George Gershwin

George Gershwin (1898-1937) was a pioneering songwriter and composer who blended classical and popular music with jazz and blues influences. His breakout hit, "Swanee," in 1919, set the stage for a series of Broadway successes with his brother Ira, including "Lady Be Good" (1924). Gershwin's classical debut with "Rhapsody in Blue" marked a new phase in his career, while his political musical "Of Thee I Sing" won a Pulitzer Prize. Collaborating with Ira and Dubose Heyward, he created the folk opera "Porgy and Bess" before his untimely death in 1937.