George Gershwin

Did everybody know that George Gershwin was only 38 years old when he died? Huh, I didn't.

Anyway, I had heard on the radio today that he passed away on this date in July of 1937. What an amazing person he was. There was a memorial concert held in his honour two months after his demise at the Hollywood Bowl where entertainment luminaries of the day (George Jessel, Fred Astaire, Al Jolson and Otto Klemperer) literally sang his praises.

The last song that they played and that Gershwin ever wrote is You Can't Take that Away From Me.

The way you wear your hat,
The way you sip your tea,
The mem'ry of all that --
No, no! They can't take that away from me!

The way your smile just beams,
The way you sing off key,
The way you haunt my dreams --
No, no! They can't take that away from me!

We can never, never meet again
On the bumpy road to love,
Still I'll always, always keep
The mem'ry of --

The way you hold your knife,
The way we danced 'til three.
The way you changed my life --
No, no! They can't take that away from me!
No! They can't take that away from me!