George Gershwin was a composer in the 20th century.

​

Gershwin was born in 1898 in Brooklyn, New York. George taught himself his first song on the piano by following the key's of a neighbor's player piano(a piano that plays by itself). When his parents bought his brother a piano, they were shocked to find that he could already play a song very well! His parents were so impressed that they decided to give lessons to George instead of his brother. The teacher was so impressed with George that he taught him for free. George dropped out of school when he was 15 and became a "song plugger". A song plugger played sheet music for a person who was thinking about buying a song. George played songs for customers for hours on end for three years. He also accompanied broadway singers at their rehearsals. These early experiences helped Gershwin to write for Broadway where he had his first successes. Gershwin's most famous work "Rhapsody in Blue" was commissioned for February 12, 1924. Legend has it that Gershwin forgot about the commission until January when he read about it in the newspaper. Even though he improvised the whole piano solo at the concert, the piece was a success and continues to be one of his most well known and well loved pieces. Unfortunately, Gershwin began to suffer from severe headaches in 1937 but the doctor's couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. His symptoms got worse and he was unable to walk. Finally, the doctor's discovered he had a brain tumor. They operated, but he died in surgery on July 11, 1937. His death was shocking. The novelist John O'Hara wrote: George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937, but I don’t have to believe it if I don’t want to. 

​

Here are a few examples of Gershwin's compositions: