Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin (actually Israel Gershowitz, December 6, 1896 in New York City; † August 17, 1983 in Beverly Hills ) was an American lyricist and librettist.
Life and work
Ira was the brother of composer George Gershwin. Together they created from 1924 to the early death of George in 1937, numerous standard works of American music literature of the 20th century. Culmination of their work was the opera Porgy and Bess. Ira wrote the lyrics ( in Porgy and Bess along with DuBose Heyward ), George composed the music. Ira and George Gershwin were among the most successful teams on Broadway. Her works have been performed by stars like Fred Astaire and his sister Adele, Gertrude Lawrence, Red Nichols, Ethel Merman and Ginger Rogers. Even after 1937 Ira Gershwin wrote more classic composers like Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern and Kurt Weill. Songs of Ira Gershwin were standard repertoire for all the great singing stars such as Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand. Ira Gershwin was the godfather of Liza Minnelli.
In 1986, Ira Gershwin was awarded jointly with his brother, the Grammy Trustees Award for his services to the music.
Famous songs
- Summertime
- Oh, Lady Be Good!
- Fascinating Rhythm
- Someone to Watch Over Me
- How Long Has This Been Going On?
- I've Got a Crush on You
- Liza
- Embraceable You
- I Got Rhythm
- Nice Work If You Can Get It
- I Loves Ya Porgy
- I Got Plenty o ' Nuttin'
- Bess, You Is My Woman Now
- It Is not Necessarily So
- They Can not Take That Away from Me
- A Foggy Day
- Let 's Call the Whole Thing Off
- Our Love Is Here to Stay
- The Man I Love
- Tchaikovsky
Major works
- Lady, Be Good ( 1924), music by George Gershwin
- Tip- Toes (1925 ), music by George Gershwin
- Oh, Kay! (1926 ), music by George Gershwin
- Funny Face (1927 ), music by George Gershwin
- Strike Up The Band (1927/1930), music by George Gershwin
- Rosalie (1928 ), music by George Gershwin
- Girl Crazy (1930 ), music by George Gershwin
- Of Thee I Sing ( 1931), music by George Gershwin
- Pardon My English ( 1933), music by George Gershwin
- Porgy and Bess (1935 ), music by George Gershwin
- Lady in the Dark (1941 ), music by Kurt Weill
- The Firebrand Of Florence (1945 ), music by Kurt Weill
- Park Avenue (1946 ), music by Arthur Schwartz