Meredith Willson marched into the hearts of American music lovers with productions such as the "The Music Man" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," and unforgettable show tunes like "76 Trombones." It is the amazing story of how a youngster with talent and tenacity, possessed with what he would later call a streak of "Iowa stubborn", rose to become one of America's most famous musicians. It is the story of a remarkable career in which Willson: helped scientist Lee deForest in experiments that developed sound for motion pictures, wrote the music for Charlie Chaplin's first "talkie," wrote a song recorded by the Beatles, and won the first Grammy award ever presented. John C. Skipper is a newspaper journalist whose 35-year career has produced thousands of newspaper columns and five books. John and his wife, Sandi, live in Mason City, Iowa, just a stone's throw from Willson's famous footbridge. They have three grown daughters and one grandchild.

• Cover
• Full Title
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
  • Photos and Illustrations
  • Publisher’s Preface: The Long Journey
  • Author’s Preface: Willson is with two “ls”
  • Prologue: Pioneers and Miracles
  • Chapter 1: Prayers and Banjos
  • Chapter 2: Learning the Trade
  • Chapter 3: The Other Willsons
  • Chapter 4. Doing a Greeley
  • Chapter 5. What Every Young Musician Should Know
  • Chapter 6. Not Every Song’s a Hit
  • Chapter 7: Rini
  • Chapter 8: The Bucolic Philosopher and The Big Show
  • Chapter 9: Who the Hell is Meredith Willson
  • Chapter 10: Jiggles and Jumps
  • Chapter 11:The Unsinkable Molly Brown
  • Chapter 12: From Broadway to Hollywood to Mason City
  • Chapter 13: Cotton on the Elephant
  • Chapter 14: May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You
  • Epilogue: The 77th Trombone 191
  • Appendix 1 : Spare Type
  • Appendix 2: Awards and Honors
  • Appendix 3: The Music Man
  • Appendix 4: Songs of Meredith Willson
  • Appendix 5: The Music Man Square
  • Bibliography
  • Index
  • Afterword: The Dixie Mystery