As word spread about a new Porgy production with George Gershwin, popular American entertainer Al Jolson inquired about the pending “musical.”  Four letters between DuBose Heyward and George Gershwin detail the matter.  Letters used with kind permission of the South Carolina Historical Society. By Frances Sobolak After George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward secured the operatic rights for Porgy in May of 1932, one of their next labors was to determine who would star in an operatic production. Though the theater production written by DuBose and his wife Dorothy featured an all-black cast, the same wasn’t an initial guarantee for an operatic […]

“ Love is Here to Stay” has been a celebrated jazz standard for more than six decades, and it is most often treated as a straightforward love ballad. However, the lack of gendered language in its lyrics opens up the possibility for alternative interpretations, as well as creative and political performances. By Megan Hill, Ph.D. The presence of gendered language (he/she/him/her, man/woman, etc.) in song lyrics provides the opportunity for people concerned with gender and sexuality politics to perform the song in order to make political statements, regardless of whether or not the song’s composer and/or lyricist had such politics […]

  George Gershwin is well-known for his mixed use of popular and traditional idioms. But what was his personal attitude towards contemporary composers, and how did this influence his approach towards composition? Take a look at how An American in Paris, situated at a critical point in George’s career, reflects both his developing tastes and shifting musical ambitions. By Cassidy Goldblatt George Gershwin began his career in the streets of Tin Pan Alley and Broadway, writing songs inspired by his love of jazz. Yet popular genres could only capture his attention for so long, and he soon felt the itch […]

Hello everyone! Just a quick note today for our blog followers to let you know we have some special things going on this week as we lead up to Friday’s test performances. We are taking over the U-M School of Music, Theater, and Dance instagram account! We will be posting behind-the-scenes looks at what we do here at the initiative and a few sneak peeks at George’s manuscripts we get to work with each day.  Follow along on instagram @UMichSMTD We also have some amazing new videos and interviews we are releasing on our Facebook page, be sure to check […]

  George and Ira Gershwin’s song “I’ve Got a Crush on You” is arguably one of their most famous creations. However, few people know that what made the song a hit was a change from a fast-tempo, Broadway dance piece into a leisurely, sentimental ballad. By: Rachel Fernandes “I’ve Got a Crush on You” I’ve got a crush on you, sweetie pie All the day and night time give me sigh I never had the least notion that I could fall with so much emotion Could you coo, could you care? For a cunning cottage we could share The world […]

  After George Gershwin’s death, Ira writes a letter to DuBose Heyward passing along his and George’s respect and affection for the author.  Take a look at Ira’s letter of August 2, 1937, to DuBose, held at the South Carolina Historical Society. By Frances Sobolak By the middle of 1937, just shy of two years after the premiere of Porgy and Bess, George Gershwin’s growing brain tumor, undetected at the time, was causing him severe headaches and fainting spells. On July 11, after having fallen into a coma two days before, George underwent extensive brain surgery—but the 38-year-old composer passed […]

By Sarah Sisk The startling news was emblazoned on the front page of the New York Times on Monday, July 12, 1937. George Gershwin had died that Sunday despite an emergency operation to remove a brain tumor and save the 38-year-old composer’s life. The news came as a complete shock: while he had suffered from what was deemed a “nervous breakdown” in the weeks preceding, the real source of his ailment was discovered in his final hours, and far too late. In the days and weeks to follow, obituaries cropped up in newspapers across the country, as reporters and columnists […]

George and Ira Gershwin were enjoying increasing success in the early 1920s, but they had yet to write a hit show together. Lady Be Good is the story of how a single show changed the future of their careers and the future of Broadway’s musical theater. By Sarah Sisk 1924 was a good year for the Gershwin brothers. That February had seen the premiere and subsequent popular success of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. It was also the year that Ira Gershwin, who had been working with George and other composers to write song lyrics for musical theater, decided to […]

  In this post, we introduce guest writer Richie Gerber.  Richie has written previously about Gershwin in his book JAZZ: America’s Gift ~ From Its Birth to George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue & Beyond and here shares with us some thoughts on Gershwin’s paintings. “I noticed especially how he tried to supply to his painting the same warmth, enthusiasm and power that characterized his music.” – Henry Botkin (Armitage, 1938) Whenever George Gershwin’s name is mentioned, without exception everyone thinks—musical genius. Few are aware that he was an exceptional painter as well. Indeed, he was one of a rare few that excelled […]

Kristen Clough talks about our Public Musicology and Education Outreach program and the role our undergraduate researchers play in this project.   Good morning readers! Today I wanted to take a moment to let you in on some of the things going on behind the scenes at the Gershwin Initiative. In addition to our primary goal–creating our critical editions–we have a mission to foster Gershwin scholarship and music scholarship at our university, in our community, and in our K-12 schools.  We call this our Public Musicology and Education Outreach program, through which we seek to blend our musicological research with […]