Embraceable You

With Ira as lyricist, they wrote scores for many hit Broadway shows, such as Lady Be Good and Of Thee I Sing, the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Their timeless standards include the songs "S'Wonderful," "Embraceable You," "The Man I Love," "Someone to Watch Over Me," and "Our Love Is Here to Stay."

Stay."Born to a Russian Jewish immigrant family that was totally secular, both brothers were not religious, and who else but a free thinker would write the words, "The things that you're liable to read in the Bible ain't necessarily so." Let's hear Dan and D'arcy performing the Gershwin tune I Got Rhythm.

[piano music] Days may be sunny with never a sigh.

Maybe it's you

Embrace me, my sweet, embraceable you Embrace me, my irreplaceable you

I got rhythm, I got music I got my gal who could ask for anything more I got my gal who could ask for anything more A good life

for anything more

If audiences were bored, they let you know immediately.

By the end of 1930, she landed on Broadway in the Gershwin's Girl Crazy, introducing a little song called Embraceable You.

Not a bad addition to her resume.

What makes Ginger Rogers so fascinating is that by the time Hollywood discovered her, she wasn't some fresh-faced ingenue waiting to be molded.

We've arranged a little entertainment for you.

Come on, Betty, sing George Gershwin's famous Embraceable You.

[music]

Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you.

Embrace me, you irreplaceable you.

Just one look at you, my heart grew tipsy in me.

Come to mama.

Come to mama, do.

Broadway crowds expected catchy melodies and theatrical flair, while concert hall patrons wanted disciplined structure and virtuosity.

Gershwin's songs, think Embraceable You or Summertime, were written with lyrical hooks that could be sung in a nightclub, yet still carried the harmonic sophistication of his orchestral works.

That duality made his music a cultural conduit, pulling jazz into the mainstream while keeping its improvisatory spirit alive.

Fast forward to the bebop era.

[instrumental music]

Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you.

Embrace me, you're irreplaceable you.

Just one look at you, my heart grew tipsy in me.

Don't be a naughty baby.

Come with me, come with me, do.

My sweet embraceable you.

[instrumental music] Don't be a naughty baby.