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Ive Got Rhythm, They Cant Take That Away From Me, and Summertime are only
a few of the classic standards composed by the American icon, George Gershwin. His work
covered a wide variety of different styles that not only stood as a representation of musical
theater in the 1920s and 1930s, but was also considered to be the definition of the American
sound. His relentlessness as an artist pushed his career to what seemed unstoppable, until his
tragic premature death in 1937. Throughout his career, many agree that George Gershwins
upbringing considerably influenced the way he approached his work.
Jacob Gershwine was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 26, 1898. He was the
second child to the Russian and Ukrainian Jewish immigrants Moishe Gershowitz and Rose
Gershiwtz, and was named after his late paternal grandfather. The idea of George came later,
in which he later on he would prefer to go by. George was the younger brother of Ira Gershwin,
who would eventually collaborate and become one of the most successful writing teams in
American music history. The family often moved from place to place, due to the fathers
continuous change in occupation. Georges childhood was considered fairly normal: rollerskating, playing with the boys in the neighborhood, and getting into mild trouble. When day the
Gershwins brought a piano into their home, the intention wasnt to make their sons musical.
Rather, it was an essential marker of middle-class respectability for this upwardly mobile
Jewish family (Starr 7). There was a belief that the Gershwins led a more poor life, especially
because of the rags-to-riches theme that was presented in the 1945 film biography Rhapsody in
Blue. The fortunes made by the Gershwins may have fluctuated, however there was always
enough money to take care of the family (Pollack 4).
George was around the age of twelve when he sat at their new family piano and played
the popular tune of the day. His natural ability without any formal training has been a frequent

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discussion among historians; how such a gifted composer could come from an absence of
training. Since Georges debut with the piano, he never stopped playing. Rouben Mamoulian,
director of the original Porgy and Bess, wrote shortly after Georges death, George loved
playing the piano for people and would do it at the slightest provocation. At any gathering of
friends, if there was a piano in the room, George would play it. I am sure that most of his friends
in thinking of George at his best, think of George at the piano George at the piano was George
happy (Starr 6).
Georges proficiency persuaded his parents to put him in lessons, and it wasnt until
meeting his teacher Charles Hambitzer that Georges genius was first truly recognized.
Hambitzer was the first great musical influence in his life, and pushed George to learn a firm
foundation in standard music before proceeding to modern stuff like jazz (Kendall 16).
Hambitzer encouraged Gershwin to take additional theory lessons with Edward Kilenvi, which
inspired Georges search for knowledge in music. Although his musicianship was superb,
George was not the brightest student academically and this went against his mothers original
plan for her sons to be schoolteachers. Georges affections towards his mother were very
prevalent throughout his life, however. George would tell anybody who called, You have to
meet my mother (Pollack 7). Their relationship was a very loving one, and Rose wanted nothing
but the best for her sons. Because of Georges poor performance at school, Rose consented
when he asked to leave high school at the age of fifteen and take a job as a pianist and songplugger at Remicks (Kendall 14-15).
His experience at Remicks, in the area known as Tin Pan Alley, was invaluable; because
he saw at first hand how the popular music world worked and its less attractive aspect. He
would never be a starry-eyed, innocent young composer trying to get some kindly publisher to

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buy his work (Kendall 19). It was soon after in 1917 that George left the company, complaining
how eventually the tunes began to offend him. He was inspired by the writing of the great
Jerome Kern, and stated that Kern was the first composer who made me conscious that most
popular music was of inferior quality and that musical-comedy music was made of better
material. Gershwin accompanied a couple of parties, clubs, and theaters. He began writing
individual songs for shows such as Hitchy-Koo of 1918 and Ladies First. The Real American
Folk Song was one of the first songs written by George and Ira Gershwin as a team, although Ira
used the alias of Arthur Francis. George became tired of his music being merely interpolations in
someone elses show. He was determined to create his own show.
Georges first attempt, although he did not write the full score, was a show entitled Half
Past Eight, which opened in 1918. Although it was not Georges fault, the show was a complete
disaster. George, however, was relentless and continued to pursue his dream of writing his own
show. He was offered by his idol Jerome Kern to collaborate and write a new show; but George
turned it down, for reasons not entirely known. It was not until his friendship with fellow Jewish
composer Irving Berlin that George received the encouragement he needed to hear. After
listening to some of Gershwins songs, Irving Berlin responded, What the hell do you want to
work for anybody else for? Work for yourself.
Gershwins Broadway debut occurred in 1919 at the Henry Millers Theater with La, La,
Lucille, a bedroom farce, in which George wrote the entire score. Unfortunately, the show came
to a close only because of the actors strike in which closed all New York theatres in August
1919. However, one of the many praises about Gershwins work was that he never threw away
a good song (Kendall 30). In the same year Swanee became a sensation, and Georges first
real commercial hit. Whats ironic is that the first reception of the song was not popular, but soon

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gain its achievement as time went on. The songs success story parallels with the intention of the
song itself, which is to demonstrate the truth that success may well come in unexpected ways
(Kendall 30). This individual song was the turning point in Gershwins career. With the success
of Swanee, it was also the year of one of his earliest surviving attempts at serious composition
entitled Lullaby, a movement for string quartet. Historians use this movement often to support
their argument that George Gershwin should be considered a more serious composer in music
history. Gershwin continued his songwriting career by writing several numbers for the popular
Georges White Scandals (1920-1924), as well as musical comedies on Broadway and the West
End. It was not until 1924 that Gershwin changed his legacy by premiering his jazz concerto
Rhapsody in Blue an orchestral piece that combined the classical traditions from Europe with
the American voice. It was with this piece that immortalized Gershwin as a true composer for
orchestral music (Stempel 250).
On Broadway, George was hired to be the composer for a new musical Lady, Be Good!
He was in desperate search for a librettist who could write modernistic words for modernistic
tunes, and asked his father for his advice. His father quickly replied, Try Ira. Thus the
renowned songwriting team between George and Ira Gershwin had its birth. Ira and George had
distinct different personalities, in which aided their work. S.N. Behrman, who knew both
brothers, stated, If George was streamlined and propulsive, Ira was reserved and scholarly.
However, their brotherly bond and how they responded to each others work led to a number of
successes on Broadway, as well as Hollywood. George looked to Ira for criticism and taste,
while Ira went to George for creativeness. Songs such as They All Laughed, Love Is Here To
Stay, A Foggy Day, and They Cant Take That Away From Me all were products of their
successful collaboration that are still frequently sung today. (Stempel 251-252)

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The Gershwin brothers continued their partnership success with writing for shows such as
Oh, Kay!, Funny Face, and Girl Crazy, in which classic standards debuted such as Someone to
Watch Over Me, Do, Do, Do, S Wonderful, and My One and Only. However, it was not
until 1931 that the Gershwins biggest hit Of Thee I Sing made a progressive step in developing
musical comedies by adding a dramatic integration of its musical parts. The direct relationship
between the book and the elaborate score reminded many of operettas, not necessarily musical
comedies. In 1932, Of Thee I Sing was the first drama on Broadway to win a Pulitzer Prize.
However, the committee only viewed the show as a play, and completely disregarded the music.
George began to change his objective in his songwriting. Instead of composing popular
tunes that were musically complex, he pursued after the connection of separate songs, ensembles,
and choruses together into a single composition. Exploring the idea of underscoring and
recitatives within a piece of theatre. This required George to break the songwriting habit of
writing music before knowing the words to be sung. And it required his audience to break its
theatergoing habit of listening for the prosaic in a musical production to be spoken (Stempel
387). Thus, the idea of a folk opera emerged and started the beginnings of Porgy and Bess.
Following the popularity of Broadway Operas, Gershwin wanted to write a wide range of
songs from operatic ensemble numbers to folk-like lullabies. He specifically chose to write
about the black community not in a negative sense, but rather filling the story with strength,
hope, and love. It is said that Gershwin felt particularly drawn to this community through his
involvement in the culture of African-Americans, and as a pianist and composer whose music
was deeply touched by the spirit and artistic traditions of ragtime, spirituals, blues, and jazz
(Stempel 385-386).

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The initial 3-act production failed in 1935 on Broadway, and was followed by a national
tour. However, it was not until the 1942 revival directed by Cheryl Crawford that brought
success to the show by downsizing the cast and orchestra, moderating the operatic qualities, and
replacing most of the recitatives with spoken dialogue. Porgy and Bess gave proof that there
could be success when producing quality work of operatic ambition on Broadways terms
(Stempel 390-391).
As Gershwins fame expanded, so did his social circles. He began to attend more parties
that were filled with the sophisticated of society. More importantly to George, he saw some of
the most beautiful women he had ever seen. George was nicknamed lady-killer, and often
offered one-sided relationships that never grew into anything more. George later on in his life
discusses how he regrets not being able to settle down and be married to really find love in
another person (Starr 11). After Porgy and Bess, George decided to move to Hollywood
temporarily to compose for major films. He was generally disappointed in the lack of influence
he was able to give, unlike his in a theatrical setting. One of his favorite films to work on,
though, was Shall We Dance, because he was able to finally reunite with dear friend Fred Astaire
and be able to work together. Although George himself was dissatisfied with the project, Shall
We Dance has left a legacy both musically and in film history (Starr 150-151).
George Gershwin was diagnosed with a brain tumor that led to his premature death at the
age of 38. Ira continued to write after his brothers passing, however he admitted that there was
nothing compared to working with George. George is conceived to be an American icon, due
to his consistent aim to reflect the American life. He wanted to give voice to the spirit of the
American people, and make his music accessible to the average listener. He addressed the
problematic world, yet gave strength and hope to persevere through his music. Pollack

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summarizes Georges influence in a beautiful way in his book George Gershwin: His Life and
Works saying, His music, with all its powerful emotions and novel ideas, proved to have broad
universal appeal, and demonstrated, in a most spectacular fashion, the considerable extent to
which a sophisticated and original twentieth-century composer could reach a worldwide public
(705-706).

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Works Cited
Kendall, Alan, 1939. George Gershwin: A Biography. New York: Universe Books, 1987. Print.
Pollack, Howard. George Gershwin: His Life and Work. Berkeley: University of California
Press, 2006. Print.
Starr, Larry. George Gershwin. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011. Print.
Stempel, Larry. Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater. New York, NY: W.W.
Norton & Co, 2010. Print.