Musical numbers should carry the action of the play and should be representative of the personalities of the characters who sing them.
Jerome KernIrving Berlin has no place in American music. He is American music. Emotionally, he honestly absorbs the vibrations emanating from the people, manners and life of his time and, in turn, gives these impressions back to the world -- simplified, clarified and glorified.
Jerome KernThe fact that the theatregoing public likes my music is no credit to me. There are many other composers who write better music that the public doesn't like.
Jerome Kern