It Ain't Necessarily So : An Autobiography

The harmonica player describes his life, struggle to achieve success, and his blacklisting during the McCarthy era

Fluently, irreverently, outspokenly, Baltimore-born harmonica player Adler, who admits to being the world's greatest, recalls his appearances with Fred Astaire, Eddie Cantor and George Gershwin, tours with Jack Benny, his dislike of Humphrey Bogart and reverence for Al Jolson, and commissioning works by Ralph Vaughan Williams and other composers for the mouth organ. Mainly in a series of wise-cracking anecdotes, he describes life in Hollywood, London and Paris, his affairs with Ingrid Bergman and other glamorous women, and his several marriages. Two long, forthright chapters deal with the question of whether he was a communist (he was not), his experiences during the McCarthy era when he was blacklisted and his passport confiscated. "British justice isn't flawless but I reckoned I'd get a squarer deal in England than anywhere else," so he moved to London, where, famous and appreciated, he regularly writes book reviews for magazines and newspapers. Photos not seen by PW. (May
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This autobiography concerns an unusual musical career on an unusual instrument, the mouth organ. Adler raised this humble instrument to a featured part of the classical repertoire, inspiring compositions by Ralph Vaughan Williams and others. He played with the great orchestras and jazz bands. The book is anecdotal and loose with details, but told with unusual wit. Adler weaves in encounters with the likes of Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Jack Benny, Ingrid Bergman, and Maurice Ravel. He tells of the crippling of his career by his McCarthy era blacklisting, which resulted in a move to England. The book is candid, brash, and possibly a little too frank for some tastes, but it manages to charm with a mix of egotism and self-deprecating humor. Daniel J. Lombardo, Jones Lib., Amherst, Mass.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.