My 10 Favorite George Gershwin Songs: A Trip Down Memory Lane

July 11, 2008, marks the 71st anniversary of George Gershwin's death. What better way to reminisce than a trip down memory lane with my favorite George Gershwin songs?

My Favorite Gershwin Songs #10: Bidin' My Time

Bidin' My Time was written by George and his brother Ira. The song was performed in the musical Girl Crazy in 1930.  

This recording features Judy Garland.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vQizAj3orac

My Favorite Gershwin Songs: #9: I've Got a Crush on You

I've Got a Crush on You was written by George and Ira. The song was featured in two musicals, Treasure Girl (1928) and Strike Up the Band (1930).

This recording features Frank Sinatra.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eO1Wvl1Nye8

My Favorite Gershwin Songs: #8: Embraceable You

Embraceable You was written by George and Ira in 1928. Ginger Rogers performed this song in 1930. Billie Holiday's 1944 recording of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

This recording features Judy Garland.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BnmiNTZNG-A

My Favorite Gershwin Songs #7: Let's Call the Whole Thing Off

Let's Call the Whole Thing Off was written by George and Ira in 1937. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers performed the song in the movie Shall We Dance.

This recording features Astaire and Rogers.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zZ3fjQa5Hls

My Favorite Gershwin Songs #6: 'S Wonderful

This song was written by the two brothers and was first featured in the Broadway music Funny Face in 1927. The song also appears in An American in Paris.

This recording features Diana Krall.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4F2a_GkLzgA

My Favorite Gershwin Songs #5: Swanee

Written partly as a parody of Stephen Foster's Swanee River, Swanee was written in 1919 by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Irving Caesar. Al Jolson later helped this song to become Gershwin's first big hit.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=N68Vsff1vus

My Favorite Gershwin Songs #4: They Can't That Away from Me

They Can't Take That Away From Me was written in 1937 by George and Ira. This song was famously featured by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the 1937 film Shall We Dance.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ipOfF-eZPkQ