Gershwin, George

A year later, Gershwin, now age 19, quit Remick's and moved to Broadway, where several of his songs were used by Sigmund Romberg and Jerome Kern in their musical comedies. Fairly steady work as a rehearsal pianist and accompanist supplemented Gershwin's income from his songs. In 1918, George and Ira Gershwin worked together for the first time, writing the rag-influenced “The Real American Folk Song.” Its lyrics (for example, “A rhythmic tonic for the chronic blues...