I Got Rhythm

"I Got Rhythm" is a song composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, published in 1930, which became a widely-known jazz standard. Its chord progression, known as the "Rhythm changes", is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes such as Charlie Parker's and Dizzy Gillespie's Bebop standard "Anthropology (Thrivin' From a Riff)".

History

The song came from the musical Girl Crazy which also includes another hit song, Embraceable You, and has been sung by many jazz singers since. It was originally written as a slow song for Treasure Girl (1928) and found another, faster setting in Girl Crazy. Ethel Merman sang the song in the original Broadway production and Broadway lore holds that George Gershwin, after seeing her opening reviews, warned her never to take a singing lesson.

The song melody uses four notes of the five-note pentatonic scale, first rising, then falling. A rhythmic interest in the song is that the tune keeps behind the main pulse, with the three "I got..." phrases syncopated, appearing one beat behind in the first bar, while the fourth phase "Who could..." rushes in to the song. Its chord progression, known as the "Rhythm changes", is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes. The song was later expanded and used as the theme in Gershwin's last concert piece Variations on "I Got Rhythm" in 1934. The song has become iconic of the Gershwins, of swing, and of the 1920's.

The song is featured in the 1951 musical film An American in Paris. Gene Kelly sang the song and tap-danced, while French-speaking children whom he had just taught a few words of English shouted the phrases "I got" each time they appeared in the lyrics.

It was also featured in the movie Mr. Holland's Opus, when students were trying out for the play/musical.

A partial list of singers who have recorded this song would take up several pages. The most popular versions are those of The Happenings (#3 on the US charts in 1967), Judy Garland, Ethel Merman, and more recently, Jodi Benson.

It is a very popular jazz standard. Many songs use its chord progression, such as Ornette Coleman's "Chippie". Charlie Parker alone based many songs on its chord progression, e.g. "Moose the Mooche". Gary Larson referenced the song in the Far Side.

The piece I Got Rhythm was originally penned in the key of D flat major.

A version of the song set to a disco beat was recorded by Ethel Merman for her infamous Ethel Merman Disco Album in 1979.

Another version of the song was arranged solely for the guitar by Ton Van Bergeyk. It appears on the album Black and Tan Fantasy. Mike Oldfield and Wendy Roberts performed a version on Oldfield's Platinum album.

Sources

• Greenberg, Rodney (1998). George Gershwin. Phaidon Press. ISBN 0-7148-3504-8.
• Gershwin, George (1996). The Complete Gershwin Keyboard Works. WB MUSIC CORP. ISBN 0-29156-29838-3.