'The Half of It, Dearie' Blues
| "'The Half of It, Dearie' Blues" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Fred Astaire and Kathlene Martyn | |
| Published | December 1, 1924 Harms, Inc.[1] |
| Released | 1924 |
| Composer | George Gershwin |
| Lyricist | Ira Gershwin |
"'The Half of it, Dearie' Blues" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced by Fred Astaire and Kathlene Martyn in the 1924 musical Lady be Good.[2]
In his 1959 book Lyrics on Several Occasions, Ira Gershwin noted: "Some sort of grievance is featured in the musical-comedy adaptation of The Blues as evidence here in 'The Half of It, Dearie Blues' and in the [Jerome] Kern-[Anne] Caldwell 'Left All Alone Again Blues'[a]—but of course in such as these the lyric approach isn't attempting to plumb the melancholy depths of the real Blues."[3]
Recordings
- Fred Astaire with George Gershwin at the piano - Fred Astaire - Complete London Sessions. In this first ever recording of the number, on April 19, 1926, Astaire includes a short tap-dancing section and asks Gershwin: "How's that, George," to which Gershwin replies: "That's fine, Freddy, keep going."
- Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959)
Notes
- ^ Left All Alone Again Blues is from the 1920 musical The Night Boat.
References
- ^ Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1924). Catalog of Copyright Entries, 1924 Musical Compositions New Series Vol 19 Part 3. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
- ^ Billman, Larry (1997). Fred Astaire - A Bio-bibliography. Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 57. ISBN 0-313-29010-5.
- ^ Gershwin, Ira (1959). Lyrics on Several Occasions: A Selection of Stage & Screen Lyrics Written for Sundry Situations; and Now Arranged in Arbitrary Categories. To Which Have Been Added Many Informative Annotations & Disquisitions on Their Why & Wherefore, Their Whom-for, Their How, and Matters Associative. Alfred A. Knopf. p. 34.
External links
- Original sheet music Digitized copy in the Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection, Sheridan Libraries and University Museums, Johns Hopkins University.