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Biography by William Ruhlmann
In a career tragically cut short in mid-stride by a brain
tumor, George Gershwin (1898-1937) proved himself to be not
only one of the great songwriters of his extremely rich era,
but also a gifted "serious" composer who bridged the worlds
of classical and popular music. The latter is all the more
striking, given that, of his contemporaries, Gershwin was
the most influenced by such styles as jazz and blues.
Gershwin's first major hit, interpolated into the show
Sinbad in 1919, was "Swanee," sung by Al Jolson. Gershwin
wrote both complete scores and songs for such variety shoes
as George White's Scandals (whose annual editions thus were
able to introduce such songs as "I'll Build a Stairway to
Paradise" and "Somebody Loves Me").
After 1924, Gershwin worked primarily with his brother Ira
as his lyricist. The two scored a series of Broadway hits in
the '20s and early '30s, starting with Lady Be Good (1924),
which included the song "Fascinatin' Rhythm." 1924 was also
the year Gershwin composed his first classical piece,
"Rhapsody in Blue," and he would continue to work in the
classical field until his death.
By the '30s, the Gershwins had turned to political topics
and satire in response to the onset of the Depression, and
their Of Thee I Sing became the first musical to win a
Pulitzer Prize. In the mid '30s, Gershwin ambitiously worked
to meld his show music and classical leanings in the
creation of the folk opera Porgy and Bess, with lyrics by
Ira and Dubose Heyward. The Gershwins had moved to Hollywood
and were engaged in several movie projects at the time of
George Gershwin's death.
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