George Gershwin Biography
26 September 1898, New York City, New York, USA, d. 11 June 1937, Beverly Hills, California, USA. One of the select group of all-time great American composers, as a youngster George Gershwin was a poor student, happy to spend his days playing in the streets. He eventually took up the piano when the family bought an instrument for his older brother, Ira Gershwin. He quickly showed enormous enthusiasm for music, taking lessons and studying harmony and theory. His taste was eclectic: he listened to classical music and to the popular music of the day, in particular the music of black Americans which was then gaining a widespread appeal. After becoming a professional musician in 1912, he played the piano at holiday resorts in upstate New York, and worked as a song plugger for the renowned Remick Music Company. He continued with his studies and began to write music. His first songs were undistinguished, but attracted the attention of important figures such as Sophie Tucker, Harry Von Tilzer and Sigmund Romberg. Some of his early compositions were influenced by ragtime - "Rialto Ripples" (1916, with Will Donaldson) was one such example - and he also continued to gain a reputation as a performer. In 1917 he was hired as a rehearsal pianist for the Jerome Kern/Victor Herbert Broadway show Miss 1917, and his own compositions continued to flow, some with lyrics by his brother Ira, and others by Irving Caesar.
It was a collaboration in 1919 with Caesar that gave Gershwin his first hit: "Swanee" had originally been played by the popular Arthur Pryor band, but it was only when Al Jolson sang it in the musical, Sinbad, that it became a success. Also in 1919, George Gershwin collaborated with Arthur J. Jackson and Buddy De Sylva on his first complete Broadway score, for La, La Lucille. In the early 20s, he wrote the exquisite ballad, "The Man I Love", with Ira, and contributed to revues such as George White's Scandals of 1922 ("I'll Build A Stairway To Paradise" (lyric: Buddy De Sylva and Ira Gershwin), George White's Scandals of 1924 ("Somebody Loves Me" with a lyric: De Sylva and Ballard MacDonald), and the London musical, Primrose (lyrics mostly by Ira Gershwin and Desmond Carter). In complete contrast to his work for the musical theatre, band leader Paul Whiteman commissioned George to write an extended piece that was to be classical in structure but which would use the jazz idiom. The result was "Rhapsody In Blue", arranged by Ferde Grofé, and first performed by Whiteman at the Aeolian Hall in New York in 1924, with the composer at the piano. In the same year, George and Ira were back on Broadway with the hit musical Lady, Be Good! ("Fascinating Rhythm", "The 'Half Of It, Dearie' Blues", title song), which was followed throughout the decade by several other delightful productions, including Tip-Toes ("Sweet And Low-Down", "That Certain Feeling"), Oh, Kay! (with Romberg and P.G. Wodehouse, "Clap Yo' Hands", "Dear Little Girl", "Do-Do-Do", "Maybe", "Someone To Watch Over Me"), Funny Face, with Fred Astaire and his sister Adele Astaire ("He Loves And She Loves', 'S Wonderful", title song), Rosalie ("How Long Has This Been Going On?", "Oh Gee! Oh Joy!"), Treasure Girl ("Feeling I'm Falling"), and Show Girl ("Liza (All The Clouds Will Roll Away)', 1929). During this period the brothers each worked with other collaborators. The Gershwins" success was maintained in the early 30s with Strike Up The Band ("I've Got A Crush On You", "Soon", title song) and the magnificent Girl Crazy, which starred Ethel Merman ("I Got Rhythm", "But Not For Me", "Embraceable You", "Bidin' My Time", "Boy! What Love Has Done To Me", "But Not For Me"). In the pit band for Girl Crazy were up-and-coming musicians such as Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Gene Krupa. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Of Thee I Sing ("Love Is Sweeping The Country", "Who Cares', title song) was another hit, but the Gershwins' next two Broadway shows, Pardon My English! and Let "Em Eat Cake, were flops. After the success of "Rhapsody In Blue", George Gershwin had again written music in classical form with "Concert In F" (1925), the tone poem "An American In Paris" (1928) and his "Second Rhapsody" (1930). In 1935, his folk opera Porgy And Bess (lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward) opened in Boston, Massachusetts, and despite early critical disapproval and audience indifference, it became one of his most performed works. The score included such memorable songs as "It Ain't Necessarily So", "Bess, You Is My Woman", "I Loves You Porgy", "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'" (Ira Gershwin, in his book Lyrics On Several Occasions, refers to this song as "I've Got Plenty O' Nuthin"), "There's A Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon For New York", and the immortal "Summertime". In 1936, the Gershwin brothers returned to Hollywood, after visiting a few years earlier with only modest results. Now they entered into a new phase of creativity, writing the score for the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musical Shall We Dance ("They All Laughed", "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off", "They Can't Take That Away From Me"), and A Damsel In Distress ("Nice Work If You Can Get It", "Stiff Upper Lip", "Things Are Looking Up", "A Foggy Day"), in which Astaire was teamed with the English actress, Joan Fontaine. It was while he was working on the next film, The Goldwyn Follies, that George Gershwin was taken ill. He died of a brain tumour in June 1937. Despite the severity of his illness, Gershwin's songs for the film, which included "Love Walked In", "I Was Doing All Right", "I Love To Rhyme", "Just Another Rhumba", and the beautiful "Love Is Here To Stay" were among his best work. In 1947, some hitherto unpublished songs, such as "For You, For Me, Forevermore", "Aren't You Kind Of Glad We Did?", and "Changing My Tune", were used in the Betty Grable/Dick Haymes movie The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, and other Gershwin numbers were heard on the screen in The Barkleys Of Broadway (1949) and An American In Paris (1951), as well as in the film adaptations of Girl Crazy, Funny Face, and Porgy And Bess. Although his life span was relatively short, Gershwin's work was not merely extensive but also imperishable. Hardly any of his songs have dated, and they are performed frequently more than 50 years after his death. As with so many of his contemporaries, Gershwin's popular songs adapted to the latest musical developments, in particular incorporating concepts from the jazz world, and, not surprisingly, his work is especially popular among jazz instrumentalists. Another accomplished exponent of the best of Gershwin was pianist Oscar Levant, a valued lifelong friend of the composer. It is, however, with singers that the full glory of Gershwin's music emerges, and he remains a key and influential figure in the story of American popular song. In 1992, many of his most enduring numbers were showcased in two contrasting productions: the intimate New York revue 'S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous, 'S Gershwin!, and the big budget Broadway musical, Crazy For You, which was "very loosely based' on the Gershwins" 1930 show Girl Crazy. In 1993, a West End production of Crazy For You opened to rave notices, and looked set for a long residency. In 1994, Elektra Nonesuch released a unique CD entitled Gershwin Plays Gershwin, which contained transcribed piano rolls made by the composer between 1916 and 1927. Among the tracks were his earliest versions of immortal melodies such as "Swanee", "That Certain Feeling", "An American In Paris", and "Rhapsody In Blue". After Ira's centennial celebrations in 1996, it was George's turn two years later. One of the highlights was George Gershwin At 100, a concert at Carnegie Hall, with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, and starring Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Frederica Von Stade. Another proved to be Hope Clarke's new ballet based on Porgy And Bess which premiered at the Lincoln Center. The Library of Congress also paid tribute to George and Ira by dedicating a room to them. It is dominated by George's grand piano and Ira's portable typewriter. In addition, the team now have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In Britain, S'Wonderful: A Celebration Of George Gershwin, was presented at the London Palladium, and - a rare honour - George was made Composer Of The Week on BBC Radio 3. The BBC also broadcast a concert version of the 1931 Broadway musical, Of Thee I Sing.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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