Ira Gershwin

A Life in Words

Michael Owen

$62.95

Hardback

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English

Norton
03 February 2025

Music: styles & genres; Biography; Biography: arts & entertainment

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 which covers songs written largely for Broadway and Hollywood from the 1920s to the 1950s. Now, in the 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.

By: Michael Owen
Imprint: Norton
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 236mm, Width: 160mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 677g
ISBN: 9781324091813
ISBN 10: 1324091819
Pages: 416
Publication Date: 03 February 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Michael Owen is a historian, researcher, and archivist. He is the author of Go Slow: The Life of Julie London (2017), and the editor of the forthcoming volume The Gershwins Abroad. He currently resides in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

Reviews for Ira Gershwin: A Life in Words

Great reading for more than music lovers. This will be the definitive book on Ira for a long time.--David Keymer, Library Journal (starred review) This book is a marvel and model of how to write resonantly and engagingly about a charming subject who was unintentionally elusive. Having personally known and adored Ira for years, I am overwhelmed by the information and detail Owen captures. I love the way he spins the tale of a greatly talented lyricist who, thanks to this book, might permanently find his proper place in the pantheon of great songwriters.--Michael Feinstein, author of The Gershwins and Me: A Personal History in Twelve Songs Lyricist Ira Gershwin (1896-1983) gets the due long afforded to his brother George in this meticulous account....Readers will be most captivated by the glimpses of a sensitive, complex artist that peek through the cracks....A fitting tribute to a vital influence on 20th-century American music.-- ""Publishers Weekly"" (8/8/2024 12:00:00 AM) In Ira Gershwin: A Life in Words, Michael Owen offers an insightful exploration of his subject's lifelong quest for an artistic voice. Using a rich variety of archival resources--personal letters, diaries, production notes, and business correspondence--Owen documents Gershwin's tireless commitment to songwriting, from the linguistic play of his teenage years and his prizewinning successes (and failures) as an adult, to his commitment to preserving the Great American Songbook and the Gershwin family legacy in his final years. The book is indispensable for fans and scholars alike. It shines a revelatory light on the complex life of the great lyricist who lived forever in the shadow of his younger brother George.--Anna Harwell Celenza, general editor of The Cambridge Companion to George Gershwin