"I Got Rhythm
" is a song composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, published in 1930, which became a widely-known jazz standard. Its chord progression, known as the "Rhythm changes", is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes such as Charlie Parker's and Dizzy Gillespie's Bebop standard "Anthropology (Thrivin' From a Riff)".
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I GOT RHYTHM TICKETS
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History
The song came from the musical
Girl Crazy
which also includes another hit song,
Embraceable You
, and has been sung by many jazz singers since. It was originally written as a slow song for
Treasure Girl
(1928) and found another, faster setting in
Girl Crazy
.
Ethel Merman sang the song in the original
Broadway production and Broadway lore holds that
George Gershwin, after seeing her opening reviews, warned her never to take a singing lesson.
The song melody uses four notes of the five-note
pentatonic scale, first rising, then falling. A rhythmic interest in the song is that the tune keeps behind the main pulse, with the three "I got..." phrases
syncopated, appearing one beat behind in the first bar, while the fourth phase "Who could..." rushes in to the song. Its chord progression, known as the "
Rhythm changes", is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes. The song was later expanded and used as the theme in Gershwin's last concert piece
Variations on "I Got Rhythm"
in 1934. The song has become iconic of the Gershwins, of swing, and of the 1920s.
The song is featured in the 1951 musical film
An American in Paris
.
Gene Kelly sang the song and
tap-danced, while French-speaking children whom he had just taught a few words of English shouted the phrases "I got" each time they appeared in the lyrics.
It is also featured in the film
Mr. Holland's Opus
, during a scene in which students are trying out for a Gershwin revue.
A partial list of singers who have recorded this song would take up several pages. The most popular versions are those of
The Happenings (#3 on the US charts in 1967
[1]),
Judy Garland,
Ethel Merman, and more recently,
Jodi Benson.
It is a very popular
jazz standard. Many songs use its chord progression, such as
Ornette Coleman's "Chippie".
Charlie Parker alone based many songs on its chord progression, e.g. "Moose the Mooche".
Gary Larson referenced the song in the
Far Side.
The piece
I Got Rhythm
was originally penned in the key of D flat major.
A version of the song set to a disco beat was recorded by Ethel Merman for her infamous, campy
Ethel Merman Disco Album
in 1979.
[2]
Another version of the song was arranged solely for the guitar by Ton Van Bergeyk. It appears on the album
Black and Tan Fantasy
.
Mike Oldfield and
Wendy Roberts performed a version on Oldfield's
Platinum album
.
Notable Recordings
- Chelsea Krombach performed the song for her debut album Look for the Silver Lining.
- Ernestine Anderson
- Fred Astaire
- Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook
(1959)
- Gene Kelly
- Ethel Merman [3]
- The Residents recorded the song for George & James, and also done live for their 13th Anniversary Tour in 1986.
- Barbra Streisand recorded the song for "...And Other Musical Instruments" [4]
- Martin Taylor recorded the song for "Martin Taylor".
- Hiromi Uehara
- Wendi Williams & Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra recorded the song for the film and soundtrack of Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
(1999). In the beginning of the film, Dorothy Dandridge (portrayed by Halle Berry) performs the song in a racially segregated Miami nightclub.
- Ethel Waters's performance is the one that is selected in the compilation The Essential George Gershwin
.
References
- "See You in September", ''Billboard''. Accessed October 3, 2007.
- ''The Ethel Merman Disco Album'', Track 7. 1979 recording reissued on CD in 2002 by Universal Music Enterprises, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
- Ethel Merman with Orchestra Directed by Jay Blackton. Recorded December 12, 1947, New York City, Master #74230-A, originally released on Decca single 24453 B and ''Ethel Merman: Songs She Made Famous'', album DA-681, June 28, 1948. Source notes from ''Front Row Center: The Broadway Gold Box, 1935 - 1988''. Four Compact Disc Set, Broadway Gold/MCA Classics, MCAD4-11353 (1996)
- ''Barbra Streisand and Other Musical Instruments'', Columbia Records/CBS, Inc. (1973)