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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
The orchestra pits of Broadway musicals are often filled with jazz musicians but, on October 14 1930, the Alvin Theatre on 52nd Street had one of the most absurdly star-studded bands in history, including the likes of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Jimmy Dorsey and Gene Krupa. All were special guests for the opening night of Girl Crazy, a George and Ira Gershwin musical that would go on to run for nine months and spawn several hit songs, including “Embraceable You” and “But Not for Me”. But it was an up-tempo ensemble piece called “I Got Rhythm” which ended up becoming perhaps the most important song in jazz history — and one that serves as an unlikely link between Bruce Springsteen, Duke Ellington and Fred Flintstone.
Let us know your memories of ‘I Got Rhythm’ and its many variations in the comments section below
The paperback edition of ‘The Life of a Song: The stories behind 100 of the world’s best-loved songs’, edited by David Cheal and Jan Dalley, is published by Chambers
Music credits: Universal; A Glass And A Half; Pro Jazz Team; Musical Heritage Society; Boumqueur Edition; Play; Passport Audio; Sotelysa Digital; Naxos; Stars on Scale; Warner; Columbia/Sony; Crates Digger; Capitol; Bob Miranda; A&M; BSX; Geek; BBC
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