George Gershwin
George Gershwin (1898-1937), US composer, born Jacob Gershvin. His first popular song, ‘Swanee’ (1919), was followed by the Broadway musical Lady Be Good (1924). This was the first of a number of musicals that Gershwin wrote with his lyricist brother Ira Gershwin (1896-1983). His other compositions, most of which display a sophisticated jazz style, include Rhapsody in Blue (1924) for piano and orchestra, the tone poem An American in Paris (1928), and the Black folk opera Porgy and Bess (1935).
