By Donald Van Deusen

George Gershwin was born 100 years ago on September 26, 1898 in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was raised in the crowded streets of Manhattan’s lower east side, just blocks away from Tin Pan Alley where he became a song plugger and writer at age 15. He died from a brain tumor, that incredibly, was being treated as an emotional problem by a psychiatrist (according to Anita Loos) at age 38 on July 11, 1937. In that all-too brief life, Gershwin wrote America’s song book from hand-clapping "Tin Pan Alley" songs such as "Swanee," introduced by Al Jolson in 1919 to the first true American folk-opera, "Porgy & Bess" in1935. He was blessed with an extraordinary talent and a brother (Ira) who perfectly penned the lyrics to many of his most memorable melodies. Gershwin infused his music with a joyous love of life (and himself, some said) that always had you singing as you left the theater as I did after seeing "Crazy For You" in 1992 and warbling an off-key rendition of "Nice Work If You Can Get It" on the sidewalks of New York. The first time I saw "Shall We Dance" with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, I found myself compulsively singing, "You say potato and I say pototo, you say tomato and I say tomoto, ...let’s call the whole thing off." I can still get an exalted thrill listening to The Philadelphia Orchestra play the soaring blues-felt sounds of "Rhapsody In Blue" (commissioned by Paul Whiteman for a concert in 1924) whether some carping critics accept it as serious concert music, or not . Serious "serious" musicians such as Lou Lanza, Sr., second violinist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, summed up George’s talents simply: "One of the greatest composers of the 20th century." "Rhapsody," "Porgy" and the "Concerto in F" were all cited by Lanza as examples of how Gershwin, "beautifully created music that people who never had any idea what classical music was were brought into it by him." He said it was thrilling to hear Oscar Levant (Gershwin’s most devoted friend and interpreter) play piano for the concerto and recalle Gershwin’s popular music dominated film and stage musicals, records and radio, band and singer performances for most of my lifetime. They are, of course, still being played. He died young, but, "it’s very clear to me," his music will last forever. Bob Perkins, noted WRTI jazz disc jockey, says, "Gershwin had a multifaceted grasp of earthy, gutsy, music and very sophisticated things, covering the spectrum…going from ‘Liza’ to ‘Porgy’." As Perkins expresses it, "he was a classic kid and if he had an ego, he earned it."

Jazz musicians delight in Gershwin’s music with his chord progressions that allow for so many variations in melody. I asked Larry McKenna, easily one of the finest tenor sax men working today, for Lester Young’s famous number, "Lester Leaps In," but no one in the band knew it. McKenna told the rhythm section, "just play the chord changes to ‘I’ve Got Rhythm’" which they did and he added the melody. Larry later explained to me that many bop stars such as the great Charlie Parker took their numbers such as "Anthropology," from Gershwin’s "I’ve Got Rhythm." McKenna also teaches music and says , "so many of Gershwin’s songs lent themselves to jazz treatments such as "Lady Be Good" and "Embraceable You" and adds wistfully, "if I could have written just one of those songs."

Brian Pastor, local trombonist-big band leader who, family legend has it, is a distant cousin of Gershwin’s and who has worked with Peter Nero and Harry James band, echoes McKenna’s comments on the ubiquitous use of "Rhythm" by jazz guys saying, "Parker must have 100 numbers using those changes and they even get incorporated into the Flintstones theme." He also says, "there is something about Gershwin tunes that set them apart. One of my greatest musical experiences was playing the Bill Potts arrangement of ‘Porgy & Bess.’" My own all-time favorite Gershwin album is "Lee Wiley Sings Gershwin" with those irrepressible jazz giants she used to work with: Eddie Condon, Max Kaminsky, Pee Wee Russell, Bud Freeman, Fats Waller and George Wettling. She sings in that southern-silk, seductive, sometimes swinging style of hers, favorites requested by various musicians. Claude Thornhill picked the all-time heartbreaker, "But Not For Me." The poetically passionate, "How Long Has This Been Going On?" was requested by Oscar Levant. The delightfully jaunty, "My One and Only" and "I’ve Got A Crush On You" were selected by John DeVries. Bunny Berigan, said, "you’ve got to do" the distinctively swinging "Sweet and Low Down." Tommy Dorsey said, ‘S’Wonderful’ would be wonderful." Miss Wiley, like many singers, wanted and did, "Someone to Watch Over Me." It’s a definitive version with Fats Waller on organ. Philadelphia songbirds all have their own Gershwin favorites and reasons. Just a sampling includes:

Mary Ellen Desmond, a mezzo soprano who started in classical, went to country and sings jazz and pop with style and verve. Her favorite is "Someone to Watch Over Me" along with "Embraceable You" She gets "a rush, just singing them." She’s singing now at the Four Seasons in the Swan Lounge every Saturday.

Annie Sciolla, another classical and jazz singer who teaches, with a concert date coming up Oct. 8 in Blue Bell, Pa., feels "Gershwin was such a great cross-over guy…bridging white and black music, the American equivalent of Verdi." She says, "Lady Be Good" by Ella, "just kills me." And, of course, as someone who sings it, "Porgy & Bess." Jeanie Kaye, who sang at Carolina’s seemingly forever, also credits Gershwin’s blending of Afro and European music, says, "I love ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ and ‘I’ve Got A Crush On You’ with that great verse, ‘how glad the many millions...’"

Miss Justine, a rich-voiced jazz/pop singer, long a fixture at the Villa Strafford in Wayne, Pa., says, "his music will never leave us, everybody is still performing it...I love his stuff, it’s not just tin pan alley, its saying something musically." She picks "The Man I Love," "Summertime," and "S’Wonderful."

Lou Lanza, Jr., (the violinist’s son), has worked all over town, clearly knows his music cold and has a new CD coming out. He, typically, cites a rarely heard Gershwin piece, "Some Far Away Someone" as one he likes along with "They All Laughed." He particularly loves, that favorite of most singers, "Someone to Watch Over Me." He feels "My Bess" is, "as heart- wrenching a piece as you’re going to hear in the theater." He echoes his father’s sentiments about Gershwin’s unique position, "combining elements of jazz, classical, ragtime, blues and art songs of the period in a seamless and natural sounding way."

The thing about Gershwin for me is simply this: I can’t dance and I can’t sing, but when I hear his music, I feel that even "I’ve Got Rhythm!"