Written by Michael Owen, the consulting archivist to the Ira Gershwin Trust, this biography does a masterful job of describing Gershwin as a supreme lyricist of American music and an indolent, self-effacing homebody with a weakness for gambling. The level of detail that Owen provides lets the reader see Gershwin’s long life up close.
Gershwin’s parents were immigrants who embraced America wholeheartedly and mostly left their Jewish identity behind. Gershwin fell in love with words as a child and absorbed the American vernacular in early adulthood. By high school, he was writing light verse and submitting it to the numerous print outlets for poetry that existed in the prewar years. At the beginning of his career, he wrote lyrics for other talented composers. But it wasn’t long before he formed an immortal songwriting duo with his younger brother, George Gershwin, the greatest composer in America. Beyond their successful working relationship and family connection, the two shared a bond that was summed up when George gave Ira a cigarette lighter engraved with the phrase “George the music; Ira the words.”
The book describes George’s death and the agonizing effect it had on Ira. On top of his grief, he had to deal for the rest of his life with the complicated finances of George’s estate, the ownership of the rights to the music and shows, the decisions about subsequent films and stage productions, and the personalities of everyone involved, including his mother and siblings. He went on to write other shows and songs with composers like Kurt Weill and Harold Arlen, but the work was a grind, with far more disappointments than successes, and Ira invested significant money as well as time — much of it lost.
The reader gets to know Gershwin in his own words as he breaks down the difficult work of writing lyrics that not only had to stand on their own as poetry but also had to fit to the music of America’s greatest composers. Throughout the text, the author shares details about several iconic songs and the artists who performed them. This biography is a worthy addition to the vast oeuvre of books about the music of the Gershwins.
Beth Dwoskin is a retired librarian with expertise in Yiddish literature and Jewish folk music.
