Trivia / George Gershwin

• Referenced by...:
  • For the first half of the rhythm dance of Canadian ice dancers Natalie D'Alessandro and Bruce Waddell during the 2019-2020 competitive season, they perform to "He Loves and She Loves."
  • The Muppet Show: The Star Wars episode introduced a Scottish gargoyle named Angus whose act involved gargling Gershwin songs "gorgeously". He and Mark Hamill managed to get partway through "Summertime" before an irritated Kermit sicced Animal on them.
• Revival by Commercialization: Rhapsody in Blue is probably best known today for its usage as United Airlines' official song.
• Short-Lived, Big Impact: Died at the age of 38, but had an incredible impact on basically every form of music.
• Signature Song: Rhapsody in Blue, "Summertime"
• Throw It In!: The famous clarinet glissando at the start of Rhapsody in Blue was a silly little musical prank tossed out in a rehearsal by Ross Gorman, the clarinetist in Paul Whiteman's band, that Gershwin liked so much that he wrote it into the score.
• Writing by the Seat of Your Pants: He only had about a month to write Rhapsody in Blue after learning that Paul Whiteman had told the press that he would be debuting a new Gershwin orchestral piece at an upcoming concert. Whiteman hadn't said a word to Gershwin about this.

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