VOICE
ONE:
I'm Barbara Klein.
VOICE TWO:
And
I'm Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about the life and music of one
of America's greatest composers, George Gershwin.
(MUSIC: "Rhapsody in Blue")
VOICE ONE:
That was the opening of "Rhapsody in Blue,"
composed by George Gershwin. Gershwin lived only thirty-nine years. Yet, in
that short time, he wrote hundreds of unforgettable popular songs. He wrote
some concert works, such as "Rhapsody in
Blue," that are still performed today. And he wrote what many consider to
be the most beautiful American opera, "Porgy and Bess. "
VOICE TWO:
George
Gershwin was born in New York City in eighteen ninety-eight. His parents were
Russian Jews who had immigrated to the United States. George and his two
brothers and sister had a close, happy family life. George liked playing games
on the streets of New York. He liked exploring the city. He did not like school
or studying.
While
exploring the city, George heard jazz and blues music spilling out of public
drinking places. However, he did not become seriously interested in music until
he heard another boy playing the violin in a concert at his school. George began to take piano lessons. His
teacher was a fine classical musician. He immediately recognized George's
unusual ability. The teacher wrote about him to a friend: "I have a
student who will make his mark in music, if anybody will. The boy is a genius,
without doubt. "
VOICE ONE:
George studied classical
piano. But his strongest interest continued to be jazz and popular music. At
the age of fifteen, he left school and went to work in the music business. The
New York City street where most music publishers had their offices was called
"Tin Pan Alley."
The
phonograph and radio had been invented in the late eighteen hundreds. But it
would be many years before there were musical recordings or regular radio
broadcasts. Tin Pan Alley publishers needed another way to sell new songs. So,
they employed people to play the piano to do this.
VOICE TWO:
The
piano players played the songs all day long to interested singers and other
performers. George Gershwin was one of the youngest piano players in Tin Pan
Alley. Soon, he was considered one of the finest there. He was already writing
his own songs. He succeeded in getting one published when he was only eighteen
years old. It had a long title: "When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em,
When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em."
VOICE ONE:
George Gershwin was now a real composer. The rest of
his life was an unbroken record of success. He wrote song after song. His ideas
were so endless that he was not even troubled when he once lost some music he
had been writing. "There is plenty more where that came from," he
said.
George Gershwin had his first big hit in nineteen
nineteen, when he was twenty-one years old.
It was a song called "Swanee." A popular entertainer, Al
Jolson, sang the song. "Swanee" was made into one of the first musical
recordings. George Gershwin was suddenly famous. Here is Al Jolson singing what became his
trademark song, "Swanee."
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Music critics note that "Swanee" is not like
most of George Gershwin's music. Later, he wrote true love songs. Some were
light and funny. Some were full of intense feeling. Many of these songs were
written for the popular musical theater. One of his most emotional love songs
never became part of a musical play, however. It is called "The Man I
Love." Here is a modern recording by Maureen McGovern.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
George Gershwin's older brother, Ira, wrote the words
to that song. As George became famous,
Ira wrote the words to more and more of his songs. The two brothers were very
different. Ira, the writer, was quiet and serious. George, the musician, was
outgoing -- the life of any party. But George wrote better songs with Ira than
with anyone else. It is impossible to
imagine many of George's songs without Ira's perfectly chosen, often surprising
words.
One of many examples is the song "They Can't Take
That Away From Me." The Gershwins
wrote the song for dancer and actor Fred Astaire for the film "Shall We
Dance." That was George and Ira Gershwin's first movie musical. Here is Fred Astaire, followed by a later
version sung by Ella Fitzgerald.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And I'm Barbara
Klein. Join us again next week as we
continue the story of the music of George Gershwin on People in America in VOA
Special English.