Great Songs of George Gershwin

Performer: Various Artists
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Full title: The Great Songs Of George Gershwin. Includes liner notes by Will Friedwald. All tracks have been digitally remastered using 20-bit technology. George Gershwin wrote so many standards during his shortened life that his music has been recorded by a vast variety of singers. This 1998 reissue CD has 18 different vocalists interpreting Gershwin tunes, recorded during a 30-year period and programmed loosely in chronological order. The swing era is represented by the first seven records, which feature Fred Astaire, Billie Holiday ("Summertime"), Helen Forrest (with Benny Goodman), Helen Ward (with Teddy Wilson), Mildred Bailey, Woody Herman ("Somebody Loves Me" in 1947 with his Four Chips) and Lee Wiley ("I've Got a Crush On You"). The other Gershwin tunes are performed by a variety of mostly middle-of-the-road pop singers with a few departures: Dorothy Kirsten, Mary Martin (a bombastic "I Got Rhythm"), Jo Stafford, Doris Day, Johnny Mathis, Aretha Franklin, George Benson ("A Foggy Day"), Mel Torme, Andy Williams, Judy Garland (an over-the-top version of "Swanee") and Tony Bennett. Overall, this hodge-podge CD is more highly recommended to listeners who want to hear straightforward readings of George Gershwin tunes than to completists or jazz fans. ~ Scott Yanow One of America's finest composers was and is George Gershwin. The songs he co-wrote with brother Ira virtually define musical elegance, and have weathered the passage of time. Like Bob Dylan, Louis Armstrong, and the Beatles, Gershwin's influence was pervasive, touching almost all musicians who succeeded him (including the aforementioned). Gershwin's songs are a mixture of the streetcar and the limousine, the jazz club and the concert hall. Here, some of the greatest English-speaking interpreters of song pay tribute to Gershwin: jazz singers like Billie Holiday and Lee Wiley, pop singers like Johnny Mathis and Aretha Franklin, and cultural icons like Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. For an introduction to Gershwin and the far-reaching impact of his creativity, this collection is a good bet.

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