A Legendary Life
Jacob “George” Gershwin was born to Russian immigrant parents Morris Gershovitz and Rose Bruskin on September 26, 1898 in Brooklyn, New York. His parents changed the family name from Gershovitz to Gershvin, which eventually became Gershwin. His childhood was filled with continual upheaval as the family moved constantly (no fewer than twenty-five times) to different housing around the poorer neighborhoods in Brooklyn and lower Manhattan in order for his father to be close to work. His father labored at many different careers including owning or operating a restaurant, bakery, cigar store, rooming house, bookmaking establishment and various others. George was the second child of his parents, his older brother and eventual collaborator Ira having been born two years previously in December of 1896. The family would eventually include a total of four children, three boys and one girl.
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George was a spirited and rambunctious boy and freely admitted during his later days that he could very well have ended up a mean kid on the streets of New York had it not been for his fortunate encounter with music. Having had no interest in education, George spent most of his time playing sports until he heard a friend, Maxie Rosenzweig, play classical music on his violin. When his parents brought home a piano that was supposed to be primarily for Ira, George quickly monopolized the instrument and learned all he could from the piano lessons his parents eventually provided. He studied with various teachers including Charles Hambitzer, Rubin Golmark and Henry Cowell. His education continued on the streets of New York, listening outside clubs for tunes that audiences loved.
George’s first job in the music industry was on Tin Pan Alley as a song plugger - a piano player who played company songs for potential clients. While not at work, he composed his own tunes and first had minor successes with songs like “When You Want ‘Em, You Can’t Get ‘Em, When You’ve Got ‘Em, You Don’t Want ‘Em” and “Rialto Ripples” before gaining national success in 1919 with “Swanee.” “Swanee” caught the attention of Al Jolson and was used by him in his show, Sinbad, which gained national attention for Gershwin. The same year, he wrote his first full length musical, La La Lucille. At this point in his life, George Gershwin was perhaps not yet a household name, but he was also not yet twenty-one years old.
Though George and Ira Gershwin had previously collaborated on small projects, in 1921 they finally took on a full-length musical together. The result, Dangerous Maid, was not incredibly successful, but it set the stage for their future work together. In 1924, George collaborated with his brother Ira on their first successful musical, Lady Be Good! which starred Fred and Adele Astaire. The show included the song “Fascinating Rhythm” which became one of the Gershwin brothers most famous compositions. The same year, audiences began to look at George Gershwin’s work in a different light when he produced “Rhapsody in Blue” for a New York concert. “Rhapsody” was far and away the most popular of all the work presented that night and garnered Gershwin attention from “serious” fans of classical music for his ability to combine a modern sound with classical music.
The 1920s and early 1930s continued to be a productive time for George and Ira Gershwin’s collaboration as they produced many shows including Oh, Kay! (1926), Funny Face (1927), Strike Up the Band (1927 & 1930), Girl Crazy (1930), and Of Thee I Sing (1931), which was the first ever musical comedy to win the Pulitzer Prize. Of Thee I Sing is significant in musical theatre history as it presented a satirical, cynical look at serious issues affecting the country. Though the Gershwin brothers were well known for their New York Broadway work, they also spent a considerable amount of time writing for movies. From 1930-1937 they produced music for such films as The King of Jazz, Delicious, Girl Crazy and Shall We Dance. Along with the musical theatre and film, Gershwin continued to write successful classic music such as his Concerto in F (1925) and the tone poem An American in Paris (1928). However, he also had his share of classical failures such as Second Rhapsody for Orchestra with Piano (1932) and Cuban Overture (1932).
The mid 1930s brought to fruition a project that Gershwin had long hoped to put on stage – a jazz opera based on DuBose Heyward’s novel Porgy set in Charleston, South Carolina. Porgy and Bess opened in 1935 to lackluster reviews; some black critics complained that Gershwin’s music was inauthentic and that the characters were stereotypical. Though George’s passion for the project had been immense, the initial production of the show only ran for 120 performances. However, in subsequent years, Porgy and Bess became immensely popular and garnered huge audiences. Since the original failed production, the show has become a standard in many opera companies – the immensely popular songs “Summertime” and “I Loves You, Porgy” were both composed for the show.
In 1937, George began to suffer from debilitating headaches that caused him to lose his place while performing or writing music. Many friends believed the stress of his life was getting to George and figured he was suffering from a nervous condition. Unfortunately, when George was finally diagnosed by a doctor, it was for a brain tumor that had grown so large it was the size of a grapefruit. George underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumor, but unfortunately he died hours later at the age of thirty eight. Generations of Gershwin fans were left to speculate what could have been if this amazingly talented individual had lived longer than thirty eight short years.
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