George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American compos… Read Full Bio ↴George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known. Among his best known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), as well as the opera Porgy and Bess (1935).
Gershwin studied piano under Charles Hambitzer and composition with Rubin Goldmark and Henry Cowell. He began his career as a song plugger, but soon started composing Broadway theatre works with his brother Ira Gershwin and Buddy DeSylva. He moved to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger, where he began to compose An American in Paris. After returning to New York City, he wrote Porgy and Bess with Ira and the author DuBose Heyward. Initially a commercial failure, Porgy and Bess is now considered one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century. Gershwin moved to Hollywood and composed numerous film scores until his death in 1937 from a brain tumor.
Gershwin's compositions have been adapted for use in many films and for television, and several became jazz standards recorded in many variations. Countless celebrated singers and musicians have covered his songs.
He was born Jacob Gershowitz in Brooklyn, New York to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, the second of four children. George wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works together with his elder brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin. Among the many songs the two composed which are now considered jazz standards (widely performed and recorded by jazz musicians) are "But Not for Me," and "Embraceable You," as well as "The Man I Love," and "Someone to Watch Over Me." Undoubtedly, their song most recorded by other musicians is "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess. (Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney, and Willie Nelson are among the hundreds of artists who have recorded the song.) Gershwin composed successfully both for Broadway and for the classical concert hall. Perhaps most notably his epic works An American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue have been featured on many classical music compilations, in Disney's animated film Fantasia 2000, and are roundly regarded as great music of the 20th century.
On leaving school at the age of 15, Gershwin found his first job as a "song plugger" for Jerome H. Remick and Company, a publishing firm on New York City's Tin Pan Alley, where he earned $15 a week. His first published song was "When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em". It was published in 1916 when Gershwin was only 17 years old and earned him $5. His 1917 novelty rag, "Rialto Ripples", was a commercial success, and in 1919 he scored his first big national hit with his song, "Swanee", with words by Irving Caesar. Al Jolson, a famous Broadway singer of the day, heard Gershwin perform "Swanee" at a party and decided to sing it in one of his shows.
In 1916, Gershwin started working for Aeolian Company and Standard Music Rolls in New York, recording and arranging. He produced dozens, if not hundreds, of rolls under his own and assumed names. (Pseudonyms attributed to Gershwin include Fred Murtha and Bert Wynn.) He also recorded rolls of his own compositions for the Duo-Art and Welte-Mignon reproducing pianos. As well as recording piano rolls, Gershwin made a brief foray into vaudeville, accompanying both Nora Bayes and Louise Dresser on the piano.
In the late 1910s, Gershwin met songwriter and music director William Daly. The two collaborated on the Broadway musicals Piccadilly to Broadway (1920) and For Goodness' Sake (1922), and jointly composed the score for Our Nell (1923). This was the beginning of a long friendship; Daly was a frequent arranger, orchestrator and conductor of Gershwin's music, and Gershwin periodically turned to him for musical advice.
In the early 1920s, Gershwin frequently worked with the lyricist Buddy DeSylva. Together they created the experimental one-act jazz opera Blue Monday, set in Harlem. It is widely regarded as a forerunner to the groundbreaking Porgy and Bess.
In 1924, George and Ira Gershwin collaborated on a stage musical comedy Lady Be Good, which included such future standards as "Fascinating Rhythm" and "Oh, Lady Be Good!".
They followed this with Oh, Kay! (1926); Funny Face (1927); Strike Up the Band (1927 and 1930). Gershwin gave the song, with a modified title, to UCLA to be used as a football fight song, "Strike Up The Band for UCLA".
He and his brother created Show Girl (1929); Girl Crazy (1930), which introduced the standard "I Got Rhythm"; and Of Thee I Sing (1931), the first musical comedy to win a Pulitzer Prize (for Drama).
Europe and classical music
In 1924, Gershwin composed his first major classical work, Rhapsody in Blue, for orchestra and piano. It was orchestrated by Ferde Grofé and premiered by Paul Whiteman's concert band in New York. It proved to be his most popular work.
In the mid-1920s, Gershwin stayed in Paris for a short period of time, during which he applied to study composition with the noted Nadia Boulanger who, along with several other prospective tutors such as Maurice Ravel, rejected him. She was afraid that rigorous classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style. While there, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris. This work received mixed reviews upon its first performance at Carnegie Hall on December 13, 1928, but it quickly became part of the standard repertoire in Europe and the United States. Growing tired of the Parisian musical scene, Gershwin returned to the United States.
In 1929, Gershwin was contracted by Fox Film Corporation to compose the score for the movie Delicious. Only two pieces were used in the final film, the five-minute "Dream Sequence" and the six-minute "Manhattan Rhapsody". Gershwin became infuriated when the rest of the score was rejected by Fox Film Corporation, and it would be seven years before he worked in Hollywood again.
Opera
Gershwin's first opera, Blue Monday, is a short one-act opera which was not a financial success and has only received limited performances. Gershwin's most ambitious composition was Porgy and Bess (1935). Gershwin called it a "folk opera", and it is now widely regarded as one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century. "From the very beginning, it was considered another American classic by the composer of 'Rhapsody in Blue'—even if critics couldn't quite figure out how to evaluate it. Was it opera, or was it simply an ambitious Broadway musical? 'It crossed the barriers,' says theater historian Robert Kimball. 'It wasn't a musical work per se, and it wasn't a drama per se – it elicited response from both music and drama critics. But the work has sort of always been outside category."
Based on the novel Porgy by DuBose Heyward, the action takes place in the fictional all-black neighborhood of Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina. With the exception of several minor speaking roles, all of the characters are black. The music combines elements of popular music of the day, with a strong influence of Black music, with techniques typical of opera, such as recitative, through-composition and an extensive system of leitmotifs. Porgy and Bess contains some of Gershwin's most sophisticated music, including a fugue, a passacaglia, the use of atonality, polytonality and polyrhythm, and a tone row. Even the "set numbers" (of which "Summertime", "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'" and "It Ain't Necessarily So" are well known examples) are some of the most refined and ingenious of Gershwin's output. For the performances, Gershwin collaborated with Eva Jessye, whom he picked as the musical director. One of the outstanding musical alumnae of Western University in Kansas, she had created her own choir in New York and performed widely with them. The work was first performed in 1935; it was a box office failure.
After the commercial failure of Porgy and Bess, Gershwin moved to Hollywood, California. He was commissioned by RKO Pictures in 1936 to write the music for the film Shall We Dance, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Gershwin's extended score, which would marry ballet with jazz in a new way, runs over an hour in length. It took Gershwin several months to write and orchestrate it.
Early in 1937, Gershwin began to complain of blinding headaches and a recurring impression that he smelled burning rubber. On February 11, 1937, Gershwin performed his Piano Concerto in F in a special concert of his music with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under the direction of French maestro Pierre Monteux. Gershwin, normally a superb pianist in his own compositions, suffered coordination problems and blackouts during the performance. He was at the time living with his brother Ira and Ira's wife Lenore in a rented house in Beverly Hills while they worked on other Hollywood film projects. Lenore Gershwin began to be disturbed by George's mood swings and seeming inability to eat without spilling food at the dinner table. She suspected the onset of mental illness and she insisted he be moved out of their house to lyricist Yip Harburg's empty quarters nearby where he was placed in the care of his valet, Paul Mueller. The headaches and olfactory hallucinations continued and on June 23rd, after an incident in which Gershwin tried to push Mueller out of the car in which they were riding, Gershwin was admitted to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles for observation. Tests showed no physical cause and he was released on the 26th with a diagnosis of "likely hysteria". His troubles with coordination and mental acuity worsened, and on the night of July 9, Gershwin collapsed in Harburg's house where he had been working on the score of The Goldwyn Follies. He was rushed back to Cedars of Lebanon where he fell into a coma. Only at that point did it become obvious to his doctors that he was suffering from a brain tumor. An immediate call was made to pioneering neurosurgeon Dr. Harvey Cushing in Boston who, retired for several years by then, recommended Dr. Walter Dandy, who was on a boat fishing in Chesapeake Bay with the Governor of Maryland. Dandy was quickly brought to shore by the Coast Guard and sent on to Newark Airport to catch a plane to Los Angeles; however, by that time Gershwin's condition was judged to be critical and the need for surgery immediate. An attempt by doctors at Cedars to excise the tumor was made in the early hours of the 11th, but it proved unsuccessful, and Gershwin died on the morning of July 11, 1937 at the age of 38.
Gershwin's many friends and fans were shocked and devastated. John O'Hara remarked: "George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937, but I don't have to believe it if I don't want to." He was interred at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. A memorial concert was held at the Hollywood Bowl on September 8, 1937 at which Otto Klemperer conducted his own orchestration of the second of Gershwin's Three Piano Preludes.
Gershwin received his sole Academy Award nomination, for Best Original Song at the 1937 Oscars, for "They Can't Take That Away from Me", written with his brother Ira for the 1937 film Shall We Dance. The nomination was posthumous; Gershwin died two months after the film's release.
Gershwin had a ten-year affair with composer Kay Swift, whom he frequently consulted about his music. The two never married, although she eventually divorced her husband James Warburg in order to make it possible. Swift's granddaughter, Katharine Weber, has suggested that the pair were not married because George's mother Rose was "unhappy that Kay Swift wasn't Jewish".[33] Oh, Kay was named for her. After Gershwin's death, Swift arranged some of his music, transcribed several of his recordings, and collaborated with his brother Ira on several projects.
Musical style and influence
Birthday party honoring Maurice Ravel in New York City, March 8, 1928. From left: Oskar Fried; Éva Gauthier; Ravel at piano; Manoah Leide-Tedesco; and George Gershwin.
Gershwin was influenced by French composers of the early twentieth century. In turn Maurice Ravel was impressed with Gershwin's abilities, commenting, "Personally I find jazz most interesting: the rhythms, the way the melodies are handled, the melodies themselves. I have heard of George Gershwin's works and I find them intriguing." The orchestrations in Gershwin's symphonic works often seem similar to those of Ravel; likewise, Ravel's two piano concertos evince an influence of Gershwin.
Gershwin asked to study with Ravel. When Ravel heard how much Gershwin earned, Ravel replied with words to the effect of, "You should give me lessons." (Some versions of this story feature Igor Stravinsky rather than Ravel as the composer; however Stravinsky confirmed that he originally heard the story from Ravel.)
Gershwin's own Concerto in F was criticized for being related to the work of Claude Debussy, more so than to the expected jazz style. The comparison did not deter Gershwin from continuing to explore French styles. The title of An American in Paris reflects the very journey that he had consciously taken as a composer: "The opening part will be developed in typical French style, in the manner of Debussy and Les Six, though the tunes are original."
Aside from the French influence, Gershwin was intrigued by the works of Alban Berg, Dmitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, and Arnold Schoenberg. He also asked Schoenberg for composition lessons. Schoenberg refused, saying "I would only make you a bad Schoenberg, and you're such a good Gershwin already." (This quote is similar to one credited to Maurice Ravel during Gershwin's 1928 visit to France – "Why be a second-rate Ravel, when you are a first-rate Gershwin?")
Russian Joseph Schillinger's influence as Gershwin's teacher of composition (1932–1936) was substantial in providing him with a method of composition. There has been some disagreement about the nature of Schillinger's influence on Gershwin. After the posthumous success of Porgy and Bess, Schillinger claimed he had a large and direct influence in overseeing the creation of the opera; Ira completely denied that his brother had any such assistance for this work. A third account of Gershwin's musical relationship with his teacher was written by Gershwin's close friend Vernon Duke, also a Schillinger student, in an article for the Musical Quarterly in 1947.
What set Gershwin apart was his ability to manipulate forms of music into his own unique voice. He took the jazz he discovered on Tin Pan Alley into the mainstream by splicing its rhythms and tonality with that of the popular songs of his era. Although George Gershwin would seldom make grand statements about his music, he believed that "true music must reflect the thought and aspirations of the people and time. My people are Americans. My time is today."
In 2007, the Library of Congress named their Prize for Popular Song after George and Ira Gershwin. Recognizing the profound and positive effect of popular music on culture, the prize is given annually to a composer or performer whose lifetime contributions exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins. On March 1, 2007, the first Gershwin Prize was awarded to Paul Simon.
Recordings and film
Early in his career Gershwin recorded more than one hundred and forty player piano piano rolls both under his own name and pseudonyms, which were a main source of income for him. The majority are popular music of the period and a smaller proportion are of his own works. Once his musical theatre-writing income became substantial his regular roll-recording career became superfluous. He did record additional rolls throughout the 1920s of his main hits for the Aeolian Company's reproducing piano, including a complete version of his Rhapsody in Blue.
Compared to the piano rolls, there are few accessible audio recordings of Gershwin's playing. His first recording was his own Swanee with the Fred Van Eps Trio in 1919. The recorded balance highlights the banjo playing of Van Eps, and the piano is overshadowed. The recording took place before Swanee became famous as an Al Jolson specialty in early 1920.
Gershwin did record an abridged version of Rhapsody in Blue with Paul Whiteman and his orchestra for the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1924, soon after the world premiere. Gershwin and the same orchestra made an electrical recording of the abridged version for Victor in 1927. However, a dispute in the studio over interpretation angered Paul Whiteman and he left. The conductor's baton was taken over by Victor's staff conductor Nathaniel Shilkret.
Gershwin made a number of solo piano recordings of tunes from his musicals, some including the vocals of Fred and Adele Astaire, as well as his Three Preludes for piano. In 1929, Gershwin "supervised" the world premiere recording of An American in Paris with Nathaniel Shilkret and the Victor Symphony Orchestra. Gershwin's role in the recording was rather limited, particularly because Shilkret was conducting and had his own ideas about the music. When it was realized that no one had been hired to play the brief celeste solo, Gershwin was asked if he could and would play the instrument, and he agreed. Gershwin can be heard, rather briefly, on the recording during the slow section.
Gershwin appeared on several radio programs, including Rudy Vallee's, and played some of his compositions. This included the third movement of the Concerto in F with Vallee conducting the studio orchestra. Some of these performances were preserved on transcription discs and have been released on LP and CD.
In 1934, in an effort to earn money to finance his planned folk opera, Gershwin hosted his own radio program titled Music by Gershwin. The show was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network from February to May and again in September through the final show on December 23, 1934. He presented his own work as well as the work of other composers.[45] Recordings from this and other radio broadcasts include his Variations on I Got Rhythm, portions of the Concerto in F, and numerous songs from his musical comedies. He also recorded a run-through of his Second Rhapsody, conducting the orchestra and playing the piano solos. Gershwin recorded excerpts from Porgy and Bess with members of the original cast, conducting the orchestra from the keyboard; he even announced the selections and the names of the performers. In 1935 RCA Victor asked him to supervise recordings of highlights from Porgy and Bess; these were his last recordings.
A 74-second newsreel film clip of Gershwin playing I Got Rhythm has survived, filmed at the opening of the Manhattan Theater (now The Ed Sullivan Theater) in August 1931. There are also silent home movies of Gershwin, some of them shot on Kodachrome color film stock, which have been featured in tributes to the composer. In addition, there is newsreel footage of Gershwin playing "Mademoiselle from New Rochelle" and "Strike Up the Band" on the piano during a Broadway rehearsal of the 1930 production of Strike Up the Band. In the mid-30s, "Strike Up The Band" was gifted to UCLA to be used as a football fight song, "Strike Up The Band for UCLA". The comedy team of Clark and McCullough are seen conversing with Gershwin, then singing as he plays.
In 1965, Movietone Records released an album MTM 1009 featuring Gershwin's piano rolls of the titled George Gerswhin plays RHAPSODY IN BLUE and his other favorite compositions. The flip side of the LP featured 9 other recordings.
In 1975, Columbia Records released an album featuring Gershwin's piano rolls of the Rhapsody In Blue, accompanied by the Columbia Jazz Band playing the original jazz-band accompaniment, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. The flip side of the Columbia Masterworks release features Tilson Thomas leading the New York Philharmonic in An American In Paris. In 1976, RCA Records, as part of their "Victrola Americana" line released a collection of Gershwin recordings, taken from 78s recorded in the 1920s and called the LP "Gershwin plays Gershwin, Historic First Recordings" (RCA Victrola AVM1-1740) and included recordings of "Rhapsody in Blue" with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and Gershwin on piano, "An American in Paris", from 1927 with Gershwin on celesta; "Three Preludes", "Clap Yo' Hands" and Someone to Watch Over Me", among others. There are a total of 10 recordings on the album.
In 1998, two audio CDs featuring piano rolls recorded Gershwin were issued by Nonesuch Records through the efforts of Artis Woodhouse. It is entitled Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls.
Countless singers and musicians have recorded Gershwin songs, including Fred Astaire, Louis Armstrong, Dean Martin, Al Jolson, Bobby Darin, Percy Grainger, Art Tatum, Yehudi Menuhin, Bing Crosby, The Moody Blues, Janis Joplin, John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sam Cooke, Diana Ross, Neil Sedaka, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Hiromi Uehara, Madonna, Judy Garland, Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, Marni Nixon, Natalie Cole, Patti Austin, Nina Simone, Maureen McGovern, John Fahey, The Residents, Kate Bush, Sublime, Sting, Amy Winehouse, and Liquid Tension Experiment.
In October 2009, it was reported by Rolling Stone that Brian Wilson is completing at least two unfinished compositions by George Gershwin for possible release in 2010. Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin was released on August 17, 2010. The album consists of covers of ten George and Ira Gershwin songs, bookended by passages from Rhapsody in Blue, along with two new songs completed from unfinished Gershwin fragments by Wilson and band member Scott Bennett.
Baseline Studio Systems announced in January 2010 that Steven Spielberg may direct a biopic about the composer's life; 32-year-old American actor Zachary Quinto was named for the leading role of George Gershwin.
Compositions:
Orchestral:
Rhapsody in Blue (for piano and orchestra, 1924)
Piano Concerto in F (1925)
An American in Paris (for orchestra, 1928)
Dream Sequence (for chorus and orchestra, 1929)
Second Rhapsody, originally titled Rhapsody in Rivets (for piano and orchestra, 1931)
Cuban Overture (for orchestra, 1932), originally entitled Rumba
March from Strike Up the Band (for orchestra, 1934)
Variations on "I Got Rhythm" (for piano and orchestra) (1934)
Catfish Row (for orchestra, 1936) a suite based on music from Porgy and Bess
Shall We Dance (1937 film) a movie score feature-length ballet
Solo Piano:
Preludes For Piano (1926)
George Gershwin's Song-book (1932) (solo piano arrangements of 18 songs)
Operas:
Blue Monday, (1922) one-act opera
Porgy and Bess (1935) at the Colonial Theatre in Boston[52]
London Musicals
Primrose (1924)
Broadway Musicals
George White's Scandals (1920–1924) (featuring, at one point, the 1922 one-act opera Blue Monday)
Lady, Be Good (1924)
Tip-Toes (1925)
Tell Me More! (1925)
Oh, Kay! (1926)
Strike Up the Band (1927)
Funny Face (1927)
Rosalie (1928)
Show Girl (1929)
Girl Crazy (1930)
Of Thee I Sing (1931)
Pardon My English (1933)
Let 'Em Eat Cake (1933)
My One and Only (1983) (an original 1983 musical using previously written Gershwin songs)
Crazy for You (1992), a revised version of Girl Crazy, written and compiled without the participation of either George or Ira Gershwin.
Nice Work If You Can Get It (2012) (a musical with a score by George and Ira Gershwin)
Films for which Gershwin wrote original scores
Delicious (1931) (an early version of the Second Rhapsody and one other musical sequence was used in this film, the rest were rejected by the studio)
Shall We Dance (1937) (original orchestral score by Gershwin, no recordings available in modern stereo, some sections have never been recorded)
A Damsel in Distress (1937)
The Goldwyn Follies (1938) (posthumously released)
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947) (uses songs previously unpublished)
Gershwin died intestate, and his estate passed to his mother. The estate continues to collect significant royalties from licensing the copyrights on his work. The estate supported the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act because its 1923 cutoff date was shortly before Gershwin had begun to create his most popular works. The copyrights on all Gershwin's solo works expired at the end of 2007 in the European Union, based on its life-plus-70-years rule.
In 2005, The Guardian determined using "estimates of earnings accrued in a composer's lifetime" that George Gershwin was the wealthiest composer of all time.
George Gershwin was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006.
The George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Musical Achievement Award was established by UCLA to honor the brothers for their contribution to music and for their gift to UCLA of the fight song "Strike Up the Band for UCLA". Past winners have included Angela Lansbury (1988), Ray Charles (1991), Mel Torme (1994), Bernadette Peters (1995), Frank Sinatra (2000), Stevie Wonder (2002), k.d. lang (2003), James Taylor (2004), Babyface (2005), Burt Bacharach (2006), Quincy Jones (2007), Lionel Richie (2008) and Julie Andrews (2009).
The Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to George and Ira Gershwin in 1985. Only three other songwriters, George M. Cohan, Harry Chapin and Irving Berlin, have had the honor of receiving this award.
The Gershwin Theatre on Broadway is named after George and Ira.
The Gershwin Hotel in the Flatiron District of Manhattan in New York City was named after George and Ira.
In Brooklyn, George Gershwin Junior High School 166 is named after him.
The 1945 biographical film Rhapsody in Blue starred Robert Alda as George Gershwin.
Gershwin studied piano under Charles Hambitzer and composition with Rubin Goldmark and Henry Cowell. He began his career as a song plugger, but soon started composing Broadway theatre works with his brother Ira Gershwin and Buddy DeSylva. He moved to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger, where he began to compose An American in Paris. After returning to New York City, he wrote Porgy and Bess with Ira and the author DuBose Heyward. Initially a commercial failure, Porgy and Bess is now considered one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century. Gershwin moved to Hollywood and composed numerous film scores until his death in 1937 from a brain tumor.
Gershwin's compositions have been adapted for use in many films and for television, and several became jazz standards recorded in many variations. Countless celebrated singers and musicians have covered his songs.
He was born Jacob Gershowitz in Brooklyn, New York to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, the second of four children. George wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works together with his elder brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin. Among the many songs the two composed which are now considered jazz standards (widely performed and recorded by jazz musicians) are "But Not for Me," and "Embraceable You," as well as "The Man I Love," and "Someone to Watch Over Me." Undoubtedly, their song most recorded by other musicians is "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess. (Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney, and Willie Nelson are among the hundreds of artists who have recorded the song.) Gershwin composed successfully both for Broadway and for the classical concert hall. Perhaps most notably his epic works An American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue have been featured on many classical music compilations, in Disney's animated film Fantasia 2000, and are roundly regarded as great music of the 20th century.
On leaving school at the age of 15, Gershwin found his first job as a "song plugger" for Jerome H. Remick and Company, a publishing firm on New York City's Tin Pan Alley, where he earned $15 a week. His first published song was "When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em". It was published in 1916 when Gershwin was only 17 years old and earned him $5. His 1917 novelty rag, "Rialto Ripples", was a commercial success, and in 1919 he scored his first big national hit with his song, "Swanee", with words by Irving Caesar. Al Jolson, a famous Broadway singer of the day, heard Gershwin perform "Swanee" at a party and decided to sing it in one of his shows.
In 1916, Gershwin started working for Aeolian Company and Standard Music Rolls in New York, recording and arranging. He produced dozens, if not hundreds, of rolls under his own and assumed names. (Pseudonyms attributed to Gershwin include Fred Murtha and Bert Wynn.) He also recorded rolls of his own compositions for the Duo-Art and Welte-Mignon reproducing pianos. As well as recording piano rolls, Gershwin made a brief foray into vaudeville, accompanying both Nora Bayes and Louise Dresser on the piano.
In the late 1910s, Gershwin met songwriter and music director William Daly. The two collaborated on the Broadway musicals Piccadilly to Broadway (1920) and For Goodness' Sake (1922), and jointly composed the score for Our Nell (1923). This was the beginning of a long friendship; Daly was a frequent arranger, orchestrator and conductor of Gershwin's music, and Gershwin periodically turned to him for musical advice.
In the early 1920s, Gershwin frequently worked with the lyricist Buddy DeSylva. Together they created the experimental one-act jazz opera Blue Monday, set in Harlem. It is widely regarded as a forerunner to the groundbreaking Porgy and Bess.
In 1924, George and Ira Gershwin collaborated on a stage musical comedy Lady Be Good, which included such future standards as "Fascinating Rhythm" and "Oh, Lady Be Good!".
They followed this with Oh, Kay! (1926); Funny Face (1927); Strike Up the Band (1927 and 1930). Gershwin gave the song, with a modified title, to UCLA to be used as a football fight song, "Strike Up The Band for UCLA".
He and his brother created Show Girl (1929); Girl Crazy (1930), which introduced the standard "I Got Rhythm"; and Of Thee I Sing (1931), the first musical comedy to win a Pulitzer Prize (for Drama).
Europe and classical music
In 1924, Gershwin composed his first major classical work, Rhapsody in Blue, for orchestra and piano. It was orchestrated by Ferde Grofé and premiered by Paul Whiteman's concert band in New York. It proved to be his most popular work.
In the mid-1920s, Gershwin stayed in Paris for a short period of time, during which he applied to study composition with the noted Nadia Boulanger who, along with several other prospective tutors such as Maurice Ravel, rejected him. She was afraid that rigorous classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style. While there, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris. This work received mixed reviews upon its first performance at Carnegie Hall on December 13, 1928, but it quickly became part of the standard repertoire in Europe and the United States. Growing tired of the Parisian musical scene, Gershwin returned to the United States.
In 1929, Gershwin was contracted by Fox Film Corporation to compose the score for the movie Delicious. Only two pieces were used in the final film, the five-minute "Dream Sequence" and the six-minute "Manhattan Rhapsody". Gershwin became infuriated when the rest of the score was rejected by Fox Film Corporation, and it would be seven years before he worked in Hollywood again.
Opera
Gershwin's first opera, Blue Monday, is a short one-act opera which was not a financial success and has only received limited performances. Gershwin's most ambitious composition was Porgy and Bess (1935). Gershwin called it a "folk opera", and it is now widely regarded as one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century. "From the very beginning, it was considered another American classic by the composer of 'Rhapsody in Blue'—even if critics couldn't quite figure out how to evaluate it. Was it opera, or was it simply an ambitious Broadway musical? 'It crossed the barriers,' says theater historian Robert Kimball. 'It wasn't a musical work per se, and it wasn't a drama per se – it elicited response from both music and drama critics. But the work has sort of always been outside category."
Based on the novel Porgy by DuBose Heyward, the action takes place in the fictional all-black neighborhood of Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina. With the exception of several minor speaking roles, all of the characters are black. The music combines elements of popular music of the day, with a strong influence of Black music, with techniques typical of opera, such as recitative, through-composition and an extensive system of leitmotifs. Porgy and Bess contains some of Gershwin's most sophisticated music, including a fugue, a passacaglia, the use of atonality, polytonality and polyrhythm, and a tone row. Even the "set numbers" (of which "Summertime", "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'" and "It Ain't Necessarily So" are well known examples) are some of the most refined and ingenious of Gershwin's output. For the performances, Gershwin collaborated with Eva Jessye, whom he picked as the musical director. One of the outstanding musical alumnae of Western University in Kansas, she had created her own choir in New York and performed widely with them. The work was first performed in 1935; it was a box office failure.
After the commercial failure of Porgy and Bess, Gershwin moved to Hollywood, California. He was commissioned by RKO Pictures in 1936 to write the music for the film Shall We Dance, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Gershwin's extended score, which would marry ballet with jazz in a new way, runs over an hour in length. It took Gershwin several months to write and orchestrate it.
Early in 1937, Gershwin began to complain of blinding headaches and a recurring impression that he smelled burning rubber. On February 11, 1937, Gershwin performed his Piano Concerto in F in a special concert of his music with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under the direction of French maestro Pierre Monteux. Gershwin, normally a superb pianist in his own compositions, suffered coordination problems and blackouts during the performance. He was at the time living with his brother Ira and Ira's wife Lenore in a rented house in Beverly Hills while they worked on other Hollywood film projects. Lenore Gershwin began to be disturbed by George's mood swings and seeming inability to eat without spilling food at the dinner table. She suspected the onset of mental illness and she insisted he be moved out of their house to lyricist Yip Harburg's empty quarters nearby where he was placed in the care of his valet, Paul Mueller. The headaches and olfactory hallucinations continued and on June 23rd, after an incident in which Gershwin tried to push Mueller out of the car in which they were riding, Gershwin was admitted to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles for observation. Tests showed no physical cause and he was released on the 26th with a diagnosis of "likely hysteria". His troubles with coordination and mental acuity worsened, and on the night of July 9, Gershwin collapsed in Harburg's house where he had been working on the score of The Goldwyn Follies. He was rushed back to Cedars of Lebanon where he fell into a coma. Only at that point did it become obvious to his doctors that he was suffering from a brain tumor. An immediate call was made to pioneering neurosurgeon Dr. Harvey Cushing in Boston who, retired for several years by then, recommended Dr. Walter Dandy, who was on a boat fishing in Chesapeake Bay with the Governor of Maryland. Dandy was quickly brought to shore by the Coast Guard and sent on to Newark Airport to catch a plane to Los Angeles; however, by that time Gershwin's condition was judged to be critical and the need for surgery immediate. An attempt by doctors at Cedars to excise the tumor was made in the early hours of the 11th, but it proved unsuccessful, and Gershwin died on the morning of July 11, 1937 at the age of 38.
Gershwin's many friends and fans were shocked and devastated. John O'Hara remarked: "George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937, but I don't have to believe it if I don't want to." He was interred at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. A memorial concert was held at the Hollywood Bowl on September 8, 1937 at which Otto Klemperer conducted his own orchestration of the second of Gershwin's Three Piano Preludes.
Gershwin received his sole Academy Award nomination, for Best Original Song at the 1937 Oscars, for "They Can't Take That Away from Me", written with his brother Ira for the 1937 film Shall We Dance. The nomination was posthumous; Gershwin died two months after the film's release.
Gershwin had a ten-year affair with composer Kay Swift, whom he frequently consulted about his music. The two never married, although she eventually divorced her husband James Warburg in order to make it possible. Swift's granddaughter, Katharine Weber, has suggested that the pair were not married because George's mother Rose was "unhappy that Kay Swift wasn't Jewish".[33] Oh, Kay was named for her. After Gershwin's death, Swift arranged some of his music, transcribed several of his recordings, and collaborated with his brother Ira on several projects.
Musical style and influence
Birthday party honoring Maurice Ravel in New York City, March 8, 1928. From left: Oskar Fried; Éva Gauthier; Ravel at piano; Manoah Leide-Tedesco; and George Gershwin.
Gershwin was influenced by French composers of the early twentieth century. In turn Maurice Ravel was impressed with Gershwin's abilities, commenting, "Personally I find jazz most interesting: the rhythms, the way the melodies are handled, the melodies themselves. I have heard of George Gershwin's works and I find them intriguing." The orchestrations in Gershwin's symphonic works often seem similar to those of Ravel; likewise, Ravel's two piano concertos evince an influence of Gershwin.
Gershwin asked to study with Ravel. When Ravel heard how much Gershwin earned, Ravel replied with words to the effect of, "You should give me lessons." (Some versions of this story feature Igor Stravinsky rather than Ravel as the composer; however Stravinsky confirmed that he originally heard the story from Ravel.)
Gershwin's own Concerto in F was criticized for being related to the work of Claude Debussy, more so than to the expected jazz style. The comparison did not deter Gershwin from continuing to explore French styles. The title of An American in Paris reflects the very journey that he had consciously taken as a composer: "The opening part will be developed in typical French style, in the manner of Debussy and Les Six, though the tunes are original."
Aside from the French influence, Gershwin was intrigued by the works of Alban Berg, Dmitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, and Arnold Schoenberg. He also asked Schoenberg for composition lessons. Schoenberg refused, saying "I would only make you a bad Schoenberg, and you're such a good Gershwin already." (This quote is similar to one credited to Maurice Ravel during Gershwin's 1928 visit to France – "Why be a second-rate Ravel, when you are a first-rate Gershwin?")
Russian Joseph Schillinger's influence as Gershwin's teacher of composition (1932–1936) was substantial in providing him with a method of composition. There has been some disagreement about the nature of Schillinger's influence on Gershwin. After the posthumous success of Porgy and Bess, Schillinger claimed he had a large and direct influence in overseeing the creation of the opera; Ira completely denied that his brother had any such assistance for this work. A third account of Gershwin's musical relationship with his teacher was written by Gershwin's close friend Vernon Duke, also a Schillinger student, in an article for the Musical Quarterly in 1947.
What set Gershwin apart was his ability to manipulate forms of music into his own unique voice. He took the jazz he discovered on Tin Pan Alley into the mainstream by splicing its rhythms and tonality with that of the popular songs of his era. Although George Gershwin would seldom make grand statements about his music, he believed that "true music must reflect the thought and aspirations of the people and time. My people are Americans. My time is today."
In 2007, the Library of Congress named their Prize for Popular Song after George and Ira Gershwin. Recognizing the profound and positive effect of popular music on culture, the prize is given annually to a composer or performer whose lifetime contributions exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins. On March 1, 2007, the first Gershwin Prize was awarded to Paul Simon.
Recordings and film
Early in his career Gershwin recorded more than one hundred and forty player piano piano rolls both under his own name and pseudonyms, which were a main source of income for him. The majority are popular music of the period and a smaller proportion are of his own works. Once his musical theatre-writing income became substantial his regular roll-recording career became superfluous. He did record additional rolls throughout the 1920s of his main hits for the Aeolian Company's reproducing piano, including a complete version of his Rhapsody in Blue.
Compared to the piano rolls, there are few accessible audio recordings of Gershwin's playing. His first recording was his own Swanee with the Fred Van Eps Trio in 1919. The recorded balance highlights the banjo playing of Van Eps, and the piano is overshadowed. The recording took place before Swanee became famous as an Al Jolson specialty in early 1920.
Gershwin did record an abridged version of Rhapsody in Blue with Paul Whiteman and his orchestra for the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1924, soon after the world premiere. Gershwin and the same orchestra made an electrical recording of the abridged version for Victor in 1927. However, a dispute in the studio over interpretation angered Paul Whiteman and he left. The conductor's baton was taken over by Victor's staff conductor Nathaniel Shilkret.
Gershwin made a number of solo piano recordings of tunes from his musicals, some including the vocals of Fred and Adele Astaire, as well as his Three Preludes for piano. In 1929, Gershwin "supervised" the world premiere recording of An American in Paris with Nathaniel Shilkret and the Victor Symphony Orchestra. Gershwin's role in the recording was rather limited, particularly because Shilkret was conducting and had his own ideas about the music. When it was realized that no one had been hired to play the brief celeste solo, Gershwin was asked if he could and would play the instrument, and he agreed. Gershwin can be heard, rather briefly, on the recording during the slow section.
Gershwin appeared on several radio programs, including Rudy Vallee's, and played some of his compositions. This included the third movement of the Concerto in F with Vallee conducting the studio orchestra. Some of these performances were preserved on transcription discs and have been released on LP and CD.
In 1934, in an effort to earn money to finance his planned folk opera, Gershwin hosted his own radio program titled Music by Gershwin. The show was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network from February to May and again in September through the final show on December 23, 1934. He presented his own work as well as the work of other composers.[45] Recordings from this and other radio broadcasts include his Variations on I Got Rhythm, portions of the Concerto in F, and numerous songs from his musical comedies. He also recorded a run-through of his Second Rhapsody, conducting the orchestra and playing the piano solos. Gershwin recorded excerpts from Porgy and Bess with members of the original cast, conducting the orchestra from the keyboard; he even announced the selections and the names of the performers. In 1935 RCA Victor asked him to supervise recordings of highlights from Porgy and Bess; these were his last recordings.
A 74-second newsreel film clip of Gershwin playing I Got Rhythm has survived, filmed at the opening of the Manhattan Theater (now The Ed Sullivan Theater) in August 1931. There are also silent home movies of Gershwin, some of them shot on Kodachrome color film stock, which have been featured in tributes to the composer. In addition, there is newsreel footage of Gershwin playing "Mademoiselle from New Rochelle" and "Strike Up the Band" on the piano during a Broadway rehearsal of the 1930 production of Strike Up the Band. In the mid-30s, "Strike Up The Band" was gifted to UCLA to be used as a football fight song, "Strike Up The Band for UCLA". The comedy team of Clark and McCullough are seen conversing with Gershwin, then singing as he plays.
In 1965, Movietone Records released an album MTM 1009 featuring Gershwin's piano rolls of the titled George Gerswhin plays RHAPSODY IN BLUE and his other favorite compositions. The flip side of the LP featured 9 other recordings.
In 1975, Columbia Records released an album featuring Gershwin's piano rolls of the Rhapsody In Blue, accompanied by the Columbia Jazz Band playing the original jazz-band accompaniment, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. The flip side of the Columbia Masterworks release features Tilson Thomas leading the New York Philharmonic in An American In Paris. In 1976, RCA Records, as part of their "Victrola Americana" line released a collection of Gershwin recordings, taken from 78s recorded in the 1920s and called the LP "Gershwin plays Gershwin, Historic First Recordings" (RCA Victrola AVM1-1740) and included recordings of "Rhapsody in Blue" with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and Gershwin on piano, "An American in Paris", from 1927 with Gershwin on celesta; "Three Preludes", "Clap Yo' Hands" and Someone to Watch Over Me", among others. There are a total of 10 recordings on the album.
In 1998, two audio CDs featuring piano rolls recorded Gershwin were issued by Nonesuch Records through the efforts of Artis Woodhouse. It is entitled Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls.
Countless singers and musicians have recorded Gershwin songs, including Fred Astaire, Louis Armstrong, Dean Martin, Al Jolson, Bobby Darin, Percy Grainger, Art Tatum, Yehudi Menuhin, Bing Crosby, The Moody Blues, Janis Joplin, John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sam Cooke, Diana Ross, Neil Sedaka, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Hiromi Uehara, Madonna, Judy Garland, Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, Marni Nixon, Natalie Cole, Patti Austin, Nina Simone, Maureen McGovern, John Fahey, The Residents, Kate Bush, Sublime, Sting, Amy Winehouse, and Liquid Tension Experiment.
In October 2009, it was reported by Rolling Stone that Brian Wilson is completing at least two unfinished compositions by George Gershwin for possible release in 2010. Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin was released on August 17, 2010. The album consists of covers of ten George and Ira Gershwin songs, bookended by passages from Rhapsody in Blue, along with two new songs completed from unfinished Gershwin fragments by Wilson and band member Scott Bennett.
Baseline Studio Systems announced in January 2010 that Steven Spielberg may direct a biopic about the composer's life; 32-year-old American actor Zachary Quinto was named for the leading role of George Gershwin.
Compositions:
Orchestral:
Rhapsody in Blue (for piano and orchestra, 1924)
Piano Concerto in F (1925)
An American in Paris (for orchestra, 1928)
Dream Sequence (for chorus and orchestra, 1929)
Second Rhapsody, originally titled Rhapsody in Rivets (for piano and orchestra, 1931)
Cuban Overture (for orchestra, 1932), originally entitled Rumba
March from Strike Up the Band (for orchestra, 1934)
Variations on "I Got Rhythm" (for piano and orchestra) (1934)
Catfish Row (for orchestra, 1936) a suite based on music from Porgy and Bess
Shall We Dance (1937 film) a movie score feature-length ballet
Solo Piano:
Preludes For Piano (1926)
George Gershwin's Song-book (1932) (solo piano arrangements of 18 songs)
Operas:
Blue Monday, (1922) one-act opera
Porgy and Bess (1935) at the Colonial Theatre in Boston[52]
London Musicals
Primrose (1924)
Broadway Musicals
George White's Scandals (1920–1924) (featuring, at one point, the 1922 one-act opera Blue Monday)
Lady, Be Good (1924)
Tip-Toes (1925)
Tell Me More! (1925)
Oh, Kay! (1926)
Strike Up the Band (1927)
Funny Face (1927)
Rosalie (1928)
Show Girl (1929)
Girl Crazy (1930)
Of Thee I Sing (1931)
Pardon My English (1933)
Let 'Em Eat Cake (1933)
My One and Only (1983) (an original 1983 musical using previously written Gershwin songs)
Crazy for You (1992), a revised version of Girl Crazy, written and compiled without the participation of either George or Ira Gershwin.
Nice Work If You Can Get It (2012) (a musical with a score by George and Ira Gershwin)
Films for which Gershwin wrote original scores
Delicious (1931) (an early version of the Second Rhapsody and one other musical sequence was used in this film, the rest were rejected by the studio)
Shall We Dance (1937) (original orchestral score by Gershwin, no recordings available in modern stereo, some sections have never been recorded)
A Damsel in Distress (1937)
The Goldwyn Follies (1938) (posthumously released)
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947) (uses songs previously unpublished)
Gershwin died intestate, and his estate passed to his mother. The estate continues to collect significant royalties from licensing the copyrights on his work. The estate supported the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act because its 1923 cutoff date was shortly before Gershwin had begun to create his most popular works. The copyrights on all Gershwin's solo works expired at the end of 2007 in the European Union, based on its life-plus-70-years rule.
In 2005, The Guardian determined using "estimates of earnings accrued in a composer's lifetime" that George Gershwin was the wealthiest composer of all time.
George Gershwin was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006.
The George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Musical Achievement Award was established by UCLA to honor the brothers for their contribution to music and for their gift to UCLA of the fight song "Strike Up the Band for UCLA". Past winners have included Angela Lansbury (1988), Ray Charles (1991), Mel Torme (1994), Bernadette Peters (1995), Frank Sinatra (2000), Stevie Wonder (2002), k.d. lang (2003), James Taylor (2004), Babyface (2005), Burt Bacharach (2006), Quincy Jones (2007), Lionel Richie (2008) and Julie Andrews (2009).
The Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to George and Ira Gershwin in 1985. Only three other songwriters, George M. Cohan, Harry Chapin and Irving Berlin, have had the honor of receiving this award.
The Gershwin Theatre on Broadway is named after George and Ira.
The Gershwin Hotel in the Flatiron District of Manhattan in New York City was named after George and Ira.
In Brooklyn, George Gershwin Junior High School 166 is named after him.
The 1945 biographical film Rhapsody in Blue starred Robert Alda as George Gershwin.
So Am I
George Gershwin Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'So Am I' by these artists:
Adele and Fred Astaire Fool that I am for falling in love with you And…
Alison Moyet Our room across is a mile wide She comes, and look…
Andy Zipf I found the hollow and filled it up And it felt…
Ava Max Do you ever feel like a misfit? Everything inside you is…
Carly Bannister I didn’t wanna waste your time But in the end you…
Eun-P Yeah It's K.P yeah Ooooooooh One minute you want me next min…
group A Here I am and I don't have much to say It…
Hannah West Hold me softly Til the sun goes down Kiss me deeply Til I…
Kensington So am I, am I the only one who knows…
Ludvig The Band Who's blood runs golden Where a branch is torn? Talking…
Michael McDermott Lately you've been actin' awfully angry You said it feels li…
Nathan Peterson When it's been far too long and I'm this close…
Sheldon [Verse 1] 1855 made the man who I am (Skrrt, skrrt) Shooters…
So Am I Do you ever feel like a misfit? Everything inside you is…
The Savoy Orpheans When I think of how He came so far from…
The Stupid Robots Got a big idea It's my master plan To get…
Trent Willmon The hood's up, the oil is leakin', The bolt's broken off…
Twarres The wind is blowing and so am I The sky is…
Ty Dolla $ign Girl, you're looking for somebody Somebody you can call on C…
Velee There's another side of you Trying to break through Able to …
We have lyrics for these tracks by George Gershwin:
"Summertime" Summertime, And the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' And the …
'S Wonderful 'S wonderful, 's marvellous, that you should care for me 'S…
'S Wonderful / Funny Face Life has just begun, Jack has found his Jill Don't know…
135th Street Blues Ladies and gentlemen! Come with me to Mike's colored saloon …
A damsel in distress I was a stranger in the city Out of town were…
A Damsel In Distress: Nice Work If You Can Get It The man who only lives for making money Lives a life…
A Damsel in Distress: Suite from the film I was a stranger in the city Out of town were…
A Foggy Day I was a stranger in the city Out of town were…
A Foggy Day in London Town I was a stranger in the city Out of…
a foggy day"|"--"|"--"|"--"|"--"|"--" I was a stranger in the city Out of town were…
A foggy Day/Nice Work if You Can Get it The man who only live for making money Lives a life…
A Woman A woman's touch, a woman's touch The magic of Aladdin couldn…
A Woman Is A Sometime Thing (To Clara) What, that chile ain`t asleep yet? Give him to…
Aren't Ya Kinda Glad We Did Honestly, I thought you wouldn't. Naturally, you thought you…
Aren't You Kind of Glad We Did Oh, it really wasn't my intention To disregard convention It…
Aren't You Kinda Glad We Did Honestly, I thought you wouldn't. Naturally, you thought you…
Back bay polka Give up the fond embrace, Pass up that pretty face You're of…
Barbary Coast If you ask me what place Is the hottest hot place…
Begin The Beguine When they begin the beguine It brings back the sound…
Beginner's Luck At any gambling casino From Monte Carlo to Reno, They tell y…
Bidin' My Time I'm bidin' my time, "Cause that's the kind of guy I'M, While…
Blah Blah Blah I've written you a song A beautiful routine (I hope you like…
Blue Blue Blue (Story about a girl) (Story about the world) Suddenly …
Blue monday Ladies and gentlemen! Come with me to Mike's colored saloon …
Blues Each time you trill a song with Bill or look…
Boy Wanted I've Just Finished Writing An Advertisement Calling For A Bo…
But Not for Me They're writing songs of love but not for me A lucky…
Buzzard song Boss, dat bird mean trouble Once de buzzard fold his wing An…
Capitol Revue: Swanee I've been away from you a long time. I never thought…
Changing my tune Castles were crumbling and daydreams were tumbling December …
Clap 'yo Hands Come on, you children, gather around, Gather around, you chi…
Could You Use Me Have some pittie on an easterner, Show a little sympathy No …
Crazy for You Swaying room as the music starts Strangers making the most o…
Delishious What can I say To sing my praise of you? I must…
Do Do Do I remember the bliss Of that wonderful kiss. I knew that a…
Do It Again Birds do it, bees do it Even educated fleas do it Let's…
Do what you do! BESS oh what you want wid Bess? She's gettin' ole now…
Do-Do-Do I remember the bliss Of that wonderful kiss. I knew that a…
Dream Sequence I'm from the journal, the ? The telegraph, the times We spec…
Embraceable You Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you Embrace me, you irrepla…
Fascinatin' Rhythm Got a little rhythm, a rhythm, a rhythm That pit-apats throu…
Finale/ I Got Rhythm I got rhythm,I got music I got my gal, who can…
Five Song Arrangements: Oh Lady Be Good! Listen to my tale of woe It's terribly sad, but true All…
Five Song Arrangements: Someone to Watch Over Me There's a saying old says that love is blind Still we're…
Five Song Arrangements: The Man I Love When the mellow moon begins to beam, Every night I dream…
Foggy Day I was a stranger in the city Out of town were…
For You For Me For Evermore Paradise can not refuse us Never such a happy pair Everybod…
Fragment from Porgy and Bess Summertime, And the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' And the …
Funny Face Frankly Dear, your modesty reveals to me Self-appraisal oft…
Funny Face: 'S wonderful Life has just begun, Jack has found his Jill Don't know…
Funny Face: My One and Only My one and only, What am I gonna do if you…
George White's Scandals of 1924%3A Somebody Loves Me When this world began It was Heaven's plan There should be…
Girl Crazy Days can be sunny, With never a sigh Don't need what money…
Girl Crazy: Embraceable You Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you! Embrace me, you irrepl…
Girl Crazy: I Got Rhythm Days can be sunny, With never a sigh Don't need what money…
Goldwyn Follies: Love is here to stay It's very clear, our love is here to stay Not for…
Gone Gone Gone My man's gone now Ain't no use a listenin' For his tired…
Grievin' For You Paradise can not refuse us Never such a happy pair Everybod…
Hang on to Me Trouble may hound us, shadows surround us Never mind, my Dea…
He Loves And She Loves He loves and she loves and they love, So why can't…
How Long Has It Been Going On As a tot, when I trotted in little velvet panties, I…
I Can't Be Bothered Now Bad news go 'way, Call round some day, In March or May, I…
I Don't Think I'll Fall in Love Today Just think of what love leads to Maybe marriage, maybe divor…
I Got Rhythm I got rhythm,I got music I got my gal, who can…
I Got plenty o Nuttin Oh, I got plenty o' nuttin' And nuttin's plenty for me I…
I Got Rhuthm I got rhythm,I got music I got my gal, who can…
I Was Doing All Right I was doing all right Nothing but rainbows in my sky I…
I Won't Say I Will You're a very naughty boy When you ask me for a…
I'd Rather Charleston I've seen for days that you've got The ways that must…
I'll Build a Stairway All you preachers Who delight in panning the dancing teacher…
I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles I'm dreaming dreams, I'm scheming schemes I'm building castl…
I've Got a Crush on You How glad the many millions of Annabelles and Lillians Would …
I've Got Beginner's Luck At any gambling casino From Monte Carlo to Reno, They tell y…
I've Got Plenty of Nuttin' Oh, I got plenty o' nuttin' And nuttin's plenty for me I…
Ill Build a Stairway to Paradise cll you preachers Who delight in panning the dancing teacher…
Improvisations: 's Wonderful Funny Face Life has just begun, Jack has found his Jill Don't know…
Improvisations: Looking for a Boy I am just a little girl Who's looking for a little…
Improvisations: My One and Only My one and only, What am I gonna do if you…
Improvisations: Someone to Watch Over Me There's a saying old, says that love is blind Still we're…
Introduction / Summertime Summertime, And the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' And the …
Isn't It A Pity Why did I wander Here and there and yonder, Wasting precious…
Isn't It a Pity? Why did I wander Here and there and yonder, Wasting precio…
It Ain't Necessarily So It ain't necessarily so It ain't necessarily so The things t…
It Ain't Necesseraly So It ain't necessarily so It ain't necessarily so The t'ings…
It Aint Necessarily So It ain't necessarily so It ain't necessarily so The things t…
It's Wonderful Any man who would appeal to me Must appeal in every…
Juanita Tell us, señorita, do they grow Any more like you down…
K-Ra-Zy for You Paradise can not refuse us Never such a happy pair Everybod…
Katinkitschken Katinkitschka, katinkitschka Out all night long Katinkitschk…
Kickin the Clouds Away I just heard a spiritual One that every phonograph should ow…
Lady Be Good Listen to my tale of woe, It's terribly sad but…
Let 'Em Eat Cake My love is mine Whether it rain or storm or shine Mine…
Let's Call the Whole Thing Off Things have come to a pretty pass Our romance is growing…
Lets do it Birds do it, bees do it Even educated fleas do it Let's…
Little Jazz Bird Into a cabaret One fatal day A little songbird flew Found…
Liza Liza, Liza, skies are gray But if you smile on me,…
Long Ago and Far Away Dreary days are over Life's a four leaf clover Sessions of d…
Looking for a Baby I am just a little girl Who's looking for a little…
Lorelei Back in the days of knights and armour, There once lived…
love Is Here to Stay It's very clear, our love is here to stay Not for…
Love Is Sweeping The Country Why are people gay all the night and day Feeling as…
Love Walked In Nothing seemed to matter any more, Didn't care what I was…
Make Believe The game of "just supposing" is the sweetest game I…
Maybe Maybe you'll think of me When you are all alone Maybe the…
Me One and Only My one and only, What am I gonna do if you…
Meadow Serenade Though my voice is just a singsong I must burst into…
Medley from Porgy and Bess: Summertime, And the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' And the …
Medley: One Two Three / Waltzing is Better Sitting Down / Waltz Me No Waltzes One, Two, Three One, Two, Three One, Two, Three The latest …
Mine Mine, love is mine Whether it rain or storm or shine Mine,…
My Cousin in Milwaukee (Chorus) I got a cousin in Milwaukee She's got a voice so…
My Man's Gone Now My man's gone now Ain't no use a listenin' For his tired…
My One & Only My one and only, What am I gonna do if you…
My One And Only S'Wonderfull My one and only, What am I gonna do if you…
New York Interlude That's the thing, ain' it? An' membuh there's. Where that c…
New York Rhapsody That's the thing, ain' it? An' membuh there's. Where that co…
Nice Work The man who only lives for making money Lives a life…
Of Thee I Sing From the island of Manhattan to the coast of gold From…
Oh Gee! Oh gee, oh gosh Oh joy, oh golly Oh gee I'm happy…
Oh I Can't Sit Down Oh, I can't sit down! Got to keep a-goin' Like the…
Oh I Got Plenty o' Nuttin' Oh, I got plenty o' nuttin' And nuttin's plenty for me I…
Oh Kay Come on, you children, gather around, Gather around, you chi…
Oh Kay! Act I: Do Do Do I remember the bliss Of that wonderful kiss. I knew that a…
Oh Kay! Overture Soon or late, maybe, If you wait, maybe, Some kind fate, m…
Oh Kay!: Clap Yo' Hands Come on, you children, gather around, Gather around, you chi…
Oh Kay!: Do-Do-Do You've a charm that is all your own Makes 'em all…
Oh Kay!: Overture Soon or late, maybe, If you wait, maybe, Some kind fate, m…
Oh Kay!: Someone to watch over me There's a saying old, says that love is blind Still we're…
Oh Lady Listen to my tale of woe It's terribly sad, but true All…
Oh Lady B Good Listen to my tale of woe, It's terribly sad but…
Oh Lady Be Good! Listen to my tale of woe It's terribly sad but true All…
Oh! Lady Be Good Listen to my tale of woe, It's terribly sad but…
Oh! Lady, Be Good! Oh, lady be good Listen to my tale of woe, It's terribly…
One Two Three Waltzing is Better Sitting Down Waltz Me No Waltzes One, Two, Three One, Two, Three One, Two, Three The latest …
Our Love Is Here to Stay It's very clear, our love is here to stay Not for…
Overture from of Thee I Sing Who cares if the sky cares To fall in the sea? Who…
Overture to "Funny Face" Life has just begun, Jack has found his Jill Don't know…
Overture To "Girl Crazy" Dozens of girls would storm up I had to lock my…
Overture To "Lady Be Good!" Listen to my tale of woe It's terribly sad, but true All…
Overture to "Of Thee I Sing" From the island of Manhattan to the coast of gold From…
Overture To "Oh Kay!" Soon or late, maybe, If you wait, maybe, Some kind fate, m…
Overture To "Strike Up The Band" Let the drums roll out Let the trumpet call While the…
Piano Book: But Not For Me They're writing songs of love but not for me A lucky…
and many more tracks by George Gershwin.
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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