(
6 December 1896 –
17 August 1983 ) was an
American Lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother,
Composer George Gershwin , to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century.
With George he wrote more than a dozen
Broadway shows, featuring songs such as "
I Got Rhythm ," "
Embraceable You ," "
The Man I Love " and "
Someone To Watch Over Me ," and the opera ''
Porgy And Bess ''.
The success the brothers had with their collaborative works has often overshadowed the creative role that Ira played. However, his mastery of songwriting continued after the early death of George; and he wrote further hit songs with composers
Jerome Kern ("
Long Ago (And Far Away) ",
Kurt Weill and
Harold Arlen .
His critically-acclaimed book ''Lyrics on Several Occasions'' of
1959 , an amalgam of autobiography and annotated anthology, is an important source for studying the art of the lyricist in the golden age of American popular song.
(born '''Israel Gershowitz''') was reportedly shy as a young boy and spent most of his time at home reading. However, from
Grammar School through college he played a prominent part in several school newspapers and magazines. He graduated from
Townsend Harris High School where he met
Yip Harburg . He graduated from
City College Of New York . While his younger brother began composing and “plugging” in
Tin Pan Alley from the age of sixteen, Ira worked as a cashier in his father’s
Turkish Bath s. It was not until
1921 that Ira became involved in the music business. Alex Aarons signed Ira to write the music for his next show (ultimately produced by Abraham Erlanger), ''
Two Little Girls In Blue '', with co-composers
Vincent Youmans and
Paul Lannin . His lyrics were well received and allowed him to successfully enter the theatre world with just one show.
It wasn’t until
1924 that Ira and George teamed up to write the music for their first Broadway hit, ''
Lady, Be Good! '' Once the brothers joined together, their combined talents became one of the most influential forces in the history of American Musical Theatre. Together, they wrote the music for over twelve shows and four films. Some of their more famous works include “
The Man I Love ”, “
Fascinating Rhythm ”, “
Someone To Watch Over Me ”, “
I Got Rhythm ” “
Summertime ” and “
They Can't Take That Away From Me ”. Their partnership continued up until George’s sudden death from a brain tumor in
1937 .
Following his brother’s death, Ira waited nearly three years before writing again. After this interlude, he teamed up with such accomplished composers as
Jerome Kern ,
Kurt Weill , and
Harold Arlen . Over the next fourteen years, Ira continued to write the lyrics for many film scores and a few Broadway shows.
Ira died on
August 17 ,
1983 , and is now interred in the
Westchester Hills Cemetery ,
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York . Together, the Gershwin siblings left behind a legacy that would help shape American Musical Theatre. Solely, Ira played a huge part in bringing about a new type of song lyric: a smart, witty, vernacular style that the common man could relate to and enjoy.
American singer, pianist, musical historian
Michael Feinstein worked for Ira in the lyricist's latter years, helping him with his archive. Several lost musical treasures were unearthed during this period and Feinstein performed some of the material.
The music of George and Ira Gershwin runs deep in the American consciousness. The opening clarinet glissando from ''
Rhapsody In Blue ,'' the taxi horn theme from ''
An American In Paris '' and the songs – "I Got Rhythm", "Embraceable You", "The Man I Love", "Someone to Watch Over Me", "Fascinating Rhythm", and many others – are instantly recognizable.
Ira Gershwin was a joyous listener to the sounds of the modern world. He noted in a diary: "Heard in a day: An elevator's purr, telephone's ring, telephone's buzz, a baby's moans, a shout of delight, a screech from a 'flat wheel', hoarse honks, a hoarse voice, a tinkle, a match scratch on sandpaper, a deep resounding boom of dynamiting in the impending subway, iron hooks on the gutter."
In
1987 , Ira's widow, Lenore Gershwin, established the Ira Gershwin Literacy Center. Lenore Gershwin provided $10,000 to establish this literacy center for primarily Hispanic and Chinese Americans at University Settlement, a century-old institution at 185 Eldridge Street on the Lower East Side, where the Pulitzer Prize-winning lyricist and his younger brother George, the composer, spent many after-school hours.
In
2007 , The
Library Of Congress named their Prize for
Popular Song after him and his brother George. Recognizing the profound and positive effect of popular music on the world’s culture, the prize will be given annually to a composer or performer whose lifetime contributions exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins. On
March 1 ,
2007 ,
Paul Simon , one of America’s most respected songwriters and musicians, was announced to be the recipient of the first annual
Library Of Congress Gershwin Prize For Popular Song .
- Ira Gershwin - ''Lyrics on Several Occasions: a selection of stage and screen lyrics written for sundry situations and now arranged in arbitrary categories, to which have been added many informative annotations and disquistions on their why and wherefore, their whom-for, their how, and matters associative'' (1959)
