George Gershwin 1898-1937 American composer and pianist

George was a young adolescent with amazing musical talent George was a young adolescent with amazing musical talent. He took the initiative to learn the piano. It came as a great surprise to his family that he had secretly been learning to play the piano.

Gershwin left school at the age of 15 and found a job as a “song plugger”. He earned $15 a week at this job. When he was 17, he had his first published song titled "When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, and You Don't Want 'Em." He earned $5 for this piece of music.

George and his brother Ira worked together in 1924 and wrote his first on stage musical comedy titled “Lady Be Good”.

In 1931 George Gershwin wrote the music and his brother Ira, the lyrics for the Musical “Of Thee I Sing”. This is the first musical comedy to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

George Gershwin is most famous for his musical composition of Rhapsody in Blue

In 1936 Gershwin moved to Hollywood and was commissioned to write the music for the film “Shall we Dance”, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937 from a brain tumor, he was 38 years old. …I don't have to believe it if I don't want to. -John O’Hara-