George Gershwin (born Jacob Bruskin Gershowitz, September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist, whose compositions spanned both popular and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), the songs "Swanee" (1919) and "Fascinating Rhythm" (1924), the jazz standard "I Got Rhythm" (1930), and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935) which gave birth to the hit "Summertime".
The Residents were heavily influenced by his work and recorded the album 'George & James' in tribute to him and James Brown.
Background[]
George Gerswhin was born on September 26, 1898, in the Snediker Avenue building in Eastern New York City as Jacob Gershwine. He was raised in the Yiddish Theater District. At age ten he began to show an interest in music, after witnessing a friend's violin recital. Afterwards he began practicing on his brother's piano. As a teen he took piano lessons from American Composer Charles Hambitzer, before Hambitzer's death in 1918. At the age of 15, Gershwine had changed his name to George Gerswhin, likely to avoid discrimination for his Ukranian-Jewish birthname. He dropped out of the education system and began to work as a song-plugger, playing piano at music stores to promote sheet music in Tin Pan Alley.
In 1916, he published his first song 'When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em'
Gerswhin died in 1937 at age 38, almost a decade before the birth of The Residents.
Residents Tributes[]
The Residents recorded covers of three of his songs for the album George & James, Rhapsody In Blue, I Got Rythm & Summertime.
The first of these composed by Gershwin was Rhapsody In Blue, written in 1924 when he was commissioned to create a concerto-like piece for jazz instruments. The second was 'I Got Rhythm', composed in 1930 for a musical entitled Girl Crazy. The final was Summertime, written in 1935 for the opera 'Porgy & Bess', inspired by African-American Folk Music.
The Residents recorded a cover version of SummerTime in 1970 for the now heavily bootlegged jam session 'The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger'. The group later re-recorded SummerTime, as well as two other Gershwin songs in 1984 for the album 'George & James'
Only one Gerswhin song was ever featured on a Residents live set, 'I Got Rhythm', on the 1986 - 1987 touring show, The 13th Anniversary Show, where it was performed within a mostly instrumental medley including The Residents composition, Passing The Bottle. The live version featured The Singing Resident improvising vocals over the outro to the song.
Compositions by Gershwin performed by The Residents[]
- Rhapsody in Blue (1924)
- I Got Rhythm (1930)
- SummerTime (1935)
Writing Credits On Residents Material[]
- The Ballad Of Stuffed Trigger (1970, 'SummerTime')
- George & James (1984, 'George')
- Heaven? (1986, 'I Got Rhythm')
- Live In The USA! 13th Anniversary Tour (1986, 'I Got Rhythm' Uncredited)
- 13th Anniversary Show - Live In Holland 1986 (1987, 'I Got Rhythm')
- Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated Guide To The Residents (1993, 'George & James', Uncredited)
- 13th Anniversary Show - Ritz NY - Jan 16, 1986 (2010, 'Smelly Tongues Plus', Uncredited)
- The 13th Anniversary Show - Cleveland 1986 (2014, '13th Anniversary Part 3', Uncredited)