George Gershwin on Music Theory Print

'S Wonderful

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Other recordings#

Other vocal versions include those of Bing Crosby (recorded in 1954 for use on his radio show and subsequently included in the box set The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954-56) issued by Mosaic Records (catalog MD7-245) in 2009 ), Sun Ra, Brian Wilson, Anita O’Day, Gene Kelly, Ella Fitzgerald (for her album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book), Michael Feinstein (for his album Pure Gershwin), Joe Williams, John Pizzarelli, Sarah Vaughan, Karrin Allyson, Diana Krall for her album The Look of Love and as a duet with Tony Bennett on their collaborative album Love Is Here to Stay, João Gilberto, Shirley Bassey, Harry Connick Jr. and Engelbert Humperdinck. Ray Conniff recorded the song too, an instrumental version. It was his first minor hit, peaking at No. 73 on the Hot 100. There have been many instrumental recordings, for example, by Dave Grusin, Ray Conniff, Lee Konitz and Lennie Tristano, Sonny Stitt, and Lionel Hampton with Oscar Peterson. The song also appears on the original Broadway cast recordings of Nice Work If You Can Get It and My One and Only, as well as the 2015 original Broadway cast recording of An American in Paris featuring Brandon Uranowitz, Robert Fairchild, and Max von Essen.

'The Half of It, Dearie' Blues

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Recordings#

Fred Astaire with George Gershwin at the piano - Fred Astaire - Complete London Sessions. In this first ever recording of the number, on April 19, 1926, Astaire includes a short tap-dancing section and asks Gershwin: “How’s that, George,” to which Gershwin replies: “That’s fine, Freddy, keep going.”
Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959)

External links#

*Original sheet music Digitized copy in the Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection, Sheridan Libraries and University Museums, Johns Hopkins University.

(I've Got) Beginner's Luck

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Other notable recordings#

*Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959)

A Damsel in Distress (musical)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Main cast#

Richard Fleeshman as George
Summer Strallen as Maud Marshmoreton
Desmond Barrit as Keggs
Isla Blair as Lady Caroline Byng
Richard Dempsey as Reggie Byng
Nicholas Farrell as Lord Marshmoreton
Sally Ann Triplett as Billie Dore
Melle Stewert as Alice
Chloe Hart as Dorcas
David Seadon Young as Pierre

Production#

The director and choreographer was Rob Ashford, the designer was Christopher Oram, and the musical supervisor was David Chase. The musical director was Alan Williams, the orchestrator was Bill Elliott, the lightning designer was Howard Harrison, and the sound designer was Paul Groothuis. Gabrielle Dawes and James Orange were the casting directors.

A Dangerous Maid

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Plot#

Elsie Crofton, age eighteen, is a former chorus girl. She has given up the stage to elope with wealthy, spoiled, but good-hearted Harry Hammond, the son of a government contractor. Harry’s parents, Phillip and Eleanor, his sister Margery and her fiancé Fred Blakely consider Elsie dangerous to their social position and oppose the marriage. They arrange for Harry to go to a family construction site, to interrupt the honeymoon, and send Elsie to stay at their summer home, where their family friends Alfie and Anne Westford are also staying. The family plans to destroy the marriage by placing Elsie in a compromising position with the willing and eager Fred. Anne also reveals her prejudices against Elsie. Elsie soon grasps the situation and decides to take action. She flirts with all the men, which dismays her visiting husband, but she gains the sympathies of Phillip, Fred and Alfie. Eleanor, Margery and Anne are furious, but Elsie reveals their scheme, and everybody reconciles.

A Foggy Day

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Other recordings#

Frank Sinatra – Songs for Young Lovers (1953)
Billie Holiday – Songs for Distingué Lovers (1957)
Red Garland – Red Garland at the Prelude (1959)
Frank Sinatra — Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961)
Judy Garland — Judy at Carnegie Hall (1961)
George Benson – It’s Uptown (1965)
Sarah Vaughan – Live in Japan (1973)
Lyn Collins – Check Me Out if You Don’t Know Me By Now (1975)
Wynton Marsalis – Marsalis Standard Time, Volume 1 (1987)
Tony Bennett – MTV Unplugged (1994)
David Bowie – Red Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove (1998)
Michael Bublé – It’s Time (2005)
Willie Nelson – My Way (2018)

Americana (revue)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Songs#

First Production * “American Revue Girls” (Words by J. P. McEvoy, music by Con Conrad) * “Sunny Disposish” (Words by Ira Gershwin, music by Philip Charig) * “That Lost Barber Shop Chord” (Words by Ira Gershwin, music by George Gershwin) * “Blowing the Blues Away” (Words by Ira Gershwin, music by Philip Charig) * “Dreaming” (Words by J. P. McEvoy, music by Henry Souvaine and Con Conrad) * “The Promise in your Eyes” * “Cavalier Americana” (Libretto by J. P. McEvoy, music by Henry Souvaine “(with apologies)” * “Riverside Bus” (Words by J. P. McEvoy, music by Con Conrad) * “The Volga Boatmen” * “Tabloid Papers” (Words by J. P. McEvoy, music by Con Conrad) * “Why Do Ya Roll Those Eyes” (Words by Morrie Ryskind, music by Philip Charig) * “Just Lovin’” (Words by J. P. McEvoy, music by Henry Souvaine) * “Scrubwomen’s Ballet” (Music by Henry Souvaine) * “Thanks Awful” (Words by Joe Young and Sam Lewis, music by Con Conrad) Third Production * “Get That Sun Into You” (Words by E. Y. Harburg, music by Richard Myers) * “Whistling For a Kiss” (Words by E. Y. Harburg and Johnny Mercer, music by Richard Myers) * “Satan’s Li’l Lamb” (Words by E. Y. Harburg and Johnny Mercer, music by Harold Arlen) * “You’re Not Pretty But You’re Mine” (Words by E. Y. Harburg, music by Burton Lane) * “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (Words by E. Y. Harburg, music by Jay Gorney) * “Let Me Match My Private Life With Yours” (Words by E. Y. Harburg, music by Vernon Duke) * “Ringside–Madison Square Garden” (Music by Winthrop Sargeant) * “Five Minutes of Spring” (Words by E. Y. Harburg, music by Jay Gorney) * “Would’ja For a Big Red Apple” (Words by Johnny Mercer, music by Henry Souvane and Everett Miller) * “Amour a la Militaire” (Music by Bernard Herrmann) * “If I Love Again”

An American in Paris

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

Although the story has never been verified, Gershwin is said to have been attracted by Maurice Ravel’s unusual chords, and Gershwin went on his first trip to Paris in 1925, hoping to study with Ravel. After his initial student audition with Ravel turned into a sharing of musical theories, Ravel said he could not teach him, saying, “Why be a second-rate Ravel when you can be a first-rate Gershwin?” Gershwin strongly encouraged Ravel to tour the United States. To this end, upon his return to New York, Gershwin joined the efforts of Ravel’s friend Robert Schmitz, a pianist Ravel had met during the war, to urge Ravel to tour America. Schmitz was the head of Pro Musica, promoting Franco-American musical relations, and was able to offer Ravel a $10,000 fee for the tour, an enticement Gershwin knew Ravel would find appealing. Ravel arrived in New York in March 1928. Gershwin attended a birthday party held for Ravel by Éva Gauthier. Ravel’s tour reignited Gershwin’s desire to return to Paris, which he and his brother Ira did after meeting Ravel.

An American in Paris (ballet)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Production#

Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon was first invited to choreograph the musical version of the film An American in Paris, though the project was abandoned. Wheeldon, who said George Gershwin’s orchestral piece of the same name was “a great piece of classical music” in addition to being a film score, decided to make a ballet version instead. On the choreography, Wheeldon said he wanted to create a more “balleticize” version with his own choreography, as the film’s choreography is simple and uninteresting, but the cinematography made the film work on screen. He said he considered to have one of the dancers be off pointe, but went against it as it is a ballet. Holly Hynes and Natasha Katz were brought in to design costumes and lighting respectively. An American in Paris premiered on May 4, 2005, at the New York State Theater, the three lead roles were originated by Carla Körbes, Jenifer Ringer and Damian Woetzel, and Andrea Quinn conducted the orchestra. The ballet received mixed reviews. Another Times reviewer wrote that the scenes were unmemorable but “well crafted that the overall result is amiable entertainment.” Wheeldon later claimed he “never felt entirely happy” with the ballet.

An American in Paris (musical)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Plot#

This synopsis reflects the American version of the musical play, which was revised after its premiere 2014 run in Paris. Setting: Paris, 1945, at the end of the Second World War. Act I Adam Hochberg walks on stage and downs a cup of liquor. He sits at a piano and recounts the story of the day his friend, Jerry Mulligan, came to Paris. Just after the liberation of France, US Army Lieutenant Jerry Mulligan is struck by a mysterious girl after seeing her on the maze-like streets of Paris (“Concerto in F”). Ready to rebuild his life after the war, he deliberately misses his train home and decides to stay in Paris to nurture his passion for painting. He makes his way to a cafe/lodging house, where he meets Adam Hochberg, a fellow veteran and pianist, whose war injuries have left him with a permanent limp. Recognizing a kindred spirit, Adam helps Jerry find a place to live and helps him get started in Paris. Henri Baurel, the son of wealthy French industrialists, enters to rehearse the nightclub act he is putting together with Adam. Henri reveals his plans to run his family’s American branch while becoming a nightclub star in secret, fearing his parents’ disapproval of his dreams of being an entertainer. Both Henri and Jerry berate Adam for making his new song too dark when what Paris needs is light. Adam retorts that as artists, they have a duty to show the horrible things they’ve seen, and teases Henri about his fear of proposing to his girlfriend, whose name he will not tell Adam. The three bond in friendship as they imagine a brighter future (“I Got Rhythm”). Adam takes Jerry to the Paris ballet, where he is accompanying auditions, to sketch the dancers. Jerry bumps into headstrong American philanthropist, Milo Davenport, who, struck by his talent and good looks, invites him to a party to introduce him to gallery owners. Henri’s mother, Madame Baurel, arrives with Ballet Director Maestro Z, and introduces Milo to him as a potential donor. Dancers arrive for the audition, and the audition has begun when to Jerry’s shock, the mysterious girl arrives, apologizing for being late. She is told to leave, but Adam convinces her to dance in the back. As the audition continues, the girl dances beautifully, impressing the Ballet Director, Milo and both Jerry and Adam (“Second Prelude”). The girl introduces herself as Lise Dassin, and Maestro Z recognizes her as the daughter of the famed ballerina Arielle Dassin. In gratitude for his help, she gives Adam a flower and a kiss on the cheek before hurriedly leaving for her job. Milo, charmed by Lise and her mysterious demeanor, tells the maestro she will fund his season only if he commissions a piece just for Lise with a score written by Adam. She then takes it a step further, demanding it be designed by the ’noted painter’ Jerry Mulligan. Helpless at her charismatic hands, the maestro agrees, except for allowing Jerry to design the ballet—he has his own stable of designers. Immediately infatuated with Lise, Adam sits down, thrilled with the prospect of writing a ballet that joins French and American culture. Jerry interrupts Lise at her job at a perfume counter to tell her that she got the job. Lise is reserved, and but Jerry will not be dissuaded as he tries to get her to agree to meet with him at the Seine that evening, causing a ruckus in the store until he is thrown out (“I’ve Got Beginners’ Luck”). Madame Baurel enters and congratulates Lise she is to be the prima ballerina of the Théâtre du Châtelet Ballet. It is revealed Lise lives with the Baurel family, which they have not disclosed to the Ballet in order to avoid charges of nepotism. At the Baurel home, Henri attempts to write a letter proposing to his girlfriend, who is revealed to be Lise. Meanwhile, Lise sits down at a cafe and writes a letter to her mother; although presumed dead, she still hopes they are alive and writes a letter every day. She begs for advice: whether to marry Henri as expected, or try for true love (“The Man I Love”). Adam watches the scene from afar, falling deeper in love with Lise. Jerry is sketching a bench at the banks of the Seine when Lise arrives for their meeting, telling him she cannot accept his friendship. He shows her an incomplete sketch of her he began after their first encounter on the street, and proposes she meet him every day so he can draw her until he gets it right. Offended, she refuses, but Jerry calms the atmosphere by saying Lise doesn’t have to say anything if she doesn’t want to. It becomes clear both are haunted by events during the War, and she solemnly agrees with him to put the war behind them. To lighten the mood, he declares her name too sorrowful and decides to call her Liza, telling her that in the hour they are together, they are just two crazy, happy fools down by the river (“Liza”). She agrees, only if he swears to never tell anyone. Overjoyed, he tries to kiss her, but she pushes him in the river. They both agree to meet the next day, same time, same place. Henri is still attempting to draft his proposal letter, and his mother warns him if he doesn’t do it soon, somebody else will. She implies his reluctance to propose is perhaps due to a romantic interest in men, which Henri denies, and warns him the family, vulnerable to accusations of collaboration with the Nazis, must be concerned with appearances. Lise enters with Mr. Baurel who says Henri has something to say to her. Dodging the subject, he asked her about her new position and tells her of him coming American tour. Lise tells him should he ever want a companion in America, she will accompany him gladly, and he takes this as an agreement to the proposal he has not yet made, mistaking her obvious glow of happiness for excitement about the ballet rather than for love of Jerry. Back at the cafe, all three men rejoice over their love for Lise, eventually joining in a trio without realizing they are all singing about the same woman (“S’Wonderful”). Henri shows the other two his proposal letter, only to find he has Lise’s notebook by mistake. He reads the letter to her mother about her doubts over doing what is expected of her, marrying Henri and following her heart. Stricken, he nonetheless finds a glimmer of hope in the letter. Adam offers to console him with a drink while Jerry heads over to Milo’s party. Jerry arrives at Milo’s apartment to discover there was no party, and Milo has invited him on a date on false pretenses (“Shall We Dance?”). Initially annoyed, Jerry relents after Milo gives him constructive criticism on his art and takes him to meet various gallery representatives, and they begin a casual relationship. Over the next week, Adam and Lise work on the new ballet, and struggle with the material. Milo continuously brings Jerry’s designs in and they are routinely rejected. Milo and Jerry embark on a trek of the Parisian art world, exploding with new life and post-war energy as Milo falls in love with him. Jerry’s designs are finally accepted, but the ballet continues to run into many problems, and Lise and Jerry find solace in their short daily meetings. Milo and Jerry go to a costume party, and Jerry is shocked to discover Lise there with Henri. Jerry realizes Lise is engaged to his friend and, in a fit of rage, he removes both his and Milo’s masks, and with Lise watching, kisses her (“Second Rhapsody/Cuban Overture”). Act II Adam is commissioned by the Baurels to play at one of their parties, not knowing his connection to Henri. Jerry is brought as Milo’s plus one, and, in an attempt to cover up his secret nightclub act, Henri denies knowing them, arousing his parents’ suspicions. After learning the party is a benefit for the ballet and dancers will be there, Jerry tries and fails to leave for the fear of confronting Lise. After seeing Lise is not among the dancers, he laughs in relief, causing a stir among the guests which eventually turns into a wild dance number (“Fidgety Feet”). After the performance, he discovers Lise is indeed there as a guest of honor. The Baurels, surprised to find both enjoy jazz, ask Milo for a recommendation for a nightclub, and when Milo asks Jerry, he recommends the nightclub where Henri and Adam are booked to perform. The Baurels announce Lise and Henri’s engagement, crushing both Adam and Jerry, who lashes out at Milo and storms into the garden. Henri asks Milo to dance to comfort her, and they recognize each other as kindred spirits. Lise follows him out into the garden. Jerry confronts her. Lise cannot lie and says she loves him, but cannot be with him because she is beholden to Henri for a reason she refuses to disclose. Jerry questions Henri’s love for her and begs her to meet him again. Lise tells him she does not have the luxury of love and runs away because “life is not like your American movies.” Jerry is left in despair. It is revealed Milo, Adam and Henri have been watching the altercation the whole time. Back at their respective homes, they all act as if nothing has happened. In parallel conversations, Milo and Henri ask Jerry and Lise if they have anything to tell them. Dodging the question, they ask if they’re worried of what the public thinks of them. They respond they don’t care as long as they’re in love (“Who Cares?/For You, For Me, For Evermore”). Henri pledges his love for Lise, but Jerry decides to be honest with Milo and break things off. Although she has fallen in love with him, she thanks him for being honest and they end their relationship amicably. Adam and Milo reflect on the love around them and wonder why there is no love for them (“But Not For Me”). In a nightclub in Montparnasse on one of their last shows, Adam and Henri get ready for a show. Adam begs Henri to let Lise stay in Paris and accuses him of being a coward both during the war and afterwards. Henri, furious, admits the truth: Lise is beholden to Henri because he and his family saved her life during the occupation. She was the daughter of the Baurel’s Jewish butler, and she was entrusted to their care after her parents were arrested by the Nazis. Henri threw himself into the Resistance, all of them risking their lives for her, and have kept this secret due to the disruption this would cause their social status in the fragile post-war world. Adam asks if that means Lise has to throw away her life to pay Henri back when neither of them really love each other, and begs him to find the courage he had during the war and free Lise to make her own decisions. Before they can say more, they are called to places. Jerry sees Lise at the nightclub and tells her that he and Milo are through and begs her to tell him what obligations she has to Henri, but Henri’s act starts. Henri’s act begins and he is stricken with nerves, but Adam encourages him to remember his dream, and he fantasizes of performing an elegant number in Radio City Music Hall (“Stairway to Paradise”). His act ends triumphantly. Unfortunately, Milo and his parents catch him, the nightclub being the one Jerry recommended (not knowing the recommendation was for the Baurels.) Mme Baurel berates him for shaming the family name, but Mr. Baurel is proud and in awe of his son’s talent, and she capitulates. Lise, however, is angry at Jerry for accidentally exposing Henri and leaves. Jerry tries to run after her and accidentally knocks Adam to the ground. When he tries to help him up, Henri stops him, furious for disrupting his relationship with Lise. Jerry accuses him of being a coward. Henri punches him and tells him whatever he may think of him, Lise is what he has devoted his life to. To clear the air, Adam tells Jerry of Henri’s involvement in the Resistance and Lise’s past. Jerry understands, but is determined to keep fighting for love and tells Henri if he chooses duty over love, they are all doomed. Lise, who has overheard the confrontation, comes back in, telling Henri to take her home. Jerry pleads with her, but she departs, leaving him heartbroken. Adam has a flash of insight: if life is dark, then it is an artist’s duty to celebrate and bring love back into life. He feverishly revises the score for the Ballet, turning it into a celebration of life. On opening night at the Ballet, Jerry shifts around nervously outside Lise’s dressing room, a scroll in his hand. Milo, seeing his indecision, offers to deliver it for him. Lise opens the scroll to find it is his drawing of her, finally complete. Milo advises her although Jerry was never serious about her, he did teach her one thing: money could not buy love, which is one of a kind. Lise thanks her, but confesses she knows the Ballet will fail; she is so upset that she does not feel any passion onstage. Milo advises her to think of someone who made her feel that passion as she dances. Lise clutches Jerry’s drawing tight as places are called. The Ballet begins, and as it progresses, Lise imagines her partner has become Jerry, and they perform a magnificent pas de deux. The Ballet ends with Lise triumphant, having become a bona fide star (“An American in Paris”). After the curtain call, Jerry goes on to congratulate Lise and apologizes. Lise tells him not to, she couldn’t have danced like that if she didn’t love him. Milo asks Henri if he feels alright. He admits he cannot tell if his love for Lise is out of duty or passion and asks to take a drive with Lise. Milo approves, and advises him to call her the next day. Lise asks for one moment and approaches Adam. She gives Adam a rose out of her bouquet, a gesture usually done by an etoile to her pas de deux partner, and kisses him good bye. He takes her aside and warns she is making a mistake by doing her duty. Love is a one time thing and she should follow her heart. She leaves, and Audience members go up to congratulate Adam. He has been praised in every review. It is then he realizes his love for Lise isn’t for her, but for the light she brings into the world. He rejoices he got the chance to capture her in music and vows to do good in the world. The three men vow to always remember Lise and thank her for how she has changed their lives (“They Can’t Take That Away From Me”). Jerry sits alone by the Seine. Lise appears. She has decided to follow her heart. They dance together and walk off into the Paris night (“Epilogue”).

An American in Paris (soundtrack)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Track listing#

10-inch long-play record (MGM Records E-93)

Blue Monday (opera)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characters#

Roles
Joe, a gambler, tenor
Vi, his sweetheart, lyric soprano
Tom, café entertainer and singer, baritone
Mike, café proprietor and manager, bass
Sam, café worker and custodian, baritone
Sweetpea, café pianist
Chorus
Guests As in Gershwin’s later opera Porgy and Bess, all the singing roles are African-American characters. Unlike Porgy and Bess, however, the original production of Blue Monday was performed by white singers in blackface.

Synopsis#

;Setting :A basement café near the intersection of 135th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem, New York City. ;Time :An evening during the Jazz Age, beginning at around 9:30 P.M. After a brief overture, the gambler Joe appears in front of the curtain as a Prologue, in a reference to the character Tonio’s opening aria in Pagliacci. Like that number, which explained the serious nature of Leoncavallo’s opera as if it were an actual event, Joe tells his audience that, just like “the white man’s opera”, this “colored Harlem tragedy enacted in operatic style” focuses on primal human emotions such as love, hate, passion, and jealousy, and that the moral of the story is that tragic results come from when a woman’s intuition goes wrong (Joe: “Ladies and gentlemen!”). As the curtain rises on a café with a bar, gambling room, and dance floor, café owner Mike berates his worker Sam for his laziness and commands him to get to work. As Sam sweeps the floor, he relates that he resents “Blue Monday” because he always loses at dice gambling and it is the day when people die, and concludes that there is no use working on Mondays (Sam: “Blue Monday Blues”). The pianist Sweetpea arrives and plays for a while until the arrogant singer Tom comes in and knocks her out of the way, claiming that the only reason the café is still in business is his singing. Joe’s sweetheart Vi enters, asking if anyone has seen her “lovin’ man” Joe, whom she is supposed to be meeting for a date (Vi: “Has Anyone Seen My Joe?”). When Mike goes to the backroom to ask if anyone has seen Joe, Tom attempts to seduce and woo Vi. When Tom tells her that he loves her and asks what she sees in the gambler Joe, Vi angrily retorts that even if he gambles, Joe is a man and unique. Tom continues to try to persuade Vi to leave Joe for him and he attempts to kiss her, when Vi threatens him with a revolver that Joe had given her. Mike returns with the news that no one has seen Joe, and Vi leaves. Mike again calls Sam and scolds him for being lazy, and as Sam again sweeps the floor he sings a reprise the song “Blue Monday Blues” (Sam: “Monday’s the day that all the earthquakes quiver”). This time Sam more directly foreshadows the event to come, as he states that “Monday’s a day full of sad, sad news /… That’s when a gal will pull a trigger, / A gal will pull a trigger”. Joe enters the café and Tom hides behind the piano to eavesdrop on his conversation with Mike. After Mike tells Joe that Vi has been looking for him and that he has heard that Joe won a large deal of money in a game of craps, Joe tells him that he is going to use the money to travel to the South the next morning to visit his mother, whom he hasn’t seen in years and to whom he has recently sent a telegram (Joe: “I’ll tell the world I did”). Joe says that he cannot tell Vi that he is going, and when asked why by Mike he says that she gets jealous and angry for irrational reasons. He then relates how he yearns to see his mother and return home (Joe: “I’m Gonna See My Mother”). Joe goes upstairs to meet Vi, and slowly the night’s guests and customers arrive. After a dance, Vi tells him that she loves only him and although she is a jealous woman, if he remains true to her then she will be his (Vi: I love but you, my Joe, my Joe"). When Joe leaves to wait for a telegram from his mother, Tom tells Vi that he overheard Joe’s conversation and that the telegram is from another woman. Vi initially refuses to believe him, but when Sweetpea arrives with Joe’s telegram, Vi accuses Joe of infidelity and demands to see the telegram. Joe rebukes her by pushing her away, and when he opens the envelope Vi shoots him with the revolver from her handbag. Vi reads the letter, sent in fact by Joe’s sister, who states that there is no need for Joe to come South because his mother had been dead for three years. When she realizes what she has done, Vi sinks to the floor and begs Joe for forgiveness, which she receives. As Joe dies, he sings that he is finally going to see his mother in heaven. (Joe: “I’m Gonna See My Mother”).

Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

In the summer of 2009, Walt Disney Records approached Wilson about recording his own arrangements of songs from Disney films; however, Wilson first wanted to record an album of Gershwin covers, which the label agreed to support. He and band member Paul Mertens picked the songs to record based on Wilson’s vocal range, and which ones he thought he could sing “appropriately.” In addition to the covers, the Gershwin estate granted Wilson access to over 100 unfinished Gershwin songs and fragments for the project to use for new material. Two songs were completed by Wilson and Scott Bennett (who provided lyrics) mainly based on two fragments: “Will You Remember Me”, which was originally written in 1924 for the musical Lady, Be Good, was completed as “The Like in I Love You”, while “Say My Say”, which was unfinished by the Gershwin brothers in 1929, was completed as “Nothing But Love”. Recording of the album began at the start of 2010. According to Mertens, Wilson would spend eight hours a day in the studio perfecting vocal tracks. Walt Disney Records’ reaction to the final product was positive, though they hired recording engineer Al Schmitt to remix the original tracks that were recorded by Mark Linett and prepared by Wilson.

Buddy DeFranco and Oscar Peterson Play George Gershwin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Track listing#

“I Wants to Stay Here” (DuBose Heyward) – 3:46 # “I Was Doing All Right” – 5:21 # “‘S Wonderful” – 4:21 # “Bess, You Is My Woman Now” (Heyward) – 4:54 # “Strike Up the Band” – 2:26 # “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” – 3:49 # “The Man I Love” – 4:31 # “I Got Rhythm” – 3:18 # “Someone to Watch Over Me” – 4:18 # “It Ain’t Necessarily So” – 4:10 # “I Wants to Stay Here” – 4:11 Alternate track on CD reissue # “Someone to Watch over Me” – 4:35 Alternate track on CD reissue All songs composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Additional lyrics by DuBose Heyward where indicated.#

Performance#

Buddy DeFranco – clarinet
Oscar Peterson – piano
Ray Brown – double bass
Herb Ellis – guitar
Bobby White – drums

But Not for Me (song)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Other recordings#

Harry James with Helen Forrest – recorded for Columbia on December 30, 1941 and reached No. 12 in the Billboard charts in 1942. and 1954 for his radio show. It was included in the box set The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954–56) issued by Mosaic in 2009.
Judy Garland – for the 1943 film Girl Crazy.
Miles Davis – Bags’ Groove (1954).
Doris Day on Day by Day (1956).
Buddy De Franco on Mr. Clarinet (1956).
Modern Jazz Quartet – Django (1956).
Ahmad Jamal – At the Pershing: But Not for Me (1958).
Dexter Gordon – Take the A Train (1967).
Elvis Costello - 1994 recording for the album The Glory of Gershwin, tribute album by various singers and performers in celebration of American musician Larry Adler’s 80th birthday.
Olivier Caillard and Hélène Bohy – C’est pas pour moi (French version) in Les P’tits Loups du Jazz (1993).
Timothy Levitch – The Cruise (1998) The film starts with Levitch singing the song a cappella.
Rod Stewart – Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III (2004)
James Moody with Kenny Barron – Moody 48 (2008).

By George (album)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Reception#

Scott Yanow of AllMusic said “The fact that he was able to come up with fresh statements on these warhorses (and still stay melodic) says a great deal about Cables’s inventiveness.” The Penguin Guide to Jazz wrote that the album was “richly sophisticated, and the solo performances of ‘Embraceable You’ and ‘Someone to Watch over Me’ are excellent examples of his innate rhythmic sense.”

Track listing#

All compositions by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin except as indicated # “Bess, You Is My Woman Now” – 7:26 # “My Man’s Gone Now” (George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) – 7:31 # “I Got Rhythm” – 4:36 # “Embraceable You” – 6:51 # “Someone to Watch over Me” – 7:06 # “A Foggy Day” – 5:53 # “Summertime” (Gershwin, Heyward) – 4:55 Bonus track on CD reissue

By Strauss

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Lyrics#

The singer sings how he doesn’t like Broadway, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter and - in a case of self-mockery - George Gershwin. Instead he wants to dance to waltzes by father and son Strauss. The lyrics reference three of Strauss’s best known compositions, namely An der schönen blauen Donau (“Let the Danube flow along”), Die Fledermaus (“and the Fledermaus”) and Wein, Weib und Gesang (“Keep the wine and give me song”).

Catfish Row

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Movements#

Catfish Row contains the Introduction, “Jazzbo Brown’s Piano Blues”, which was cut from the opera until 1976 (a motive from this music is first heard in the orchestral Introduction, which was actually composed later), and the first iteration of “Summertime” with a short coda. The coda consists of the opening bars of the “crap game” music, which immediately follows “Summertime” in the opera. # Porgy Sings contains one of Porgy’s arias: “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin” and Porgy and Bess’s duet “Bess, You Is My Woman Now” bridged by a cello solo (the introduction to the latter song). # Fugue contains the dark dissonant music from the murder of Crown in Act III scene 1. # Hurricane features the music from the hurricane sequence (12 more measures than the R. R. Bennett Porgy and Bess “Symphonic Picture” medley). # Good Morning, Sistuh contains the Act III Prelude from the final scene of the opera, as well as the final song, “Oh, Lawd, I’m on My Way”.#

Instrumentation#

Catfish Row is scored for two flutes (the second doubling piccolo), two oboes (the second doubling English horn), four clarinets in B-Flat (the fourth doubling bass clarinet in B-flat), one bassoon, three French horns in F, three trumpets in B-flat, two trombones, one tuba; a percussion section that includes timpani, drum set, xylophone, cymbals, snare drum, bass drum, tubular bells, tom-tom, wood block, suspended cymbal, glockenspiel and triangle; one piano; one banjo and strings.

Concerto in F (Gershwin)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Genesis of the Concerto#

Damrosch had been present at the February 12, 1924 concert arranged and conducted by Paul Whiteman at Aeolian Hall in New York City titled An Experiment in Modern Music which became famous for the premiere of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, in which the composer performed the piano solo. The day after the concert, Damrosch contacted Gershwin to commission from him a full-scale piano concerto for the New York Symphony Orchestra, closer in form to a classical concerto and orchestrated by the composer. Because of contractual obligations for three different Broadway musicals, he was not able to begin sketching ideas until May 1925. He began the two-piano score on July 22, after returning from a trip to London, and the original drafts were entitled “New York Concerto”. The first movement was written in July, the second in August, and the third in September, much of the work being done in a practice shack at the Chautauqua Institution. This had been arranged through the Australian composer and teacher Ernest Hutcheson, who offered seclusion for Gershwin at Chautauqua, where his quarters were declared off limits to everyone until 4 p.m. daily. Thanks to this, Gershwin was able to complete the full orchestration of the concerto on November 10, 1925. Later that month, Gershwin hired a 55-piece orchestra, at his own expense, to run through his first draft at the Globe Theatre. Damrosch attended and gave advice to Gershwin, who made a few cuts and revisions. According to a newspaper reporter in attendance, the pipe “wandered in and out of his mouth all through the rehearsal. In particular, he used it to point accusingly at members of the orchestra who were not solving their jazz problems successfully.” The Concerto in F shows considerable development in Gershwin’s compositional technique, particularly because he orchestrated the entire work himself, unlike the Rhapsody in Blue which was scored by Ferde Grofé, Paul Whiteman’s section pianist and principal orchestrator. The English composer and orchestrator William Walton commented that he adored Gershwin’s orchestration of the concerto.

Crazy for You (musical)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

Roger Horchow and Elizabeth Williams had been wanting to produce a new version of Girl Crazy. They engaged Ken Ludwig to write the book, Mike Ockrent to direct, and Susan Stroman to do the choreography, and obtained permission from the Gershwin family. Richard Godwin, and Valerie Gordon were the associate producers. The production soon changed to become a new show, using various Gershwin songs from different times. Six songs from Girl Crazy were selected: “Bidin’ My Time”, “Could You Use Me?”, “Embraceable You” , “I Got Rhythm”, “But Not For Me”, and part of “Bronco Busters”). Two songs were previously unpublished: “Tonight’s the Night”, used in tryouts for Show Girl, and “What Causes That?” from Treasure Girl; both of these songs had been considered lost until 1982, when their music was discovered in a Warner Brothers warehouse in Secaucus, New Jersey. “K-ra-zy for You” also originated from Treasure Girl. “The Real American Folk Song (Is a Rag)” was the Gershwins’ first song performed on Broadway; on the other hand, “Naughty Baby” was making its American debut, having been in Primrose, which only played in London and Australia. Other songs came from the musical films Shall We Dance (“Slap That Bass” and “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”) and A Damsel in Distress, both of which were released in the year of George’s death.

Cuban Overture

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Première#

The work under the title Rumba received its première at New York’s now-demolished Lewisohn Stadium on 16 August 1932, as part of an all-Gershwin programme held by New York Philharmonic, conducted by Albert Coates. The concert was a huge success. As Gershwin wrote: :It was, I really believe, the most exciting night I have ever had…17,845 people paid to get in and just about 5,000 were at the closed gates trying to fight their way in—unsuccessfully. The work was greeted favorably by critics. It was renamed Cuban Overture three months later at a benefit concert conducted by Gershwin at the Metropolitan Opera to avoid giving audience the idea that it was simply a novelty item. The new title provided, as the composer stated, “a more just idea of the character and intent of the music.”

Do It Again (George Gershwin and Buddy DeSylva song)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

Gershwin recounted the origin of the song in 1934: Gershwin began playing the song, at parties. Upon hearing the song, Irène Bordoni insisted that she perform the song in her show. “Do It Again” first appeared in the Broadway play The French Doll, adapted by A.E. Thomas from a French play by Paul Armont and Marcel Gerbidon, which premiered on February 20, 1922 at the Lyceum and ran for a total of 120 performances.

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Track listing#

For the 1998 4-CD set Verve re-issue, Verve 314 539 759-2 All Tracks composed by George Gershwin and all lyrics written by Ira Gershwin, unless otherwise indicated. Disc One # Ambulatory Suite (Instrumental) (George Gershwin) #* “Promenade (Walking the Dog)” – 2:31, #* “March of the Swiss Soldiers” – 2:04, #* “Fidgety Feet” – 2:46 # The Preludes (Instrumental) (G. Gershwin) #* Prelude I – 1:36, #* Prelude II – 3:48, #* Prelude III – 1:13, # “Sam and Delilah” – 3:15 # “But Not for Me” – 3:31 # “My One and Only” – 2:36 # “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” – 4:26 # “(I’ve Got) Beginner’s Luck” – 3:08 # “Oh, Lady Be Good!” – 3:58 # “Nice Work If You Can Get It” – 3:32 # “Things Are Looking Up” – 3:03 # “Just Another Rhumba” – 5:34 # “How Long Has This Been Going On?” – 3:45 # ‘S Wonderful" – 3:28 # “The Man I Love” – 3:50 # “That Certain Feeling” – 3:07 # “By Strauss” – 2:29 # “Someone to Watch Over Me” – 4:30 # “The Real American Folk Song (is a Rag)” – 3:43 Disc Two # “Who Cares?” – 3:05 # “Looking for a Boy” – 3:02 # “They All Laughed” – 3:02 # “My Cousin in Milwaukee” – 3:07 # “Somebody from Somewhere” – 3:06 # “A Foggy Day” – 3:50 # “Clap Yo’ Hands” – 2:28 # “For You, for Me, for Evermore” – 3:23 # “Stiff Upper Lip” – 2:50 # “Boy Wanted” – 3:33 # “Strike Up the Band” – 2:33 # “Soon” – 2:20 # “I’ve Got a Crush on You” – 3:26 # “Bidin’ My Time” – 2:40 # “Aren’t You Kind of Glad We Did?” – 3:28 # “Of Thee I Sing (Baby)” – 3:07 # “‘The Half of It, Dearie’ Blues” – 3:45 # “I Was Doing All Right” – 3:25 # “He Loves and She Loves” – 2:46 # “Love Is Sweeping the Country” – 3:24 # “Treat Me Rough” – 2:54 Disc Three # “Our Love Is Here to Stay” – 3:52 # “Slap That Bass” – 3:23 # “Isn’t It a Pity?” – 3:23 # “Shall We Dance?” – 3:08 # “Love Walked In” – 3:52 # “You’ve Got What Gets Me” – 2:13 # “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” – 3:07 # “Embraceable You” – 4:49 # “I Can’t Be Bothered Now” – 2:48 # “Boy! What Love Has Done to Me!” – 3:46 # “Fascinating Rhythm” – 3:22 # “Funny Face” – 3:23 # “The Lorelei” – 3:21 # “Oh, So Nice!” – 3:40 # “Let’s Kiss and Make Up” – 3:49 # “I Got Rhythm” – 3:07 Disc Four - Tracks 3 to 16 are Alternate Takes and Remixes # “Somebody Loves Me” (G. Gershwin, Buddy DeSylva, Ballard MacDonald) – 2:36 # “Cheerful Little Earful” (Harry Warren, Ira Gershwin, Billy Rose) – 2:06 # “But Not for Me” – 2:05 (45 rpm Take) # “The Lorelei” (Alternate Take) – 3:00 # “Our Love Is Here to Stay” (Partial Alternate Take) – 3:51 # “Oh, Lady Be Good!” (Alternate Take) – 4:04 # “Oh, Lady Be Good!” (Alternate Take) – 3:56 # “Oh, Lady Be Good!” (Alternate Take) – 4:12 # “But Not for Me” – 2:05 (Mono Mix) # “Fascinating Rhythm” – 3:21 (Mono Mix) # “They All Laughed” – 3:02 (Mono Mix) # “The Man I Love” – 3:50 (Mono Mix) # “Nice Work If You Can Get It” – 3:32 (Mono Mix) # “Clap Yo’ Hands” – 2:29 (Mono Mix) # “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” – 4:26 (Mono Mix) # “I Was Doing All Right” – 3:25 (Mono Mix) # “He Loves and She Loves” – 2:46 (Mono Mix) # “(I’ve Got) Beginner’s Luck” – 3:07 (Mono Mix) * Disc One, Two and Three original LP issue: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George & Ira Gershwin Song Book Verve MGVS 6082-5 * Disc One, tracks 1 and 2 original 7"-EP (Verve VS 100) issued with the above * Disc Four, tracks 1 and 2 originally issued on the 1959 Ella Fitzgerald album Get Happy! Verve V6-4036 * Disc Four, track 3 original 7"-single issue: Verve 10180 * Disc Four, tracks 4, 5, and 9-18: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Gershwin Song Book Verve MGV-4013 * Disc Four, tracks 6 and 7 previously unissued. * Disc Four, track 8: The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Song Books Verve 519 832-2

Ella Sings Gershwin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Track listing#

For the 1950 Decca Records 10" LP; Decca DL 5300 Side one #“Someone to Watch Over Me” - 3:13 #“My One and Only” - 3:13 #“But Not for Me” - 3:12 #“Looking for a Boy” - 3:06 Side two #“I’ve Got a Crush on You” - 3:13 #“How Long Has This Been Going On?” - 3:14 #“Maybe” - 3:21 #“Soon” - 2:44 All music composed by George Gershwin and all lyrics written by Ira Gershwin.

Embraceable You

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Other versions#

Irene Cara in City Heat
Nat King Cole – (1943) – included in the album Bing Crosby Sings Songs by George Gershwin.
Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959)
Judy Garland – Girl Crazy, film (1943)
Frank Sinatra – 1944 for Columbia, 1960 for Capitol on Nice ’n’ Easy
Erroll Garner
Johnny Mathis – Open Fire, Two Guitars (1959)
Cliff Richard – Cliff Sings (1959)

Fascinating Rhythm

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Recorded versions#

Maxene Andrews
Victor Arden and Phil Ohman (piano roll duet)
Fred Astaire and Adele Astaire with George Gershwin on piano - rec. April 19, 1926 - released on Columbia 3969 (WA 3184–1)
Fred Astaire - rec. December 1952
Tony Bennett (1949, as Joe Bari, re-recorded in 2018)
Louis Bellson - rec. February 1954 - released on the LP The Amazing Artistry of Louis Bellson
Georgia Brown
The Carpenters 1976
Petula Clark 1954
Rosemary Clooney 1980
Jacob Collier
Zez Confrey (piano roll)
Come Shine
Xavier Cugat 1962
Jamie Cullum
Vic Damone
Tommy Dorsey And His Orchestra - rec. January 12, 1943 - from the movie Girl Crazy (1943)
Cliff “Ukulele Ike” Edwards - rec. December 18, 1924 - released as Perfect 115690, matrix 105713-2
Les Elgart 1956
Percy Faith 1957
Michael Feinstein
Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959)
Wayne Fontana 1965
The Four Tops 1999
Judy Garland
Jack Gibbons
Benny Goodman
Stephane Grappelli
Dave Grusin 1991
Vince Guaraldi Trio (1956)
Scott Hamilton - Live At Brecon Jazz Festival, 1995
Ted Heath
The Hi-Lo’s
Earl Hines 1964
Sol Hoʻopiʻi
Dick Hyman
Antonio Carlos Jobim - recorded on the LP Passarim (1987)
Salena Jones
Stan Kenton 1953
Morgana King - rec. 1964 - released on the LP A Taste of Honey
Guillermo Klein - Una Nave (2005)
Lee Konitz
André Kostelanetz
Cleo Laine
Sam Lanin and His Roseland Orchestra - December 24, 1924 - Columbia 279-D
Enoch Light
Herbie Mann
Billy May
Susannah McCorkle
Maureen McGovern 1989
Jane Monheit and Mark O’Connor 2003
Mark Murphy 1956
Red Norvo 1956
Virginia O’Brien
Art Pepper
Oscar Peterson
Eleanor Powell - (1940s film Lady Be Good)
John Pizzarelli
André Previn 1998
Buddy Rich 1961
Freddie Rich (piano roll)
George Shearing 1989
Stuff Smith
The Spinners
Tommy Steele 1984
Claude Thornhill
Mel Tormé 1956
Leslie Uggams 1962
Caterina Valente
Sarah Vaughan - rec. August 15, 1964 and Gershwin Live!, 1982
The Real Group, LandesJugendJazzOrchester Hessen, Kicks & Sticks 2018
Paul Whiteman Orchestra - December 29, 1924 - Victor 19551

External links#

Newly discovered — Tony’s first single under the name of Joe Bari!

Funny Face (musical)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Plot#

Setting: The house of Jimmy Reeve; the house of Peter Thurston; Lake Wapatog, New Jersey and Atlantic City, New Jersey Jimmy Reeve is the legal guardian of three pretty sisters, Dora, June and Frankie, whose prize belongings he keeps in his safe. June’s pearl necklace is locked in there, and so is Frankie’s diary, after having been confiscated by Jimmy. However, the diary contains very incriminating things, so Frankie convinces the aviator Peter Thurston to steal it from the safe. But somehow he manages to steal the pearls instead, setting off a merry chase that takes the cast to the Atlantic City pier. And to make matters even more complicated, two bumbling burglars, Herbert and Dugsie, also try to break into the safe and are swept along in the chase. At one point, they have a falling out, but Herbert is unable to shoot Dugsie as he has forgotten to get a shooting license.

George & James

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Bonus track on UK cassette release#

“It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” – 3:42

Personnel#

The Residents – performance
Raoul N. Di Seimbote – portrayal of the Famous Flames

George Gershwin Songs, Vol. 1

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Track listing#

Disc 1: (2874) Disc 2: (2875) Disc 3: (2876) Disc 4: (2877) Disc 5: (2878)

Gershwin Live!

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Track listing#

Overture: Porgy and Bess Medley: “Summertime”/“It Ain’t Necessarily So” (George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, Ira Gershwin)/“I Loves You, Porgy” (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin, D. Heyward) – 7:52 # Medley: “But Not for Me”/“Our Love Is Here to Stay”/“Embraceable You”/“Someone To Watch Over Me” – 9:39 # “Sweet and Low Down” – 3:36 # “Fascinating Rhythm” – 4:04 # “Do It Again” (Buddy DeSylva, G. Gershwin) – 5:29 # “My Man’s Gone Now” (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin, Heyward) – 5:51 # “The Man I Love” – 10:03 # Medley: “Nice Work If You Can Get It”/“They Can’t Take That Away from Me”/"‘S Wonderful"/“Swanee”/“Strike Up the Band” – 6:56 # Encore: “I’ve Got a Crush on You”/“A Foggy Day” –– 7:35 All songs composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, unless otherwise noted.#

Personnel#

Sarah Vaughan – vocals
George Gaffney – piano
Andy Simpkins – double bass
Harold Jones – drums
The Los Angeles Philharmonic – other instruments
Michael Tilson Thomas – piano, conductor, co-arranger on “The Man I Love”
Marty Paich – arranger

Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Recording#

Gershwin recorded these piano rolls between 1916 and 1927. Several rolls use overdubbing, so that Gershwin is in effect playing a four-handed piece solo. The final selection, “An American In Paris”, was recorded by Frank Milne in 1933. Milne worked as a roll-editor with Gershwin in the 1920s, and edited several of the rolls reproduced on this disc. So skilled was Milne as a roll editor, the liner notes suggest that he may not have actually “played” “An American In Paris” at all—in the same way that a musician can write sheet music, Milne was able to prepare roll masters by marking the lines on special graph paper that would be used as a template for the holes punched in the actual piano roll. The piano rolls were played back on a 9-foot Yamaha Disklavier grand piano, augmented by a 1911 Pianola operated by Artis Wodehouse. The Pianola allows for the operator to add “live” effects with piano footpumps and expression levers.

Gershwin's World

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Track listing#

#“Overture (Fascinating Rhythm)” #“It Ain’t Necessarily So” #“The Man I Love” (feat. Joni Mitchell) #“Here Come De Honey Man” #“St. Louis Blues” (feat. Stevie Wonder) #“Lullaby” #“Blueberry Rhyme” #“It Ain’t Necessarily So Interlude” #“Cotton Tail” #“Summertime” (feat. Joni Mitchell) #“My Man’s Gone Now” #“Prelude In C# Minor” #“Concerto For Piano And Orchestra In G, 2nd Movement” (Maurice Ravel) #“Embraceable You”

Personnel#

Alex Al– upright bass
Toby Appel – viola
Cyro Baptista – percussion
Kathleen Battle – soprano, vocals
Ronnie Bauch – violin
Martha Caplin – concert master, violin
Terri Lyne Carrington – drums, production assistant
James Carter – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
Susannah Chapman – cello
Catherine Cho – violin
Sarah Clarke – principal viola
Stanley Clarke – bass
Ira Coleman – bass, production assistant
Chick Corea – piano
Charles Curtis – cello
Nicolas Danielson – violin
Marji Danilow – bass
Madou Dembelle – djembe
Matthew Dine – English horn
Massamba Diop – talking drum
Karen Dreyfus – viola
Jennifer Frautschi – violin
Kenny Garrett – alto saxophone
Marlon Graves – guitar, mixing, percussion
Michael Finn – principal bassoon
Brian Greene – oboe
Bireyma Guiye – percussion
Herbie Hancock – arranger, liner notes, organ, piano
Eddie Henderson – flugelhorn, trumpet
Cynde Iverson – bassoon
Gene Jackson – drums
Joanna Jenner – violin
Renee Jolles – violin Eastman School of Music
Chris Komer – horn
Bakithi Kumalo – bass, guitar
Elizabeth Mann – flute
Cheik Mbaye – percussion
Melissa Meel – cello
Joni Mitchell – vocals
Katherine Murdock – viola
Charles Neidich – clarinet, E flat clarinet
Ahling Neu – viola
Donald Palma – principal bass
Ellen Payne – violin
Todd Phillips – violin
Nardo Poy – viola
William Purvis – principal horn
Richard Rood – violin
Eriko Sato – principal violin
Wayne Shorter – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
David Singer – clarinet
Mina Smith – cello
Clavin Wiersman – violin
Peter Winograd – violin
Stevie Wonder – arranger, harmonica, vocals
Asmira Woodward-Page – violin
Eric Wyrick – violin
Naoko Tanaka – violin

Production#

David Charles Abell – consultant
Robi Banerji – assistant engineer
Istvan Banyai – artwork, illustrations
Thom Cadley – assistant engineer
Dave Darlington – engineer
Rob Eaton – audio engineer, engineer
Steve Genewick – assistant
Clark Germain – audio engineer, engineer
Fred Hedemark – assistant engineer
Pete Karam – assistant engineer
Jimmy Katz – photography, session photographer
Theodora Kuslan – release coordinator
Ron Martinez – assistant engineer
Andreas Meyer – digital editing
James Minchin – cover photo, photography
Pedro Moreira – assistant, music assistant
Melinda Murphy – production coordination
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Darcy Proper – digital editing
Rob Rapley – digital editing, engineer
Robert Sadin – arranger, audio production, drum programming, liner notes, percussion programming, producer, programming
Doug Sax – mastering
Al Schmitt – surround mix
Bill Airey Smith – digital editing
Jason Stasium – assistant engineer
Brett Swain – assistant engineer
Rich Breen – tracking engineer (Cottontail)
Bruce Swedien – mixing
David Swope – assistant engineer
Kayo Teramoto – assistant engineer
Camille Tominaro – production coordination
Tom Truslow – production coordination
Brian Vibberts – mixing
Todd Whitelock – audio engineer, engineer
Mark Wilder – mastering
Robert Zuckerman – session photographer

Girl Crazy

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Productions#

The musical opened at the Alvin Theatre on October 14, 1930, and closed on June 6, 1931, after 272 performances. It was directed by Alexander Leftwich, with choreography by George Hale and sets by Donald Oenslager. This musical made a star of Ginger Rogers, who, with Allen Kearns, sang “Could You Use Me?” and “Embraceable You” and, with Willie Howard, “But Not for Me”. Ethel Merman, in her Broadway debut sang “I Got Rhythm”, “Sam and Delilah”, and “Boy! What Love Has Done To Me!” and “became an overnight sensation…that launched her fifty year career.” Also of note is the opening night pit orchestra, which was composed of many well-known jazz musicians, including Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey. “The score was one of the Gershwins’ best” according to theatre writer Ken Bloom. A version with a heavily revised book was presented in 1975 by the St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre and in 1979 by the Coachlight Dinner Theater in East Windsor, Connecticut. In 1992 the show appeared on Broadway in a heavily revised version. It was given a new title, Crazy for You, and a completely new plot, and interpolated with material from other Gershwin stage shows and films, specifically songs written for the Fred Astaire movies of the 1930s such as “Nice Work If You Can Get It” from A Damsel in Distress and “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” from Shall We Dance. “Musicals Tonight!”, New York City, presented a staged concert in September 2001. An abridged version of Girl Crazy was presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC October 2–5, 2008 as part of their Broadway: Three Generations production. Max von Essen played Danny, Jenn Colella played Molly, and Randy Graff played Kate, directed by Lonny Price. The New York City Center Encores! staged concert was held in November 2009. Directed by Jerry Zaks, it starred Ana Gasteyer, Marc Kudisch, Becki Newton, and Wayne Knight. The two-time Olympic champion and Emmy-winning television commentator Dick Button starred as Danny in a 1958 production, which also co-starred Jane Connell as Kate and Gordon Connell as Pete; it interpolated Gershwin’s “They All Laughed” and “Nice Work If You can Get It” into the score.

How Long Has This Been Going On?

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

The song was published in 1927 by the New World Music Corporation (plate N.W. 59-4) with Smarty, the early title of Funny Face, on the cover. In the tryouts for the show, which opened in Philadelphia on 11 October 1927, it was a duet for the characters of Peter (Stanley Ridges) and Frankie (Adele Astaire). According to Ira Gershwin in his book Lyrics on Several Occasions, after the premiere of Funny Face in Philadelphia he received a call from the then professional manager of Shapiro, Bernstein and Co. asking him to remove the song. When Gershwin asked why, the manager replied that the song “ d oesn’t mean anything … Well, we’ve bought a song with the same title and we’re about to publish it. Yours doesn’t get you anywhere, so how about taking it out of the show?” The song was dropped, as Ira Gershwin wrote: “Well, he had his wish. A couple of weeks later on the road (either in Atlantic City or Washington) ‘How Long…’ was out, replaced by ‘He Loves and She Loves’ (not as good a song as the former, but one that managed to get over).” “He Loves and She Loves” remained in Funny Face throughout its Broadway run. “How Long Has This Been Going On?” was included the next year in the musical Rosalie (1928), recast as a solo number and sung by Bobbe Arnst as Mary O’Brien. The lyrics used as first released by Gershwin started with the introductory verse: “As a tot, when I trotted in little velvet panties, / I was kissed by my sisters, my cousins, and my aunties. / Sad to tell, it was hell, an inferno worse than Dante’s.” In the subsequent version of the lyrics as performed by Ella Fitzgerald ten years later, the lyrics of this introductory verse were changed to the melancholy reflections of a worker in evening “bazaars” reflecting on the differences between kisses for money and romantic kisses from someone with emotional ties, which had previously eluded her. She reflects with “salty tears” about the differences between the two types of kisses. The introductory verse as performed by Fitzgerald was: In the original Gershwin version of the song, somewhat more upbeat, it is sung by a young woman comparing kisses among family members and friends at holidays, to how different they turn out to be when experienced while expressing romantic affections; she is surprised to find that romantic kisses are very different. The two verses describe her previous negative experiences of kissing: first the childhood attentions of older female relatives, and second while working in a kissing booth. The two choruses describe the excitement of then experiencing a first romantic kiss, and regret at not having experienced it before: “I could cry salty tears; where have I been all these years? / Little wow, tell me now, how long has this been going on?” Bing Crosby recorded the song in 1955 for use on his radio show and it was subsequently included in the box set The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954-56) issued by Mosaic Records (catalog MD7-245) in 2009. Audrey Hepburn sang it in the 1957 film Funny Face.

I Got Rhythm

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Composition#

The song came from the musical Girl Crazy, which also includes two other hit songs, “Embraceable You” and “But Not for Me”, and has been sung by many jazz singers since. It was originally written as a slow song for Treasure Girl (1928) and found another, faster setting in Girl Crazy. Ethel Merman sang the song in the original Broadway production and Broadway lore holds that George Gershwin, after seeing her opening reviews, warned her never to take a singing lesson. Her performance of the song made her an instant star. The piece was originally penned in the key of D major. The song melody uses four notes of the five-note pentatonic scale, first rising, then falling. A rhythmic interest in the song is that the tune keeps behind the main pulse, with the three “I got…” phrases syncopated, appearing one beat behind in the first bar, while the fourth phase “Who could…” rushes in to the song. The song’s chorus is in a 34-bar AABA form. Its chord progression (although often reduced to a standard 32-bar structure for the sake of improvised solos) is known as the “rhythm changes” and is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes. The song was used as the theme in Gershwin’s last concert piece for piano and orchestra, Variations on “I Got Rhythm”, written in 1934. The song has become symbolic of the Gershwins, of swing and of the 1920s. As usual, George Gershwin wrote the melody first and gave it to Ira to set, but Ira found it an unusually hard melody for which to compose lyrics. He experimented for two weeks with the rhyme scheme he felt the music called for — sets of triple rhymes — but found that the heavy rhyming “seemed at best to give a pleasant and jingly Mother Goose quality to a tune which should throw its weight around more”. Finally, he began to experiment with leaving most of the lines unrhymed. “This approach felt stronger,” he wrote, “and I finally arrived at the present refrain, with only ‘more-door’ and ‘mind him-find him’ the rhymes.” He added that this approach “was a bit daring for me who usually depended on rhyme insurance”. Ira also wrote that, although the phrase “Who could ask for anything more?” is repeated four times in the song, he decided not to make it the title because “somehow the first line of the refrain sounded more arresting and provocative”.

I Was Doing All Right

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Notable recordings#

Ella Logan - recorded on December 30, 1937 for Brunswick Records (catalog No. 8064).
Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra - recorded for Decca Records (catalog No. 1660B) on January 25, 1938.
Ella Fitzgerald – recorded January 25, 1938 for Decca Records (catalog No. 1669) and later for Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959).
Artie Shaw & his Orchestra - recorded on July 21, 1945 for RCA Victor (catalog No. 20-1742).
Buddy DeFranco and Oscar Peterson - on their Buddy DeFranco and Oscar Peterson Play George Gershwin (1954)
Carmen McRae - for her album Blue Moon (1956).
Louis Armstrong w/ Oscar Peterson – Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson (1957).
Dexter Gordon, on his 1961 album Doin’ Allright.
Susannah McCorkle - Someone to Watch Over Me—Songs of George Gershwin (1998).
Diana Krall - From This Moment On (2006).
The Longines Symphonette - A George Gershwin Festival

I've Got a Crush on You

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Notable recordings#

Lee Wiley, recorded on November 15, 1939 for Liberty Music Shop Records. She recorded it again in 1950 and it was included in her album Night in Manhattan.
Joe Sullivan’s Cafe Society Orchestra (vocal: Helen Ward), which charted briefly in October 1940 in the No. 24 spot.
Sarah Vaughan, recorded on July 18, 1946 for Musicraft Records (catalog No. 505). She recorded the song again in 1957 for the album Sarah Vaughan Sings George Gershwin and in 1982 with Michael Tilson Thomas for Gershwin Live!.
Frank Sinatra, recorded November 5, 1947 with Bobby Hackett on trumpet for Columbia Records, which charted briefly in 1948. Sinatra recorded the song again for his 1960 album Nice ’n’ Easy.
Ella Fitzgerald, for Ella Sings Gershwin (1950), Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book (1959), and with André Previn for Nice Work If You Can Get It (1983).
Gene Kelly, an outtake from the film An American in Paris (1951).
Bing Crosby recorded the song in 1956 for use on his radio show and it was subsequently included in the box set The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954–56) issued by Mosaic Records (catalog MD7-245) in 2009.
Dinah Washington for her album In the Land of Hi-Fi (1956).
Nat Adderley, for Work Song (1960).
Anna Maria Alberghetti, for her album I Can’t Resist You (1957).
Sammy Davis Jr., for his album Mood to Be Wooed (1958).
Julie London, for her album Nice Girls Don’t Stay for Breakfast (1967).
Rosemary Clooney, for Everything’s Coming Up Rosie (1977) and for the album Gershwin 100 (1998).
Cleo Laine, for her album That Old Feeling (1987).
Linda Ronstadt, for the album What’s New (1983), having previously performed the song on a 1980 episode of The Muppet Show.
Carol Sloane, for But Not For Me (1986)
Barbra Streisand with Frank Sinatra, for his album Duets (1993)
Carly Simon, for the album The Glory of Gershwin (1994)
Keely Smith, for her album Keely Sings Sinatra (2001).
Rod Stewart with Diana Ross, for his album Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook, Volume IV (2005).
Steve Tyrell, for his album This Guy’s in Love (2003).
Chris Connor, for her album Chris Connor Sings the George Gershwin Almanac of Song (1957).
June Christy with the Johnny Guarnieri Quintet, for A Friendly Session, Vol. 1 (1998).
Stacey Kent, for Dreamsville (2000).
Michael Bublé, for the EP With Love (2006).
Brian Wilson, for Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin (2010).
Luscious Jackson, for Red Hot + Rhapsody (1998).
Michael Feinstein, for his album The Sinatra Project (2008).
Darius de Haas and Steven Blier, for Quiet Please (2010).
Uri Caine, for Rhapsody in Blue (2013).
Kristin Chenoweth, for her album The Art of Elegance (2016).

Film appearances#

1951 Meet Danny Wilson - sung by Frank Sinatra.
1951 An American in Paris - played as background music. It had been recorded for the film by Gene Kelly but it was omitted from the released print.
1955 Three for the Show - performed by Betty Grable and Jack Lemmon.
1957 The Helen Morgan Story
1974 Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore - performed by Ellen Burstyn.
1977 The Choirboys - sung by Vic Tayback.
1979 Featured in Woody Allen’s Manhattan which was scored exclusively with Gershwin music. Performed by The New York Philharmonic.
1984 Bulaklak sa City Jail - sung by Nora Aunor
2003 Mona Lisa Smile - performed by Seal.
2003 Something’s Gotta Give - sung by Steve Tyrell.
2008 Definitely, Maybe - the song was performed by actress Rachel Weisz as her character’s favorite song

External links#

*Original sheet music Digitized copy in the Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection, Sheridan Libraries and University Museums, Johns Hopkins University.

Ira, George and Joe

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Reception#

AllMusic’s Scott Yanow wrote: “The melodies are quite familiar (‘Bidin’ My Time’ is the closest one to an obscurity), and few surprises occur, but the music swings and the results are quite enjoyable.”

Personnel#

Joe Pass – guitar
John Pisano – guitar
Jim Hughart – double bass
Shelly Manne – drums

Isn't It a Pity?

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Notable recordings#

Victor Arden - Phil Ohman & Their Orchestra (vocal by Scrappy Lambert) - recorded on December 8, 1932, for Victor Records (catalog No. 24206).
Eddy Duchin & His Central Park Casino Orchestra - recorded on January 18, 1933, for Brunswick Records (catalog No. 6476).
Sarah Vaughan - Sarah Vaughan Sings George Gershwin (EmArcy, 1958)
Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959)
Mitzi Gaynor - Mitzi Gaynor Sings the Lyrics of Ira Gershwin (Verve, 1959).
Beverly Kenney - Born to be Blue (1959).
Mabel Mercer - Once in a Blue Moon (1959)
Johnny Mathis - The Rhythms and Ballads of Broadway (1960)
Mel Tormé - That’s All (1965), and Mel Tormé and Friends (1981).
Carol Sloane - But Not For Me (1986)
Michael Feinstein w/ Rosemary Clooney - Pure Gershwin (Parnassus, 1985; Asylum, 1987)
Mel Tormé and Cleo Laine - Nothing Without You (1992)
Shirley Horn - Here’s to Life (1992)
Barbra Streisand - A Love Like Ours (1999)
Stacey Kent - Dreamsville (2001)
Russell Watson and Victoria Hart - The Lost Gershwin (2008).

Johnny Hodges and His Strings Play the Prettiest Gershwin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Reception#

The AllMusic reviewer commented: “All of these performances, like most of the music in the latter day Johnny Hodges discography, combine the elegant tonal ligatures of swing and cool”.

Track listing#

All compositions by George and Ira Gershwin, except as indicated. # “Love Is Here to Stay” - 2:44 # “Nice Work If You Can Get It” - 3:13 # “‘S Wonderful” - 2:51 # “Summertime” (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) - 2:59 # “Soon” - 2:58 # “But Not for Me” - 2:43 # “Somebody Loves Me” (George Gershwin, Ballard MacDonald, Buddy DeSylva) - 2:31 # “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” - 3:16 # “Someone to Watch over Me” - 3:14 # “The Man I Love” - 2:57 # “Oh, Lady Be Good!” - 2:38 # “They All Laughed” - 2:50

La La Lucille

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Plot overview#

Setting: Between the hours of 5 P.M. and 2 A.M. in New York City The plot involves a wealthy society matron who leaves her considerable fortune to her nephew, John Smith, on condition he divorce his wife, a former vaudeville entertainer named Lucille. In order to collect his legacy, he decides to comply with the terms and then remarry her after he receives the money. Since divorces are granted only for adultery, he arranges to be found with a woman who is not his wife. Comic complications ensue when he arrives at the property, at which more than three dozen other “John Smiths” are registered as well.

Lady, Be Good (musical)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Productions#

Lady, Be Good premiered on Broadway at the Liberty Theatre on December 1, 1924 and closed on September 12, 1925, after 330 performances. The musical was staged by Felix Edwardes with musical staging by Sammy Lee and scenic design by Norman Bel Geddes. It starred brother and sister performers Fred and Adele Astaire. The musical opened in the West End at the Empire Theatre on April 14, 1926, again starring Fred and Adele Astaire. It played strongly there, running for 326 performances. The best-known songs from the score are “Oh, Lady be Good!” and “Fascinating Rhythm.” A staged concert production was presented by Encores! in 2015, directed by Mark Brokaw and choreographed by Randy Skinner. The production featured Tommy Tune in his well received return to the NY stage.

Let 'Em Eat Cake

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Productions#

The original Broadway production of Let ‘Em Eat Cake opened October 21, 1933 at the Imperial Theatre, New York City and ran for 89 performances. The cast included William Gaxton as J.P. Wintergreen, Victor Moore as Alexander Throttlebottom, Philip Loeb as Kruger, and Lois Moran as Mary Wintergreen, all reprising their roles from Of Thee I Sing. A concert version of the show was performed on BBC Radio in 1994 (with a cast that included: Denis Quilley, Kim Criswell, Joss Ackland, Henry Goodman, and Louise Gold), and Opera North staged the show, along with a revival of Of Thee I Sing, during its 2008–9 season. The Opera North production was broadcast by BBC Radio 3 on Saturday, 26 September 2009, as part of its Opera on 3 series. In 2019, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the MasterVoices chorus performed a concert staging of Let ‘Em Eat Cake at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Ted Sperling and a cast starring Bryce Pinkham.

Let's Call the Whole Thing Off

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

The song is most famous for its “You like to-may-to / And I like to-mah-to " and other verses comparing British and American English pronunciations of tomato and other words. In addition to being regional, the differences in pronunciation serve more specifically to identify class differences. At the time, typical American pronunciations were considered less “refined” by the upper-class, and there was a specific emphasis on the “broader” a sound. This class distinction with respect to pronunciation has been retained in caricatures, especially in the theater, where the longer a pronunciation is most strongly associated with the word darling.

Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Other notable recordings#

A popular jazz standard, the song has been recorded by: *Ipana Troubadors, vocal by Smith Ballew, recorded July 9, 1929 for Columbia Records (catalog No. 1903D). *Leo Reisman and His Orchestra, recorded July 9, 1929 for Victor Records (catalog No. 22069A). *Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra - recorded on September 25, 1934 for Decca Records (catalog No. 555). *Art Tatum Swingsters - recorded on October 9, 1934 for Decca Records (catalog No. 1373). *Teddy Wilson - a single release on the Brunswick label in 1935. *Benny Goodman Quartet, recorded August 2, 1937 for Victor Records (catalog No. 25660). *Chick Webb and His Orchestra - recorded on May 3, 1938 for Decca Records (catalog No. 1840). *Paul Whiteman Swinging Strings - recorded on November 15, 1938 for Decca Records (catalog No. 2223). *Frankie Carle and His Orchestra, recorded April 2, 1942 for Columbia Records (catalog No. 36689). *Ethel Smith - recorded on October 24, 1944 for Decca Records (catalog No. 23426). *The Quintet of the Hot Club of France, featuring Django Reinhardt - recorded January 2, 1946 for Decca Records. *Al Jolson - he recorded it again on June 11, 1947. *Bing Crosby - recorded May 21, 1954 with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra. *Thelonious Monk - included in his album The Unique Thelonious Monk (1956) and again in Monk (1964). *The Four Freshmen - included in their album Four Freshmen and Five Saxes (1957). *Chet Atkins - on Finger Style Guitar (1957). *Bobby Darin - included in his album Bobby Darin Sings The Shadow of Your Smile (1966). *Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea - on album An Evening with Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea: In Concert - recorded February 1978 for Columbia Records (catalog No. 35663). *Michael Feinstein - for his album Pure Gershwin (1987). *Mel Tormé - for his album Velvet & Brass (1995). *Judy Garland - a 1963 TV version included in the album The Show That Got Away (2002). *Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli - recorded together in 1943, included in Bioshock ’s Licensed Soundtrack (2007).

Love Is Here to Stay

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

“Love Is Here to Stay” was first performed by Kenny Baker in The Goldwyn Follies but became popular when it was sung by Gene Kelly to Leslie Caron in the film An American in Paris (1951); however, it was not included in the 2015 Broadway musical An American in Paris. The song appeared in Forget Paris (1995) and Manhattan (1979). It can also be heard in the film When Harry Met Sally… (1989) sung by Harry Connick Jr. An instrumental version of the song is sometimes heard in certain episodes of the American television sitcom The Honeymooners when Ralph Kramden apologizes to his wife Alice. The song is also used in the musical The 1940’s Radio Hour. In June 2026, CBS News included the song in its list of the 250 essential American songs of the past 250 years.

Love Is Here to Stay (album)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

All songs in the album are from the Great American Songbook and were composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Bennett first recorded “Fascinating Rhythm” in 1949. Bennett and Krall have been friends for more than two decades. Krall previously participated in recording two Bennett’s albums, Duets: An American Classic (2006) and Playin’ with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues (2001). This record is their first full-length project together.

Love Walked In

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Recorded versions#

Louis Armstrong and his orchestra (recorded May 18, 1938, released by Decca Records as catalog number 1842A, with the flip side “Something Tells Me” )
Kenny Baker and Harry Sosnik’s orchestra (recorded April 22, 1938, released by Decca Records as catalog number 1795A, with the flip side “Lost and Found” and released by Decca Records as catalog number 24542, with the flip side “Summertime”. The recording was included in the album Bing Crosby Sings Songs by George Gershwin.
Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra (recorded March 16, 1938, released by Decca Records as catalog number 1724B, with the flip side “At a Perfume Counter”
The Hilltoppers (released by Dot Records as catalog number 15105, with the flip side “To Be Alone”)
Gene Kardos and his Orchestra (vocal by Pat Henry), recorded January 13, 1938, released by Melotone Records as catalog number 8-03-05, with the flip side “Love Is Here to Stay” )
Sammy Kaye and his Orchestra (recorded March 20, 1938, released by Vocalion Records as catalog number 4017, with the flip side “Moments Like This” )
Teddi King – Bidin’ My Time (1956)
Felix Knight – recorded February 11, 1938, by Leo Reisman, released on Victor 27626 and included in the 78rpm album “Leo Reisman Rhythms”
Joe Loss and his orchestra (recorded November 1, 1954, in London, released by EMI on the His Master’s Voice label as catalog number BD 6184)
Allen Roth Orchestra (vocal by Lawrence Brooks, released by Silvertone Records as catalog number 18A, with the flip side “Make Believe” )
Artie Shaw and his orchestra (recorded June 6, 1945, released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-1745, with the flip side “Dancing on the Ceiling”; later recorded January 6, 1950, released by Decca Records as catalog number 24869, with the flip side “I Get a Kick out of You” )
Dinah Shore (released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-1651, with the flip side “Someone to Watch Over Me” )

Manhattan (soundtrack)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

Typically, Woody Allen selects and integrates music into his films during the editing process. However, for ‘Manhattan,’ Allen knew in advance that he wanted to use Gershwin’s music. He stated, ‘Sometimes I know in advance. When I made Manhattan, for example, I knew I was going to use this Gershwin music. Fellow Brooklynite Gershwin’s 1924 composition Rhapsody in Blue, the opening musical number of the film, does seem perfectly apt for the film. The idea for the song came to Gershwin on a train journey to Boston, which he describes as “a musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot, our unduplicated national pep, our blues, our metropolitan madness.” It is that Metropolitan Madness that makes it work so well in Woody Allen’s Manhattan. Used in the extended opening homage, it is the perfect soundtrack to New York at all hours. Gershwin is widely considered to be a quintessential American composer whose music is culturally defining for many Americans – especially New Yorkers. The soundtrack contains a mix of Gershwin’s more famous compositions (Rhapsody in Blue, “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “Embraceable You”) and several lesser-known pieces. There is also variety in the instrumentation, with some scored for the full orchestra and some for smaller ensembles (“Mine” and “Love Is Here to Stay”).

My Favorite Things (John Coltrane album)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

In March 1960, while on tour in Europe, Miles Davis purchased a soprano saxophone for Coltrane. While the instrument had been used in the early days of jazz (notably by Sidney Bechet) it had become rare by the 1950s with the exception of Steve Lacy. Intrigued by its capabilities, Coltrane began playing it at his summer club dates. After leaving the Davis band, Coltrane, for his first regular bookings at New York’s Jazz Gallery in the summer of 1960, assembled the first version of the John Coltrane Quartet. The lineup settled by autumn with McCoy Tyner on piano, Steve Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. Sessions the week before Halloween at Atlantic Studios yielded the track “Village Blues” for Coltrane Jazz and the entirety of this album along with the tracks that Atlantic later assembled into Coltrane Plays the Blues (1962) and Coltrane’s Sound (1964). According to Lewis Porter’s biography, Coltrane described “My Favorite Things” as “my favorite piece of all those I have recorded”.

My One and Only (musical)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Plot overview#

Written to incorporate classic Gershwin tunes from Funny Face and other popular shows into one evening of entertainment, the plot, set in 1927 America, revolves around Capt. Billy Buck Chandler, a barnstorming aviator, and Edith Herbert, an ex-English Channel swimmer and the star of Prince Nicolai Erraclyovitch Tchatchavadze’s International Aquacade. Billy’s plan to be the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean is sidetracked by his determination to win Edith’s hand, and he takes a crash course in sophistication at Mr. Magix’ Tonsorial and Sartorial Emporial to help him achieve his goal. What follows is a series of escapades and misadventures that seems destined to keep the potential lovers apart forever.

Naughty Baby (album)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Personnel#

Musicians *Jeff Harris – piano, conductor *Jay Leonhart – double bass *Grady Tate – drums *Lou Marini – reeds *Mark Sherman – percussion and vibes Arrangements *“Stiff Upper Lip,” “Things Are Looking Up,” “(I’ve Got) Beginner’s Luck,” “A Corner of Heaven With You,” “Somebody Loves Me,” “Little Jazz Bird,” “The Man I Love,” “Piano Prelude II,” “Summertime,” “Gershwin Tribute,” and “Love Is Here to Stay/Of Thee I Sing” arranged by Mike Renzi *“By Strauss,” “My Man’s Gone Now,” and “Porgy, I’s Yo’ Woman Now” arranged by Jeff Harris *“How Long Has This Been Going On?” and “Embraceable You” arranged by Mike Renzi and Jeff Harris *“Love Walked In”: body of melody arranged by Mike Renzi; introduction and ending arranged by Jeff Harris Additional personnel *Cover design: Allen Weinberg *Cover photo: Joyce Tenneson *Hair design: Maggie Allen *Dress courtesy of Giorgio di Sant’Angelo; earrings by Ted Muehling *Live Gershwin concert written by Judy Barron, produced by Ron Barron, and directed by Susan H. Schulman

Nice Work If You Can Get It (album)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Track listing#

“A Foggy Day” – 6:10 # “Nice Work If You Can Get It” – 5:14 # “But Not for Me” – 3:54 # “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” – 2:46 # “How Long Has This Been Going On?” – 5:01 # “Who Cares?” – 4:30 # Medley: “I’ve Got a Crush on You”/“Someone to Watch Over Me”/“Embraceable You” – 4:56 # “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” – 3:27 All songs composed by George Gershwin, with all lyrics written by Ira Gershwin.#

Personnel#

Ella Fitzgerald - vocals
André Previn - piano
Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen - double bass

Nice Work If You Can Get It (musical)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

The musical was initially produced in 2001 at the Goodspeed Opera House titled They All Laughed!, with the book by Joe DiPietro and direction by Christopher Ashley. The musical received “mixed notices” according to Frank Rizzo, writing in the Hartford Courant. New collaborators and producers then became involved. A workshop was held in November 2007, featuring Harry Connick, Jr. and Erin Dilly. At that time, the show was titled Heaven on Earth. The musical was first scheduled to debut at the Colonial Theatre in Boston, running from December 2008 through January 2009. The production was expected to open on Broadway in Spring 2009, with Harry Connick, Jr. However, in 2008 it was announced that the musical was “officially postponed”, due to a change in the producing team; Connick ultimately left the project.

Nice Work If You Can Get It (song)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

The song began life in 1930 as a nine-bar phrase with the working title “There’s No Stopping Me Now”. Its title phrase “Nice work if you can get it” came from an English magazine. It was one of nine songs the Gershwin brothers wrote for the movie A Damsel in Distress in which it was performed by Fred Astaire with backing vocals by The Stafford Sisters. The song was published in 1937.

Of Thee I Sing

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

The Gershwins and George S. Kaufman had collaborated on the satirical 1927 musical Strike up the Band, which played in Philadelphia. The show concerned a cheese manufacturer who sponsors a war against Switzerland because it will be named after him. The writers and the cast were unsure of what the public’s reception would be, prompting Kaufman’s now-famous remark “Satire is what closes on Saturday night.”

Act I#

In the U.S. in the 1930s, a campaign parade is taking place to support “Wintergreen for President”. John P. Wintergreen has been nominated for President and Alexander Throttlebottom has been nominated for Vice President, but he is of such little importance no one can remember who he is. Politicians meet in a hotel room to devise a campaign platform, and when they ask the chambermaid what she cares about, she first says “money,” then “love” when pressed further. The men decide that Wintergreen’s platform will be “love”; they’ll have a pageant to select the most beautiful girl in the United States, and Wintergreen will fall in love and marry her. The pageant begins in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and the contestants wonder, “Who Is the Lucky Girl to Be?” The photographers assure them that even if they do not win, they will surely be loved (“The Dimple on My Knee”). Wintergreen is getting nervous about marrying a girl he doesn’t know. While the girls are at the final judging, he confides in Mary Turner, the sensible young woman running the pageant. He does not want to marry a girl just because she’s beautiful; he wants a wife who will make a good home for him and his future children. Mary shares her corn muffin with him. Wintergreen tells Mary that he’d rather marry her than any of the girls in the contest. He kisses her, and she agrees to marry him. The judges of the pageant announce that Diana Devereaux, a beautiful southern girl, has won the contest, but Wintergreen declares that he loves Mary Turner. When he gives some of Mary’s extraordinary corn muffins to the judges, they agree that John and Mary are meant to wed (“Because, Because”). Outside Madison Square Garden in New York City, at a rally for Wintergreen, the campaigners declare that “Love Is Sweeping the Country”. Inside, where politicians are speaking in favor of Wintergreen, a wrestling match is going on just below the speakers’ platform as Alexander Throttlebottom tries to explain to the organizers that he’s the candidate for Vice-President. Wintergreen proposes to Mary onstage, as he has in forty-seven states before. She accepts again, and Wintergreen sings the campaign song to her, “Of Thee I Sing”. On election night, Wintergreen wins by a landslide. Inauguration Day arrives, which is also Wintergreen’s wedding day. As his inaugural address, Wintergreen bids goodbye to the girls he used to know (“Here’s a Kiss for Cinderella”). The Chief Justice presides over the wedding ceremony, and just after he has pronounced John and Mary man and wife, Diana Devereaux interrupts the proceedings. She is serving Wintergreen with a summons for breach of promise. She insists she is the one he should have married (“I Was the Most Beautiful Blossom”). The Supreme Court rules that Mary’s corn muffins are more important than justice in this matter, and Diana angrily leaves to tell her story across the nation. Wintergreen leads the Supreme Court and spectators in a chorus of “Of Thee I Sing”.

Oh, Kay!

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

Producers Alex A. Aarons and Vinton Freedley imagined Oh, Kay! as a Princess Theatre-style show, with a contemporary setting, simple sets, and a farcical story. Gertrude Lawrence, who had been featured in the André Charlot revues of 1924 and 1925, was chosen as the star before the songs or story had been written. In accordance with the typical creative process for early American musicals, George and Ira Gershwin wrote the score to Oh, Kay! before the librettists, Bolton and Wodehouse, began work on the book. When the book was completed, eight songs from the Gershwins’ score were cut because they could not be easily inserted into the libretto. The show’s Philadelphia previews ran more than three hours, and so the producers cut the prologue (where the leading lady was introduced), thus losing the first 4 songs, and also the Act II “Finaletto”, which became obsolete in the reshuffling. This highlighted the farcical elements of the plot at the expense of the romantic ones, since the title character does not appear until 40 minutes into the show. The story aptly captured the spirit of the Roaring Twenties, featuring settings and characters familiar to theatre audiences: an opulent Long Island mansion and notorious (but comic) bootleggers. During rehearsals, George Gershwin purchased a rag doll in a Philadelphia toy store. The ballad, “Someone to Watch Over Me”, was staged with Lawrence alone on stage, clutching the doll and singing to it. It was the hit song of the show and became a Gershwin standard.

Oh, Lady Be Good!

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Recorded versions#

Carl Fenton and His Orchestra – recorded on December 11, 1924 (Brunswick)
Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra – rec. December 29, 1924 (Victor)
Cliff “Ukulele Ike” Edwards – rec. January 2, 1925
Jack Hylton and his Orchestra – rec. March 29, 1926
Buddy Lee with the Gilt–Edged Four – rec. May 17, 1926 (Columbia)
Buck and Bubbles – rec. December 26, 1933 (Columbia)
Django Reinhardt - (1934, 1937, 1948)
Red Norvo and His Swing Sextet – (Mar 16, 1936)
Benny Goodman Trio – rec. April 27, 1936
Jones-Smith Incorporated (feat. Lester Young and Count Basie) - rec. October 9, 1936 - released as Vocalion 3459, matrix C-1660-1
Slim & Slam – rec. May 3, 1938 (Vocalion)
Count Basie – rec. February 4, 1939 (Decca)
Artie Shaw and his Orchestra - rec. August 27, 1939 - from the short Artie Shaw’s Symphony In Swing (1939) - released as Bluebird B10430-A, matrix 042609-1
Charlie Parker and Lester Young for Jazz at the Philharmonic, January 28, 1946
Ella Fitzgerald – with Bob Haggart (1947)
Fred Astaire – rec. December 1952 – The Astaire Story
The Gordons with Dizzy Gillespie and Stuff Smith – rec. April 17, 1957
Ella Fitzgerald – rec. 1959 – Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook
Kenny Burrell – rec. August 25, 1959 – On View at the Five Spot Cafe (Blue Note)
Joe Carroll – The Man with the Happy Sound (1962)
Mel Tormé and Buddy Rich – Together Again: For the First Time (1978)
Rob Agerbeek – Three of a Kind (1998)
Dianne Reeves – We All Love Ella: Celebrating the First Lady of Song (2007)
BBC Concert Orchestra – The Age of Swing (2009)
John Wilson Orchestra– Gershwin in Hollywood, live at the Royal Albert Hall (2016)
Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra – with William Edwards – Take Me to the Rag Time Dance (2023)

Oh, So Nice!

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Notable recordings#

Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (Verve, 1959)
Betty Comden (with pianist Richard Lewine) - Remember These: Songs from Treasure Girl and Chee-Chee (Ava, 1963)

Pardon My English

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Production history#

Producers Alex A. Aarons and Vinton Freedley approached the Gershwins to create a showcase for the talents of English music hall star Jack Buchanan, and linked them with Fields and Ryskind, whose book required the actor to appear in dual roles, lower-class German thug Golo Schmidt and upper-crust British nobleman Michael Bramleigh. The sophisticated Buchanan had no problem portraying Bramleigh but was unable to capture the essence of Schmidt. The show opened in Philadelphia to critical pans. Rather than proceed to Broadway, the creative team added characters and expanded the role of police commissioner Bauer, played by radio’s “Baron Munchausen”, Jack Pearl. The revised production opened in Newark on January 2, 1933, but it was obvious that Buchanan was still a major problem. He bought out his contract and the producers replaced him with dialect comedian George Givot. Ira Gershwin reported that " d uring the weeks we were on the road (Philadelphia, Boston, and even a week in Brooklyn), at least five or six librettists and play doctors were called in to work on the book. Herbert Fields was the only one brave enough to allow himself to be billed as librettist." The production opened on Broadway on January 20, 1933, at the Majestic Theatre and ran for 43 performances. The book was directed by John McGowan (playwright), the production was staged by producer Vinton Freedley, and the musical numbers were staged by George Hale. In addition to Givot and Pearl, the cast included Josephine Huston as Bauer’s daughter Ilse and musical-comedy star Lyda Roberti (her speciality was a “polyglot of Polish, German, and near-Hungarian”) as Gita Gobel. According to Ben Brantley, “By the time it hit Broadway it was a desperately stitched patchwork that ran for 33 performances before exiting into oblivion.” The critics unanimously condemned it. Ira Gershwin later called the show “a headache from start to finish.” He “disliked enormously the central notion of the project” regarding the psychiatric “aberration” and felt that the project was unnecessary, as the Gershwins were “lucky to be making a living from Of Thee I Sing during the “deepest” part of the Great Depression. " S o why toil and moil for six months on something we didn’t want or need? However, loyalty to producer Aarons, who was broke and who told us if we didn’t do the score his potential backers would back out, induced us to go ahead.” He conceded “there were a couple of pretty good songs, like ‘Isn’t It a Pity?’ and ‘My Cousin in Milwaukee, and a couple of pretty good comedy scenes.” In 1982, a producer discovered a number of the musical’s manuscripts in the Warner Brothers warehouse in Secaucus, New Jersey. The score was pieced together and performed at the Library of Congress in concert in 1987. Elektra Records released a studio cast album featuring John Cullum and William Katt in 1993. New York City Center’s Encores! presented a staged concert in 2004, with a revised book by David Ives. Directed by Gary Griffin and choreographed by Rob Ashford, it featured Brian d’Arcy James as Golo/Michael, Emily Skinner as Gita, Jennifer Laura Thompson as Frieda (originally Ilse), and Rob Bartlett as Bauer. 42nd Street Moon, San Francisco, California, presented a staged concert in November 2006. translated by Wolfgang Adenberg, directed by Holger Hauer and conducted by Ernst Theis.

Porgy and Bess

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Inception#

The origin of Porgy and Bess is DuBose Heyward’s 1925 novel Porgy. Heyward produced a play by the same name with Dorothy Heyward. George Gershwin read Porgy in 1926 and proposed to Heyward to collaborate on an operatic version. In 1934, Gershwin and Heyward began work on the project by visiting the author’s native Charleston, South Carolina. In a 1935 New York Times article, Gershwin explained his motivation for calling Porgy and Bess a folk opera: Porgy and Bess is a folk tale. Its people naturally would sing folk music. When I first began work on the music I decided against the use of original folk material because I wanted the music to be all of one piece. Therefore I wrote my own spirituals and folksongs. But they are still folk music—and therefore, being in operatic form, Porgy and Bess becomes a folk opera.

Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Instrumentation#

Bennett arranged Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets in B-Flat, bass clarinet in B-Flat, 2 alto saxophones in E-Flat, tenor saxophone in B-Flat, 2 bassoons; 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in B-Flat, 3 trombones (2 tenor, 1 bass), tuba; a percussion section that includes timpani, xylophone, triangle, steel bells, cymbals, tubular bells, glockenspiel, snare drum, bass drum and wood block; banjo, 2 harps and strings.

Primrose (musical)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Production history#

Primrose was produced by Grossmith and J. A. E. Malone, who wanted to follow up on their earlier successes composed by Jerome Kern. Extensive excerpts from the score were recorded with original 1924 cast members conducted by Ansell, and have been re-released on CD. P. G. Wodehouse rewrote the lyric of ‘When Toby is out of Town’ as ‘The Twenties are Here to Stay’, interpolated into a 1960 revival of Gershwin’s Oh, Kay! In their joint memoir Bring on the Girls!, Wodehouse and Bolton relate a story about Grossmith holding auditions for Primrose, where he made a routine request of Sylvia Hawkes, a beautiful young dancer, who later married a series of famous men: An Australian production with Maude Fane and Alfred Frith opened in Melbourne, at His Majesty’s Theatre in April 1925, before touring nationally. It was produced by J. C. Williamson’s company. The show was not produced on Broadway, where it would have competed with Lady, Be Good!. The American première of Primrose did not take place until 1987, when an unstaged concert production at the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress was given, without dialogue, together with another Gershwin score, Pardon My English (1933), both conducted by John McGlinn. Soloists included Rebecca Luker and Kim Criswell. The next performance in North America was in 2003, when Musicals Tonight! presented a series of staged concerts at the 14th Street YMCA in New York City’s Greenwich Village, with dialogue, but accompanied only by piano, directed by Thomas Mills. Ohio Light Opera mounted the first fully staged American production of the show in 2017.

Red Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

External links#

Red Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove Album information, as listed by Discogs.
The memory of Gershwin prompts host of albums news story on CNN
Alternate link for Village Voice review provided by reviewer, Robert Christgau

Rhapsody in Blue

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Commission#

Following the success of an experimental classical-jazz concert held with Canadian singer Éva Gauthier in New York City on November 1, 1923, bandleader Paul Whiteman decided to attempt a more ambitious feat. He asked composer George Gershwin to write a concerto-like piece for an all-jazz concert in honor of Lincoln’s Birthday to be given at Aeolian Hall. Whiteman became fixated upon performing such an extended composition by Gershwin after he collaborated with him in The Scandals of 1922. He had been especially impressed by Gershwin’s one-act “jazz opera” Blue Monday. Gershwin initially declined Whiteman’s request on the grounds that he would have insufficient time to compose the work and the score would likely need to be revised. Soon after, on the evening of January 3, George Gershwin and lyricist Buddy DeSylva played a game of billiards at the Ambassador Billiard Parlor at Broadway and 52nd Street in Manhattan. George’s brother, Ira Gershwin, interrupted their billiard game to read aloud the January 4 edition of the New-York Tribune. An unsigned Tribune article entitled “What Is American Music?” about an upcoming Whiteman concert had caught Ira’s attention. The article falsely declared that George Gershwin had begun “work on a jazz concerto” for Whiteman’s concert. The news announcement puzzled Gershwin, as he had politely declined to compose any such work for Whiteman. In a telephone conversation with Whiteman the next morning, Whiteman informed Gershwin that Whiteman’s arch rival Vincent Lopez planned to steal the idea of his experimental concert and there was no time to lose. Whiteman thus finally persuaded Gershwin to compose the piece.

Rosalie (musical)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Broadway#

The musical, produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, premiered on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on January 10, 1928 and ran for 335 performances. Directed by William Anthony McGuire, the cast starred Marilyn Miller as the princess, Frank Morgan as her father, King Cyril, Bobbe Arnst (Mary), Margaret Dale (the Queen), and Jack Donahue. The set designer, Joseph Urban, and costume designer, John Harkrider “devised elaborate stage pictures ranging from a public square…to a West Point ballroom to a Paris nightclub.” Michel Fokine choreographed the second act ballet, and there was a chorus of 64. The musical was a mixture of operetta and a 1920s musical.

Sam and Delilah

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Setting#

“Sam and Delilah” appeared late in the first act of the musical, surprising audiences who had assumed that Merman was a non-singing member of the cast. Merman was unknown at the time of her appearance in the musical, which made her a star on Broadway. Ira Gershwin’s biographer, Philip Furia, described the song as the first “full-scale rhythmic number” of Girl Crazy which “bowled the audience over”. Ira Gershwin recalled that he was particularly relieved by the audience’s appreciation of the song as he had not felt that his lyrics were his best work, but Merman had saved the song with her “ability to sustain any note for any human or humane length of time” feeling that “Few singers could give you koo-for seven beats and come through with a terrifically-tch at the end”. Merman also performed “I Got Rhythm” and “Boy! What Love Has Done to Me!” in the musical. George Gershwin visited Merman in her dressing room in the interval and told her never to " … let anybody ever give you a singing lesson. It’ll ruin you".

Sarah Vaughan Sings George Gershwin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Track listing#

“Isn’t It a Pity?” – 3:53 # “Of Thee I Sing” – 3:10 # “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise” (Buddy De Sylva, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 2:39 # “Someone to Watch over Me” – 3:58 # “Bidin’ My Time” – 3:01 # “The Man I Love” – 3:34 # “How Long Has This Been Going On?” – 3:58 # “My One and Only (What Am I Gonna Do?)” – 3:13 # “Lorelei” – 2:32 # “I’ve Got a Crush on You” – 4:00 # “Summertime” (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) – 2:51 # “Aren’t You Kinda Glad We Did?” – 3:27 # “They All Laughed” – 2:23 # “Looking For a Boy” – 3:38 # “He Loves and She Loves” – 3:24 # “My Man’s Gone Now” (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin, Heyward) – 4:22 # “I Won’t Say I Will” (DeSylva, G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 3:24 # “A Foggy Day” – 3:24 # “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” – 2:22 # “Things Are Looking Up” – 3:33 # “Do It Again” (DeSylva, I. Gershwin) – 3:13 # “Love Walked In” – 3:06 #: 1999 Cd reissue bonus tracks not included on the original 1958 release: # “Of Thee I Sing” – 3:23 # “Summertime” # “Things Are Looking Up” – 3:21 # “I Won’t Say I Will” (Buddy DeSylva, G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 0:18 # “I Won’t Say I Will” – 3:21 # “I Won’t Say I Will” – 1:21 # “I Won’t Say I Will” – 2:50 # “I Won’t Say I Will” – 7:49 # “Of Thee I Sing” – 1:35 # “Of Thee I Sing” – 2:25 # “Of Thee I Sing” – 2:16 # “Of Thee I Sing” – 4:02 # “My One and Only (What Am I Gonna Do?)” – 1:47 # “My One and Only (What Am I Gonna Do?)” – 3:11 # “My One and Only (What Am I Gonna Do?)” – 4:34 All songs composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, unless otherwise indicated.#

Personnel#

Sarah Vaughan – vocals
Hal Mooney – arranger

Second Rhapsody

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Composition#

In 1930, George Gershwin, together with his brother Ira Gershwin, was invited to go to Hollywood to provide the music for the film Delicious. After completing work on most of the film’s songs and “The Melting Pot” sequence, George began sketching music to accompany an extended visual montage, where a character wanders the streets of New York. The initial title of this sequence was Manhattan Rhapsody, and renamed during the course of the film’s production to New York Rhapsody, and finally to Rhapsody in Rivets. Gershwin completed the sketch just before returning to New York in late February 1931. In New York, Gershwin began working on a full score of the Second Rhapsody on March 14, 1931, and completed the score on May 23. He was proud of this work, and commented: “In many respects, such as orchestration and form, it is the best thing I have written” For use in the Delicious film sequence, the score was edited to fit into the sequence’s length of seven minutes, eliminating more than half of the original music. This editing was possibly done by Hugo Friedhofer, a staff musician at the Fox film studio who had worked with Gershwin on his early sketch of the Rhapsody. Gershwin himself later deleted the opening trio with piano, cello and violin.

Show Girl (1929 musical)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Cast#

Doris Carson - Raquel
Lew Clayton - Gypsy
Sadie Duff - Mrs. Dugan
Austin Fairman - John Milton
Eddie Foy, Jr. - Denny Kerrigan
Noel Francis - Peggy Ritz
Kathryn Hereford - Bobby
Ruby Keeler - Dixie Dugan
Nick Lucas - Rudy
Joseph Macauley - Alvarez Romano
Frank McHugh - Jimmy Doyle
Howard Morgan - Matt Brown
Barbara Newberry - “Sunshine’ and “Virginia Witherby”
Matthew Smith - Captain Robert Adams

Act One#

“Happy Birthday”
“My Sunday Fella”
“How Could I Forget?”
“Can Broadway Do Without Me?” (music and lyrics by Jimmy Durante)
“Lolita (My Love)”
“Do What You Do”
“Spain”
“One Man”
“So Are You”
“I Must Be Home by Twelve O’Clock”
“Because They All Love You” (Lyrics by Thomas Malie, music by J. Little)
“Who Will be With You When I Am Far Away?” (Music and lyrics By W. H. Farrell)
“Black and White”
“Jimmie, the Well-Dressed Man” (music and lyrics by Jimmy Durante)
“Harlem Serenade”

Act Two#

“An American in Paris”
“Home Blues”
“Broadway, My Street” (lyrics by Sidney Skolsky, music by Jimmy Durante)
“(So) I Ups to Him” (music and lyrics by Jimmy Durante)
“Follow the Minstrel Band”
“Liza (All the Clouds’ll Roll Away)” Several further songs were used during tryouts, including “Tonight’s the Night,” which later was used in Crazy for You.

Somebody Loves Me

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Four Lads recording#

*One of the later better-known versions was by The Four Lads. This recording was made on August 18, 1952, and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 39865. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on October 18, 1952. It peaked at #22 on the charts.

Other recorded versions#

Tex Beneke
Margot Bingham
Boots and his Buddies – as “The Somebody”
Dave Brubeck
Benny Carter
Sonny Clark
Alma Cogan – recorded in 1952 and included in the CD The A-Z of Alma (1994).
Nat King Cole
Perry Como – included on his album We Get Letters (1957)
Ray Conniff
Bing Crosby – rec. June 14, 1939; released as Brunswick 02807 in the UK, matrix DLA 1777. A later version was included in his album Some Fine Old Chestnuts (1953).
Vic Damone
Doris Day – recorded in December 1950 for Columbia Records.
Tommy Dorsey
Roy Eldridge
Duke Ellington
Herb Ellis
Percy Faith and his orchestra
Eddie Fisher – included on his album I Love You (1955).
Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959) and her Verve/Polygram release: “Jazz at the Philharmonic, the Ella Fitzgerald Sets”.
Helen Forrest
The Four Freshmen – 4 Freshmen and 5 Trombones (1955)
Erroll Garner
George Gershwin
Banu Gibson
Dizzy Gillespie
Jackie Gleason
Johnny Green and his Orchestra – World Program Service transcription 200-5628
Benny Goodman and his orchestra – rec. November 5, 1936; released as Victor 25497, matrix 02458-1.
Ferde Grofe – AMPICO Piano Roll assisted, Number 205171-E; Dated 9-1924
Lionel Hampton
Ted Heath
Fletcher Henderson and his orchestra
Ruthie Henshall (1994)
Woody Herman and his orchestra
Lena Horne – rec. June 4, 1943; from the movie Broadway Rhythm (1944)
Alberta Hunter
Dick Hyman
Harry James and his orchestra
Joni James – recorded for her album Joni Sings Sweet (1959).
Bert Kaempfert and his orchestra
Henry Lange
Peggy Lee
Oscar Levant
Oscar Peterson
Buddy DeFranco
Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
Julie London – included on the album Julie (1957)
Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers
Maureen McGovern
The McGuire Sisters
Don McLean
Ralph Marterie
Meat Loaf in collaboration with Larry Adler (also 1994)
Melanie
Johnny Mercer
Red Norvo Trio
Isabelle & Tom Patricola – rec. July 23, 1924; released as Vocalion B 14866, matrix 13513.
Les Paul
Johnny Paycheck
Oscar Peterson – rec. November or December 1952; released on the LP Oscar Peterson Plays Gershwin (1953).
The Platters – included on their album Remember When? (1959).
Django Reinhardt
Buddy Rich
Maurice Rocco
Dinah Shore – rec. December 10, 1940; released as Bluebird B10978, matrix BS 058246-1.
Frank Sinatra
Stuff Smith
Aileen Stanley – rec. September 9, 1924; released as Victor 19454, matrix B-30807-3.
Art Tatum
Bud Powell
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
Jack Teagarden with Eddie Condon and His Orchestra – rec. December 12, 1944; released as Decca 23430, matrix 72633.
Dinah Washington – included in The Complete Dinah Washington on Mercury, Vol. 5 (1956–1958).
Paul Weston and his orchestra
Lester Young with Nat King Cole and Buddy Rich – rec. 1946; released 1951 on a Mercury Records 10-inch LP as The Lester Young Trio
Zoot Sims 1975 with Bucky Pizzarelli on guitar, Milt Hinton on bass, and Buddy Rich on drums
Diana Krall and Tony Bennett 2018

Film appearances#

Broadway Rhythm (1944) – sung by Lena Horne
Rhapsody in Blue (1945) – performed by Tom Patricola and Joan Leslie (dubbed by Sally Sweetland).
Lullaby of Broadway (1951) – sung by Doris Day and Gene Nelson (dubbed by Hal Derwin)
Somebody Loves Me (1952) – played throughout the film and sung at the end by Betty Hutton and Ralph Meeker
Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955) – sung by Peggy Lee

Someone to Watch Over Me (song)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origin#

Initially, “Someone to Watch Over Me” was written by George Gershwin for the musical Oh, Kay! as a “fast and jazzy” up-tempo rhythm tune – marked scherzando (playful) in the sheet music followed by Margaret Whiting in 1944. Howard Dietz, who was involved in composing other songs in Oh Kay! while Ira Gershwin was hospitalized for six weeks for a ruptured appendix, claimed that he helped write the lyrics to “Someone to Watch Over Me”. He was not named in the song credits, and he was paid very little for his contribution. a fact first revealed by Ira in his 1959 book Lyrics on Several Occasions. Lawrence’s performances of the song in 1926 and 1927 were presented in a solo scene at the beginning of Act II, with Lawrence wearing a maid’s uniform and singing to a rag doll that she held in her hand.

Stairway to Paradise

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

The lyrics make it clear that the “steps” on the stairway are dance steps.

Other recordings#

Sarah Vaughan – Sarah Vaughan Sings George Gershwin (1958)
Pat Boone on his 1958 album Yes Indeed!
Frankie Vaughan – Frankie Vaughan at the London Palladium (1959).
Liza Minnelli – There Is a Time (1966)
Joel Grey – Only the Beginning (1967).
Featured on the tribute album The Glory of Gershwin (1994), a compilation of Gershwin tunes produced by “Fifth Beatle” George Martin to honour Larry Adler, a lifelong friend of Gershwin, on his 80th birthday. Issy Van Randwyck performs the song.
Mark Murphy with the Metropole Orchestra - The Dream (1995)
Michael Feinstein – Michael & George: Feinstein Sings Gershwin (1998)
Nancy Sinatra on her 2013 album Shifting Gears.
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe – Together (2016)
Harpers Bizarre – The Secret Life of Harpers Bizarre (1968)

Popular culture#

In the 1951 American film musical An American in Paris it was performed by Georges Guétary, where it was entitled “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise”.
The song is heard in the 2004 Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator, being sung by Rufus Wainwright, in a scene at the Cocoanut Grove night club set in 1927.

External links#

*Original sheet music Digitized copy in the Lest S. Levy Sheet Music Collection, Sheridan Libraries and University Museums, Johns Hopkins University.

Strike Up the Band (musical)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Libretto#

The original book by George S. Kaufman centered on Horace J. Fletcher, a Babbitt-like cheese tycoon who tries to maintain his monopoly on the American market by convincing the United States government to declare war on Switzerland. The story ended darkly. The 1930 plot by Ryskind, softened the political overtones, increased the emphasis on romance and added a happy ending. It relegated the war plot to a dream sequence. The incident that incites war concerned chocolate instead of cheese.

Strike Up the Band (song)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

UCLA version#

In 1936, UCLA students were looking for a new rally tune. George and Ira Gershwin had moved from New York to Beverly Hills to work in Los Angeles on the Fred Astaire movie Shall We Dance. Maxson Judell, a music industry contact, approached them about contributing a song to UCLA. The Gershwins made a gift of the song to the University of California, Los Angeles. Ira Gershwin revised the lyrics and called the new version “Strike Up the Band for UCLA”. From that time, it became one of the primary school songs, and even served as the leitmotif and rally song for the school teams until “Sons of Westwood” and later “Mighty Bruins” became school songs.

Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Reception#

In its first week, the album sold 13,000 copies. It debuted at number one on the Traditional Jazz and Top Jazz Albums Billboard charts, becoming Nelson’s third album to top the latter. Meanwhile, it reached number fourteen in Top Album Sales and reached forty in the Billboard 200. The album has sold 35,000 copies in the United States .

Personnel#

As listed in the liner notes. The Family *Bobbie Nelson – piano *Willie Nelson – acoustic guitar, lead vocals *Mickey Raphael – harmonica Additional musicians *Jay Bellerose – drums *Sheryl Crow – duet vocals on “Embraceable You” *Paul Franklin – steel guitar *Cyndi Lauper – duet vocals on “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” *Dean Parks – electric guitar, acoustic guitar *David Piltch – upright bass *Matt Rollings – organ

Swanee (song)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jolson versions#

The song had little impact in its first show, but not long afterwards Gershwin played it at a party where Al Jolson heard it. Jolson then put it into his show Sinbad, already a success at the Winter Garden Theatre, and recorded it for Columbia Records in January 1920. “After that”, said Gershwin, “Swanee penetrated the four corners of the earth.” The song was charted in 1920 for 18 weeks, holding the No. 1 position for nine. It sold a million sheet music copies and an estimated two million records. It became Gershwin’s first hit and the biggest-selling song of his career; the money he earned from it allowed him to concentrate on theatre work and films rather than writing further single pop hits. Arthur Schwartz said: “It’s ironic that he never again wrote a number equaling the sales of Swanee, which for all its infectiousness, doesn’t match the individuality and subtlety of his later works.” Jolson recorded the song several times in his career and performed it in the movies The Jolson Story (1946), Rhapsody in Blue (1945), and Jolson Sings Again (1949). For the song’s performance in The Jolson Story, Jolson, rather than actor Larry Parks, appeared as himself, filmed in long shot. Although usually associated with Jolson, “Swanee” has been recorded by many other singers, most notably Judy Garland in A Star Is Born.

That Certain Feeling

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Notable recordings#

George Gershwin - rec. 1926
Layton & Johnstone - rec. November 1926 - released as Columbia WA 4530
Dorothy Dickson and Allen Kearns, Jack Clarke, G. Myddleton - rec. September 9, 1926 - released as Columbia 91298, matrix WA 1887
Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra - recorded on December 24, 1925, for Victor Records, catalog No. 19920. A popular version in 1926.
Josephine Baker - rec. 1926 - released as Odeon 49.171
Shirley Ross - for the Decca 78 rpm album George Gershwin Songs, Vol. 1 (1939).
Les Brown and Jo Ann Greer - recorded May 18, 1956 - released as Capitol 3463.
Ella Fitzgerald - rec. 1959 - from Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook

The Gershwin Connection

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Reception#

The Gershwin Connection received extremely positive reviews. Scott Yanow at All Music called the album “a very tasteful and respectful set – a classy package”. Leonard Feather in the Los Angeles Times gave it a four-star review and praised this “delightfully modest, jazz-oriented set, with Grusin’s piano at its most graceful and tasteful”.

Track listing#

#“That Certain Feeling” - 1:12 #“Soon” - 4:03 #“Fascinating Rhythm” - 5:01 #“Prelude II” - 5:39 #“How Long Has This Been Going On?” - 5:13 #“There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New York” - 5:40 #“My Man’s Gone Now” - 6:52 #“Maybe” - 3:51 #“Our Love is Here to Stay” - 3:14 #"‘S Wonderful" - 3:47 #“I’ve Got Plenty O’ Nuthin’” - 6:06 #“Nice Work if You Can Get It” - 3:30 #Medley: “Bess, You Is My Woman Now/I Loves You Porgy” - 5:48

The Glory of Gershwin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Track listing#

*The US version does not include the tracks by Chris de Burgh and Willard White.

The Man I Love (song)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Covers#

Like many songs from George and Ira Gershwin, “The Man I Love” is considered part of the Great American Songbook. Composed in AABA form, it was covered on stage and on record by many artists. An early notable performance was by the Benny Goodman Quartet at the Goodman band’s 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert (with Benny Goodman on clarinet; Gene Krupa on drums, Teddy Wilson on piano, and Lionel Hampton on vibraphone) - famed not only as part of that historic jazz concert but for being done by one of the first integrated groups of black and white musicians to perform in concert in the United States. In 1994 the song was recorded by Kate Bush for Larry Adler’s The Glory of Gershwin tribute album; released as a single on 18 July 1994, it reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart.

They All Laughed (song)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Lyrics#

The lyrics compare those who “laughed at me, wanting you” with those who laughed at some of history’s famous scientific and industrial pioneers, asking, “Who’s got the last laugh now?” People and advances mentioned are Christopher Columbus’s proof the Earth is round; Thomas Edison’s phonograph; Guglielmo Marconi’s wireless telegraphy; the Wright brothers’s first flight; the Rockefeller Center; Eli Whitney’s cotton gin; Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat; Milton S. Hershey’s Hershey bar chocolate; and Henry Ford’s “Tin Lizzy” Model T car.

They Can't Take That Away from Me

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Other recordings#

Fred Astaire with Johnny Green and His Orchestra – recorded March 14, 1937
Billie Holiday – recorded in New York on April 1, 1937 – included in the album Bing Crosby Sings Songs by George Gershwin.
Charlie Parker – July 5, 1950,
Ella Fitzgerald – recorded in 1956 with Louis Armstrong for Ella and Louis and in 1959 for Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook
Mel Tormé – Mel Tormé Sings Fred Astaire (1956)
Oscar Peterson – Pastel Moods (1956)
June Christy – for June’s Got Rhythm recorded in 1958
Lester Young with Roy Eldridge and Harry “Sweets” Edison – Laughin’ to Keep from Cryin (1958)
Diana Krall – Love Scenes (1997)
Janet Seidel - The Way You Wear Your Hat (1998)
Robbie Williams with Rupert Everett – Swing When You’re Winning (2001)
Rod Stewart – It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook (2002)
Eliane Elias – Bossa Nova Stories (2008)
Brian Wilson – Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin (2010)
Cliff Richard – Bold As Brass (2010)
Stacey Kent – Dreamer In Concert (2011)
Gloria Estefan - for her 2013 album The Standards
Van Morrison - for his 2017 album Versatile

Three Preludes (Gershwin)

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1. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso#

The first prelude, in B major, begins with a five-note blues motif; virtually all the melodic material in the piece is based on this theme. Syncopated rhythms based on the Brazilian baião and chords containing flattened sevenths occur throughout; these give the piece a strong jazz feel. Although these sounds are far from adventurous by modern standards, to the audiences of the late 1920s they were almost unheard of. Structurally, the piece is in ternary form; however, the impression on the listener is that of a fantasia. This effect is achieved by using snippets of various virtuoso techniques, such as repeated notes, octaves, scales, and crossed hands, each of which is used for only a moment before the piece catches a flicker of some new idea.

Tip-Toes

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Production history#

Tip-Toes was produced by Alex A. Aarons and Vinton Freedley, to satirise the Florida land boom, which was then at its peak. They reunited the creative team of Lady, Be Good!, which had been a hit the previous year with Fred and Adele Astaire. The Broadway production opened at the Liberty Theatre on December 28, 1925, and ran for 192 performances. It was directed by John Harwood, and the dance numbers were staged by Sammy Lee and Earl Lindsay. The cast included Queenie Smith as Tip-Toes, Allen Kearns as Steve Burton, Jeanette MacDonald as Sylvia Metcalf, Andrew Tombes as Al, and Harry Watson Jr. as Hen. A West End production featuring Dorothy Dickson, Laddie Cliff, Allan Kearns, John Kirby, Vera Bryer, Peggy Beaty and Evan Thomas opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on August 31, 1926, and ran for 182 performances. An Australian production opened at the Victoria Theatre in Newcastle, New South Wales, on May 4, 1927, before a national tour. Also in 1927, the show was made into one of the last silent films, starring Dorothy Gish as Tip-Toes (spelled Tiptoes in the film) and Will Rogers as Hen. In 1982, original orchestra books for the show were among many documents unearthed in a warehouse in Secaucus, New Jersey, and in 1989 two concerts were presented at the Library of Congress to celebrate the discovery. In 1998, Carnegie Hall decided to present the show as part of its two-year Gershwin Centenary program, and a full restoration of the project was undertaken by reconciling original programs and scripts with the existing musical materials. Of this performance, Stephen Holden of the New York Times said, “the songs and orchestrations have that irresistible fizz that at its perkiest conveys a compressed frenzy of euphoria.” In 2001, New World Records released a CD with the scores for both Tip-Toes and Tell Me More, another 1925 musical by the Gershwin brothers, which included the cast from the Carnegie Hall concert. In 2007, the musical was given its first full staging following its 1998 restoration by the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks, California. Variety described the production as “an exuberant reminder of the let’s-put-on-a-show spirit characterizing the best musical productions of any era.”

Tra-la-la

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External links#

Original sheet music. Digitized copy in the Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection, Sheridan Libraries and University Museums, Johns Hopkins University. (Includes undated note from Ira Gershwin about forthcoming new edition with lyrics changed for the film An American in Paris.)
Performance of original lyrics by Fred Feild (voice) and James Pitt-Payne (piano). (Retrieved 6 January 2026.)
Performance by Gene Kelly and Oscar Levant in An American in Paris (1951). (Retrieved 6 January 2026.)

Treasure Girl

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

First Production and Reception#

The early titles of the musical were Tally Ho and Run Across. After tryouts at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia beginning on October 15, 1928, Treasure Girl opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on November 8, 1928. It ran for 68 performances before closing on January 5, 1929. Bertram Harrison directed the book, with choreography by Bobby Connelly, costumes by Kiviette, and set design by Joseph Urban. It starred Gertrude Lawrence, and featured Clifton Webb, Paul Frawley, Mary Hay, and Walter Catlett. In Howard Pollack’s characterization, “The reviews were dismal. The critics acknowledged that the sets and costumes were colorful, the chorus, vivacious, and the lyrics, catchy.” He reported that the book was described as “vapid, humorless and absolutely inane” in Billboard, while The New Yorker described the dialogue as “hopelessly, remorselessly dull.” Gerald Bordman wrote: “The failure of the show dragged down with it some of Ira’s best lyrics and some of George’s most vivacious music. Ira, for example, came up with clever, telling rhymes such as ‘A B C’ and ‘incompatibility’ for ‘I Don’t Think I’ll Fall In Love Today.’ George’s striking melody for ‘Feeling I’m Falling’ also got lost in the wreckage.” In The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Arthur Pollock wrote that the book had “less sense than is customary in musical comedies, even in those of which the Marx brothers are the stars,” but that “despite noticeable periods of something very like dullness,” it was “always beautiful, dainty, and unobtrusively charming,” noting the “delectable settings” by Urban and “often entrancing” costumes by Kiviette. As to the score, he felt that “George Gershwin’s music grows a little less witty, a little more abstruse as he gets older” and incorrectly predicted that “I’ve Got a Rainbow” was “the song that will be heard most hereafter.” Pollack noted that this song was “tuneful but not particularly original” and yet “tellingly, many critics singled it out for praise.” In contrast, Brooks Atkinson and Francis Bellamy considered the score among the composer’s best, although Atkinson felt that, except for Lawrence and Frawley, the cast did not seem “up to the task of singing appreciatively in the vein that suits Mr. Gershwin’s music best.” Rowland Field wrote in The Brooklyn Daily Times that the “score sparklers sic with songs of high quality” and the show “leaves little to be desired when it dances and sings, for its music is Gershwin at his best. Tuneful numbers, it must be said, perform yeoman service in breaking up the monotony of a dull book in which there is an alarming paucity of humor.” He noted that Webb, " a capable comic gentleman on occasions," was underserved by the material except for his dances with Hay. Ultimately, he called the show “worthwhile because of Gertrude Lawrence, the music and the dancing,” incorrectly predicting that " t hese things will spell success for it," although “it is a musical play that should have been infinitely better. As it stands, it is a production that is smart in every detail except its story and its humor.”

Variations on "I Got Rhythm"

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Preservation status#

On September 22, 2013, it was announced that a musicological critical edition of the full orchestral score would eventually be released. The Gershwin family, working in conjunction with the Library of Congress and the University of Michigan, are working to make scores available to the public that represent Gershwin’s true intent. The critical score should restore the original orchestrations, but it is unknown if it will also include the subsequent reorchestration by William Schoenfeld to provide context to historical recordings of the work. The entire Gershwin project may take 30 to 40 years to complete, and it is unknown when the score to the I Got Rhythm Variations will be released. Meanwhile, the German publisher B-Note has released a new edition of Gershwin’s original orchestration based on the manuscript full score, though due to copyright law, this edition is not yet public domain in the United States nor can it be distributed there.

Walking the Dog (Gershwin)

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External links#

*Video – George Gershwin – Walking The Dog (03:17).

We Got Rhythm: A Gershwin Songbook

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Reception#

The album was reviewed by Ken Dryden at Allmusic who wrote that Previn “faces the same challenge every jazz musician must address: finding new paths through Gershwin’s frequently recorded masterpieces”. Dryden highlighted Previn’s “train-like bassline substitution to open and close a rollicking take” of “They All Laughed” and his “laid-back” and “bluesy treatment” of “Oh, Lady Be Good”.

Track listing#

*All music composed by George Gershwin with all lyrics written by Ira Gershwin # “They All Laughed” – 3:19 # “Someone to Watch Over Me” – 5:03 # “Oh, Lady Be Good” – 4:20 # “A Foggy Day” – 5:51 # “Soon”/“Do It Again!” – 5:37 # “I Got Rhythm” – 5:14 # “Embraceable You” – 4:56 # “He Loves and She Loves”/“Love Is Here to Stay” – 6:54 # “Fascinating Rhythm” – 3:35 # “Isn’t It a Pity?” – 4:44 # “Boy! What Love Has Done To Me!”/“I’ve Got a Crush on You” – 4:32 # “Love Walked In” – 6:05 # “The Man I Love” – 5:27 # “‘S Wonderful” – 6:22

Who Cares? (ballet)

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Choreography#

On Who Cares?, original cast member Karin von Aroldingen described, “You think it’s so unlike Balanchine, it’s so jazzy. One would think he’d just make a jazz ballet out of it, like everyone else, a dance like Broadway, but he put it on pointe – it’s sort of like a tap dance on pointe.” The ballet features seventeen songs by Gershwin. The first eight songs are danced by fifteen women and five men. Dance critic Zoe Anderson wrote that this half of the ballet is “staged as a suite of classical dances… with some hoofer steps and showgirl poses.” The second half of the ballet focuses on three women and a man. Anderson commented that “the mood turns late-night and more romantic” Each of the dancers has their own solos, and the man dances duets with all three women. This is followed by a quartet, before the full cast returns for the finale.

Who Cares? (Gershwin song)

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Notable recordings#

Fred Astaire with Benny Goodman and his Orchestra - recorded May 9, 1940 for Columbia Records, catalog No. 35517.
Kate Smith - for her album Kate Smith (1954).
Anita O’Day - This Is Anita (1955)
Sammy Davis Jr. and Carmen McRae - Boy Meets Girl (1957)
Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959) and the 1983 Pablo release Nice Work if You Can Get It
Judy Garland - That’s Entertainment (1960), Judy at Carnegie Hall (1961) and on The Judy Garland Show (1963)
Cannonball Adderley - Know What I Mean? (1961)
Bill Evans - with Chuck Israels and Larry Bunker on the album Time Remembered (1963)
Dick Haymes - For You, for Me, Forevermore (1978).
Tony Bennett - Steppin’ Out (1993)
Michael Feinstein - Nice Work If You Can Get It: Songs by the Gershwins (1996)
Susannah McCorkle - Someone to Watch Over Me—Songs of George Gershwin (1998).
Bea Arthur - Bea Arthur on Broadway — Just Between Friends (2002)
Rufus Wainwright - Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall (2007)

Zoot Sims and the Gershwin Brothers

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Track listing#

“The Man I Love” – 6:26 # “How Long Has This Been Going On?” – 2:16 # “Lady be Good!” – 4:37 # “I’ve Got a Crush on You” – 3:01 # “I Got Rhythm” – 7:09 # “Embraceable You” – 4:52 # “‘S Wonderful” – 4:40 # “Someone to Watch Over Me” – 3:46 # “Isn’t It a Pity?” – 3:27 # “Summertime” (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) – 5:25 # “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” – 4:33 All music composed by George Gershwin and all lyrics written by Ira Gershwin except where noted.#

Personnel#

Zoot Sims – saxophone
Oscar Peterson – piano
Joe Pass – guitar
George Mraz – double bass
Grady Tate – drums Recorded June 6, 1975, New York City, New York Technical personnel
Norman Granz – Producer
Robert “Bob” Simpson - Recording Engineer

George Gershwin on Music Theory Print

'S Wonderful

Other recordings#

'The Half of It, Dearie' Blues

Recordings#

External links#

(I've Got) Beginner's Luck

Other notable recordings#

A Damsel in Distress (musical)

Main cast#

Production#

A Dangerous Maid

Plot#

A Foggy Day

Other recordings#

See also#

Americana (revue)

Songs#

An American in Paris

Background#

An American in Paris (ballet)

Production#

An American in Paris (musical)

Plot#

An American in Paris (soundtrack)

Track listing#

Blue Monday (opera)

Characters#

Synopsis#

Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin

Background#

Buddy DeFranco and Oscar Peterson Play George Gershwin

Track listing#

Performance#

But Not for Me (song)

Other recordings#

See also#

By George (album)

Reception#

Track listing#

By Strauss

Lyrics#

Catfish Row

Movements#

Instrumentation#

Concerto in F (Gershwin)

Genesis of the Concerto#

Crazy for You (musical)

Background#

Cuban Overture

Première#

Do It Again (George Gershwin and Buddy DeSylva song)

Background#

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book

Track listing#

Ella Sings Gershwin

Track listing#

Embraceable You

Other versions#

See also#

Fascinating Rhythm

Recorded versions#

External links#

Funny Face (musical)

Plot#

George & James

Bonus track on UK cassette release#

Personnel#

George Gershwin Songs, Vol. 1

Track listing#

Gershwin Live!

Track listing#

Personnel#

Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls

Recording#

Gershwin's World

Track listing#

Personnel#

Production#

Girl Crazy