Ira Gershwin

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist. He was born on 6 December 1896 as Israel Gershovitz, the eldest son of Russian-Jewish immigrants in Manhattan. The family lived in the middle of the Yiddish theatre district. While his younger brother George was already working in Tin Pan Alley at eighteen, Ira was a cashier at his father's Turkish baths. He was shy, read a great deal and wrote for school newspapers. His first published lyric was a parody in 1917. To stay separate from George, he wrote under the name Arthur Francis.

Music and breakthrough

In 1924 came the brothers' first Broadway hit, Lady, Be Good. Together they made thirteen musicals and wrote songs such as I Got Rhythm, Embraceable You and The Man I Love. After Porgy and Bess, which was a commercial disappointment, they went to Hollywood for films such as Shall We Dance and A Damsel in Distress. In 1937 George died suddenly of a brain tumour. Ira waited almost three years before he wrote again, and then worked with composers such as Kurt Weill, Jerome Kern and Harold Arlen.

Influence

His lyrics are playful, precise and close to spoken language. Ira was able to follow a melody by George so closely that word and note became one whole. The success of the duo often overshadowed his own share, but his book Lyrics on Several Occasions from 1959, a mixture of autobiography and commentary, was well received. He died in 1983.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1953Tryout
• 1987Of Thee I Sing / Let 'em Eat Cake (soundtrack)
• 1992Lady, Be Good! (soundtrack)
• 1995Oh, Kay! (1994 studio recording) (soundtrack)
• 2006Porgy and Bess
• 2012Nice Work If You Can Get It (soundtrack)
• 2015An American in Paris (Original Broadway Cast Recording) (soundtrack)
• ?Pardon My English (soundtrack)

In School of Rock

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• After Hours: Session 2^NL Reader