After their breakthrough, tranformative hit, Lady, Be Good! in 1924, George and Ira Gershwin continued with a series of musical comedies, including Tip-Toes, Oh, Kay!, Funny Face, Rosalie and Treasure Girl before delivering the fabulous 1930 hit Girl Crazy, a bright and lively musical comedy written by Guy Bolton and John McGowan starring Ginger Rogers, introducing Ethel Merman and filled with hits like "I Got Rhythm", "Embraceable You" and "Bidin' My Time". This was followed by a few more passable musical comedies, George's continued forays into classical music, their political satire trilogy Strike Up The Band, Of Thee I Sing, and Let 'Em Eat Cake…And then George took on a folk opera with Dubose Heyward called Porgy and Bess on which Ira helped a bit, but mostly joined up with Yip Harbug and Harold Arlen on the revue Life Begins at 8:40.
When Porgy and Bess flopped, George and Ira finally followed their colleagues to Hollywood where, as George put it, they were intent "to write hits!" Three musical films resulted: the Astaire-Rogers masterpiece Shall We Dance (1937), A Damsel In Distress (1937), and The Goldwyn Follies (1938). On July 11, 1937, four months before A Damsel In Distress was released, George fell dead of a brain tumor.
Oregon Festival of American Music music director Chuck Redd and company pay tribute to the Gerswhin brothers' final decade.
| |
| Event Personnel |
| |
| |
|
| |
| Vocalists |
| |
|
| |
| Musicians |
| |
|