Editorial Content for Ira Gerswhin: A Life in Words
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Historian, researcher and archivist Michael Owen has delved deeply into the life and lines of celebrated songwriter Ira Gershwin in this detailed recollection of a spirit devoted to lyrics.
Ira and his older brother, George, were sons of Russian Jewish parents who immigrated to America in search of the dream that beckoned for so many in the late 1800s. The New York City streets where the boys hung out were filled with music. George soon became known for his ability to compose music in a variety of genres. Ira was less outgoing, spending his time reading books and making lists of what he read. But once the brothers began to collaborate, realizing that they were a phenomenal team, their lives took a massive upswing.
"Michael Owen’s frank, fact-filled and up-close portrait of Ira Gershwin is a gift --- and an insightful reminder --- for a new generation of music lovers and creators."
As their success grew --- with numbers like “S’Wonderful” and “It Had to Be You,” and full-blown musical coverage, as in the memorable Lady, Be Good! --- Ira used a pseudonym, Arthur Francis, so he wouldn’t detract from his older sibling’s career. When George died at the age of 38, Ira battled with contract clauses and ownership legalities, assisted by his strong-willed wife, Leonore. He took up his writing three years later with acclaim, working with music greats Kurt Weill and Jerome Kern.
Though he had periods of mental and physical exhaustion, along with a litany of ailments that led to the “pharmacological wasteland” of pill popping, Ira never lost his fascination with words and the feelings they could evoke. His memorable “coda” for the famed favorite “Over the Rainbow” was supplied after the composer, Yip Harburg, sought his opinion of the song: “If happy little bluebirds fly, beyond the rainbow, why, oh why can’t I?” In later life, Ira decided he needed a self-composed epitaph and came up with a choice bit of amusing irony: “Words Failed Me.”
Owen brings to IRA GERSHWIN a blend of meticulous research and an undisguised admiration for its central character. Ira is envisioned as an artistic genius whose personal fascination with languages, accents and human foibles have brought pleasure to millions over the years and will continue to do so. His honors include a collaborative Pulitzer Prize and in 1988 the establishment of the George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Musical Achievement Award.
Michael Owen’s frank, fact-filled and up-close portrait of Ira Gershwin is a gift --- and an insightful reminder --- for a new generation of music lovers and creators.
Teaser
The first lyricist to win the Pulitzer Prize, Ira Gershwin (1896–1983) has been hailed as one of the masters of the Great American Songbook, a period that covers songs written largely for Broadway and Hollywood from the 1920s to the 1950s. Now, in this first full-length biography devoted to his life, Michael Owen brings Ira out at last from the long shadow cast by his younger and more famous brother, George. Drawing on extensive archival sources and often using Ira’s own words, Owen has crafted a rich portrait of the modest man who penned the words to many of America’s best-loved songs, like “Fascinating Rhythm,” “Embraceable You” and “They Can’t Take That Away from Me.”
Promo
The first lyricist to win the Pulitzer Prize, Ira Gershwin (1896–1983) has been hailed as one of the masters of the Great American Songbook, a period that covers songs written largely for Broadway and Hollywood from the 1920s to the 1950s. Now, in this first full-length biography devoted to his life, Michael Owen brings Ira out at last from the long shadow cast by his younger and more famous brother, George. Drawing on extensive archival sources and often using Ira’s own words, Owen has crafted a rich portrait of the modest man who penned the words to many of America’s best-loved songs, like “Fascinating Rhythm,” “Embraceable You” and “They Can’t Take That Away from Me.”
About the Book
The man behind some of the most memorable lyrics in the Great American Songbook steps from behind his brother’s shadow.
The first lyricist to win the Pulitzer Prize, Ira Gershwin (1896–1983) has been hailed as one of the masters of the Great American Songbook, a period that covers songs written largely for Broadway and Hollywood from the 1920s to the 1950s. Now, in this first full-length biography devoted to his life, Michael Owen brings Ira out at last from the long shadow cast by his younger and more famous brother, George. Drawing on extensive archival sources and often using Ira’s own words, Owen has crafted a rich portrait of the modest man who penned the words to many of America’s best-loved songs, like “Fascinating Rhythm,” “Embraceable You” and “They Can’t Take That Away from Me.”
These fruits of Ira’s lyric genius sprang from the simplest of seeds: a hand-drawn weekly created for a cousin, an amateur newspaper co-written with friend and future lyricist Yip Harburg, columns in the school papers at Townsend Harris High School and, later, City College of New York. The details of his early literary efforts demonstrate both his developing ambition and the early signs of his talent. But while the road to becoming a successful lyricist was neither short nor smooth, it did lead Ira to the greatest creative partnership of his life.
George and Ira Gershwin collaborated on a string of hit Broadway shows in the 1920s and 1930s that resulted in popular and financial success and spawned a long string of songs that have become classics. Owen offers fascinating glimpses of their creative process, drawing on Ira’s diaries and other contemporary sources, as well as the close relationship between the two brothers. Hollywood soon beckons and the brothers head west to California to work in the movie business. Greater fame and fortune seem right around the corner.
George Gershwin died in a Los Angeles hospital in July 1937. He was only 38 years old. His death marked a stark dividing line in Ira’s life, and from that point on much of his time and energy was devoted to the management of his brother’s estate and the care of his legacy. Accustomed to living in his brother’s shadow, it now threatened to overwhelm him. He worked to balance all the administrative tasks with a new series of collaborations with composers like Kurt Weill, Jerome Kern, Harry Warren and Harold Arlen. Ira’s last Broadway work was in 1946, and several films and a book project --- a collection of his lyrics with the stories behind them --- occupied his later years along with the ongoing management of George’s affairs.
Ira Gershwin’s work with George left an enduring mark on American culture, as recognized by the Library of Congress in 2007 when it established the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, which has been awarded to artists like Paul Simon, Carole King, Tony Bennett, Paul McCartney and Elton John. In IRA GERSHWIN: A Life in Words, Michael Owen brings the publicity shy lyricist into the spotlight he deserves.
