George and Ira Gershwin

Composer George Gershwin and his older brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin, wrote some of the best-loved songs in the American songbook, including I Got Rhythm, Embraceable You, and Someone to Watch Over Me. Together they wrote a string of Broadway musicals in the 1920s and 1930s and the opera Porgy and Bess. This page covers their shows in order and where to start.

Who George and Ira Gershwin were

Ira was born in New York City on December 6, 1896, and George followed on September 26, 1898. George, the composer, became famous in his twenties as both a songwriter and a concert composer: Rhapsody in Blue premiered in 1924 and An American in Paris in 1928. Ira, the quieter brother, wrote the lyrics, full of wordplay and slangy, conversational charm.

Their songs mix Tin Pan Alley tunefulness with jazz rhythms and blues harmonies, which is why they still sound fresh and why jazz musicians keep recording them. George died of a brain tumor on July 11, 1937, at just 38. Ira lived until 1983 and kept writing with other composers, including Kurt Weill on Lady in the Dark (1941) and Harold Arlen on the 1954 film A Star Is Born.

The Gershwins' Broadway shows in order

The brothers' first big Broadway hit together was Lady, Be Good (1924), starring Fred and Adele Astaire. It was followed by Tip-Toes (1925), Oh, Kay! (1926), and Funny Face (1927). Strike Up the Band reached Broadway in 1930 after an earlier version closed out of town, and Girl Crazy (1930) introduced I Got Rhythm and Embraceable You.

Of Thee I Sing (1931), a political satire, became the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, though the prize went to Ira and the bookwriters, not to George. A sequel, Let 'Em Eat Cake, followed in 1933. Porgy and Bess (1935), with a libretto by DuBose Heyward and lyrics by Heyward and Ira, ran only 124 performances at first but is now widely staged as an American opera. The brothers then moved to Hollywood, writing for films such as Shall We Dance and A Damsel in Distress (both 1937).

Their catalog has kept returning to Broadway in new shows: My One and Only (1983), Crazy for You (1992), Nice Work If You Can Get It (2012), and An American in Paris (2015).

Legacy and where to start

George received a special posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1998, the centennial of his birth. Porgy and Bess has been performed by opera companies around the world, and its 2012 Broadway revival won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical. Songs such as Summertime, I Got Rhythm, and They Can't Take That Away from Me remain standards.

For newcomers, Crazy for You is the easiest way in: a brand-new romantic comedy built around their songs, full of tap dancing and familiar tunes. Then listen to Porgy and Bess, starting with Summertime and It Ain't Necessarily So, to hear George's most ambitious music. Rhapsody in Blue is the perfect bridge between his theatre songs and his concert work.

George and Ira Gershwin: frequently asked questions

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