SIMULTANEOUS EAST AND WEST-COAST funerals took place on a muggy July afternoon in 1937. Politicians, artists, entertainers, and musicians gathered to mourn what was perhaps the greatest blow to American music in history: the unexpected and untimely death of George Gershwin at 38. Whether or not Gershwin was the greatest American composer will always be debated, but, beyond doubt, he was a most quintessential American composer. An unlikely musical genius, he was a high-school dropout who, by …showed first 75 words of 1239 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1239 total…the keyboard at a party in the late 20s, George was heard to remark, "I wonder if my music will be around in a hundred years." From the crowd came a shout, "Only if you're around to play it, George!" Fortunately, that voice was wrong. Works Cited 1. Jablonski, Edward, and Lawrence D. Stewart. The Gershwin Years: George and Ira. Da Capo: 1996 2. Jablonski, Edward. Gershwin Remembered. Amadeus: 1992 3. Schwartz, Charles. Gershwin: His Life and Music. Da Capo: 1988