Both the definitive biography of the Gershwin brothers and a lavishly illustrated chronicle of the American era their music and lyrics embodied,
The Gershwin Years
celebrates the musical achievements of George (1898–1937) and Ira (1896–1983) while offering a revealing inside look at their lives. The brothers drew inspiration from its varied faces—black culture from
Porgie and Bess,
the frantic sophistication of the 1920s for such musical comedies as
Funny Face
and
Girl
Crazy, the tumult of American politics for the satirical
Of Thee I Sing.
From George's Tin Pan Alley days as a song plugger and Ira's first attempts at lyric writing to their conquest of Broadway and Hollywood, from their collaborations and George's solo compositions (
Rhapsody in Blue, Concerto in F,
An American in Paris
) to George's death from a brain tumor and Ira's later work with Kern, Weill, and Arlen,
presents an authoritative, visually stunning, and altogether delightful account of the "Wright Brothers" of American music.