano by ear at the age of five. Michael was a creative and musical child from the start and if anyone needed proof of that fact, perhaps these early pieces from Michael's collection will provide confirmation, including a note from Michael's school teacher in 1965 (left), a drawing of the Smoky Mountains signed by "Mike F." in 1964 (top right) and a photo of Michael at age 13 performing in his school production of "The Stone in the Road," 1970 (bottom right).

Click each image to expand or scroll down to read a transcription of the letter.  

Michael’s Note from Teacher, Feb. 29, 1965

Dear. Mr. and Mrs. Feinstein,

Michael is doing very nice work in our Third Grade. He is such an enthusiastic little boy and is a joy to have in the room. He is a very creative child. He loves to sing and he also puts on some darling plays- taking the various character parts himself.

He is excellent in Spelling, Reading, and Social Studies. I would hope, however, that with stronger effort on his part his writing would be neater. This is something which I feel he could accomplish if he worked on it.

If you should have any questions, please feel free to call me.

Sincerely,

Kathryn Murphy, Michael’s third grade teacher

Growing up, Michael was quite the young actor and was eventually voted "Best Actor" during his high school years. The photo above is from 1972 when Michael appeared in Fiddler on the Roof with the Gallery Players, a Jewish theater located in Columbus, considered the longest continuously running theater group in central Ohio.

As any young actor would need to have on hand, Michael prepared a performance resume at age 18, which listed his various accolades, accomplishments and goals for the future (transcribed below).

Goals from Michael's resume at age 18

"I have not yet decided upon what I want to do for the rest of my life. It is a very hard choice to make, as I am interested in so many fields in the Humanities. Therefore, I wish to work in and investigate several areas of creativity, and further my education in the creative arts. Finally, I hope that I can attain a good level of financial security in the career I finally pursue."

Click the images below to expand.

And to close out this look at his early years, glance through a few of Michael's school photos. Yes, even Michael Feinstein took part in picture day once upon a time! 

Beginner's Luck

After graduating from high school, Michael moved to Los Angeles when he was 20. The widow of concert pianist-actor Oscar Levant introduced him to Ira Gershwin in July 1977. Feinstein became Gershwin’s assistant for six years (pictured below), which provided a solid base upon which he evolved into a captivating performer, composer and arranger, and led to his interaction with many "legends" of the Songbook era.

Read more about Michael's early years with Ira. 

View the correspondence below from Ginger Rogers and Lauren Bacall sent to Michael during his time with Mr. Gershwin.

Note From Ginger Rogers, Nov. 1, 1978

Dear Michael-

Your “word” is good! What a thrill to have lyrics as well as lead sheets to the songs from “In Person.” You really went to a great deal of trouble to that for me-! Is there something I may do for you?

It was so good to know that Ira has such (back side of letter) a lovely individual as you at his elbow! Trustworthy folks are not so easy to come-by these days!

Am so grateful that I could- at the moment you needed- give you a word of “strength”- (during our preparation for that wonderful night of “By Ira- By George” in New York). Turning to The One Creator of all GOOD- GOD- are the most important thoughts we can ever have- to strengthen, sustain, and bring peace to our consciousness. It’s a “super” habit to have. GOD loves you, His child- and never, ever forget that great fact.

Thank you dear Michael for the work you put yourself to- to bring me Fields & Levant's songs.

With warm affection,

 Ginger Rogers

Letter from Lauren Bacall, July 21

Dear Michael - 

Very belated thanks for the wonderful Gershwin effort- I love it all and am grateful to you for sending it along-

Give Ira + Lee my love (back side of letter) And keep doing what you’re doing.

Best Always,

Lauren Bacall

Love is Here to Stay

During Michael's time with Ira, he also met a woman who became a very important person in his life and who he often refers to as his "second mom," the iconic singer, Rosemary Clooney.

Fun fact: Rosemary Clooney's son, Gabriel Ferrer, was the minister at Michael's wedding!

"I met Michael Feinstein for the first time when he started to work for Ira Gershwin, because I lived next door to Mr. Gershwin for 35 years... [Michael] knew all my music and eventually we met each other and he became, well, kind of like my 6th child... He was doing a wonderful thing. Aside from cataloging all of the Gershwin music and Ira's lyrics, he was giving Ira a reason to live from day to day." - Rosemary Clooney

Explore Rosemary's musical arrangements, once considered lost forever, in our popular In the Archives video series hosted by Michael. 

Another snapshot from Michael's collection showcases Michael's iconic friendship with legendary singer and actress, Liza Minnelli. Michael once said of meeting Liza, "when we met it was like meeting a lost cousin or sibling because I knew Vincente Minnelli so well through the Gershwins and so the moment we met Liza said, 'You know, we’re joined at the hip from now on.' And I didn’t take that seriously, but she was serious and so it’s something that has only grown with time." 

Finally, on a deeply personal level, the collection exemplifies Michael's lifelong passions. In addition to his commitment to the love and protection of animals, Michael has dedicated his life to the preservation of the enduring music and legacies of the great songwriters and artists of the Great American Songbook.

Below are a few of the many examples throughout Michael's materials that are reflective of these personal passions, including a memo for Michael to call Harold Arlen (top left), a snapshot of Michael and a puppy from 1980 (top right), an acknowledgment of Michael being the music consultant for the Gershwin Tribute at the 1983 Tony Awards (bottom left), and a thank you letter from Robert Wise, American film director and President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, for Michael's involvement in a Jerome Kern Tribute, 1985 (bottom right). 

As Robert Wise wrote in his letter, "the evening was one of the most successful programs we've ever done, and we deeply appreciate your contributing your time and talent to bring that about."

And the rest is most certainly history.

Even as early as 1985, Wise was onto something. When it comes to Michael, the Songbook has always been in the best of hands. We thank YOU for making it possible to carry on Michael's passion and legacy here at the Great American Songbook Foundation as not only our founder, but the foremost Ambassador of the Great American Songbook.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support of our mission! We hope you have enjoyed this glance at Songbook history from the Founder's point of view.