Louis Gensler
Currently no information is available on this composer.
1932 "How Do You Do It?", lyric E. Y. Harburg.
This song was in the Paramount picture 'Ballyhoo of 1932'
1934 "Love Is Just Around The Corner", lyric Leo Robin.
ex Paramount pix "Here is My Heart'.

   Don George
b. August 27, 1909, New York, NY, USA. d. November 1987, New York, NY, USA.
While not well known as an Artist (outside of Art circles), he nevertheless did have a number of 'one-man' shows for his works. However, as a Lyricist, some of his work is very well known indeed. One good example is his lyric for "Yellow Rose Of Texas". After his education in New York City public schools, he began to write special material for such stars as Fran Warren, Nat "King" Cole, Ida Lupino, and Patti Page. George's work for the Broadway stages included writing the score for the show "Wet Paint".

Among his other compositions (to name a few) are such tunes as "Baby What You Do To Me", "Dusk On The Painted Desert", "Holiday in Brussels", "I'm Beginning To See The Light", "Cuban Nightingale", "Calypso Blues", "I Was Telling Her About You", "When Will I Forget You", "Coal Dust on the Fiddle", "Slowly With Feeling", "Mambo Tango Samba Calypso Rhumba Blues", "Frug Watusi Monkey and Mashed Potato", "Papa Niccolini", "How Bitter My Sweet", "I Never Mention Your Name", "Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend", "Eleven Sixty P.M.", "Riot in Brazil", Somewhere Someone Is Lonely", "Trumpet Conga", "Redheaded Woman in a Green Velvet Dress", "A Touch of the Blues", "Tapestry In Blue", "The Magic Fountain", "Two Thirds of The Tennessee River", "Tulip or Turnip", "Tropical Trade Winds", "It Shouldn't Happen to a Dream", "The Right Kind of Love", and "Zanzibar".

Among his musical collaborators were composer Mabel Wayne, Bandleader/composer Duke Ellington, composer Steve Allen, Lyricist Bee Walker (who helped with the lyric to Frank Sinatra's big hit release "Hey Jealous Lover" -credits: Bee Walker/Kay Twoomey/Sammy Cahn), composer Oscar Levant, composer Peter De Rose, Nat "King" Cole, and bandleader Harry James.

   George Gershwin
b. Sept. 26, 1898, New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA, d. July 11, 1937, Hollywood, CA, USA.
Note: Since so much literature is available on George Gershwin, nothing more will be included here, except George's Picture
Overview
One of the finest composers of the early Twentieth Century. He is distinguished for both his classical and popular music compositions. George died when he was only thirty-eight years old. He composed for only a little more than twenty years. But, what he what he was able to accomplish in that short time is truly remarkable. His early death was the world's loss.

In 1913, when he was just fifteen years old, he was already working as a pianist, and an accompanist for vaudeville stars (Nora Bayes and Louise Dresser, to name two); he was also doing some song plugging. In 1917, he became a staff composer for the Harms Publishing Company, and produced his first major hit, "Swanee," in 1918.

Gershwin's Broadway musical timeline included:
   1919 - La La Lucille (Arthur Jackson and B. G. DeSylva lyrics)
   1920 - George White's Scandals of 1920 (Arthur Jackson lyrics -- an early Ira Gershwin pseudonym)
   1921 - George White's Scandals of 1921 (Arthur Jackson lyrics -- an early Ira Gershwin pseudonym)
   1922 - George White's Scandals of 1922 (E. Ray Goetz, and B. G. DeSylva lyrics)
   1922 - Our Nell (Brian Hooker lyrics)
   1923 - The Rainbow (Clifford Grey lyrics, -the show premiered in London, England.)
   1923 - George White's Scandals of 1923 (E. Ray Goetz and B. G. DeSylva lyrics)
   1924 - Sweet Little Devil (B. G. DeSylva lyrics)
   1924 - George White's Scandals of 1924 (B. G. DeSylva lyrics)
   1924 - Primrose (Desmond Carter). Premiered in London.
   1924 - Lady, Be Good! (Ira Gershwin lyric)
   1925 - Tell Me More! (Ira Gershwin and B. G. DeSylva lyrics)
   1925 - Tip-Toes (Ira Gershwin lyric)
   1925 - Song of the Flame (lyrics: Otto Harbach, and Oscar Hammerstein II, musical collaboration: Herbert Stothart )
   1926 - Oh, Kay! (Ira Gershwin lyric)
   1927 - Funny Face (Ira Gershwin lyric)
   1927 - Strike Up The Band (Ira Gershwin lyric --Score revised 1930)
   1928 - Rosalie (Ira Gershwin lyric)
   1928 - Treasure Girl (Ira Gershwin lyric)
   1929 - Show Girl (Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn lyric)
   1930 - Girl Crazy (Ira Gershwin lyric)
   1931 - Of Thee I Sing (Ira Gershwin lyric, --first musical to receive the Pulitzer Prize.)
   1933 - Pardon My English (Ira Gershwin lyric)
   1933 - Let 'Em Eat Cake (Ira Gershwin lyric)
   1935 - Porgy and Bess (Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward lyric)

Gershwin's Hollywood musical timeline included:
   1931 - Delicious (Ira Gershwin lyric)
   1937 - Shall We Dance (Ira Gershwin lyric)
   1937 - A Damsel in Distress (Ira Gershwin lyric)
   1938 - Goldwyn Follies (Ira Gershwin lyric)
   1947 - The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (Composer Kay Swift, collaborating with Ira Gershwin, adapted some unpublished Gershwin tunes.)

These shows produced such worldwide hit songs as:
   1918 "Swanee"
   1922 "Stairway to Paradise"
   1924 "Somebody Loves Me"
   1924 "Oh, Lady Be Good!"
   1925 "Fascinating Rhythm" - (Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards singing in 1925.)
   1925 "The Man I Love," a hit years later.
   1926 "That Certain Feeling"
   1926 "Someone to Watch over Me"
   1926 "Do-Do-Do"
   1926 "Clap Yo' Hands". With this tune, Gershwin started the big 'get happy' religious numbers for the Broadway musicals. Other composerss then tried their hand at it. In 1926's 'Hit the Deck', Youmans wrote "Hallelujah"; In 1930's '9:15 Revue', Arlen wrote "Get Happy'; Cole Porter tried his luck in 1936's 'Anything Goes' with "Blow, Gabriel, Blow". The last composer to use the idea was Frank Loesser who wrote "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat", for the 1950 musical 'Guys and Dolls'.

   1927 "'S Wonderful"
   1928 "How Long Has This Been Going on?"
   1928 "Oh Gee, Oh Joy"
   1928 "I've Got a Crush on You," became popular in 1930.
   1929 "Liza."

   1930 "Strike Up the Band"
        "I Got Rhythm"
        "Bidin' My Time"
        "But Not for Me"
        "Embraceable You"

   1932 "Of Thee I Sing"
        "Love Is Sweeping the Country"

   1935 "Summertime"
   1935 "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin"
   1935 "It Ain't Necessarily So"
   1935 "I Loves You, Porgy"
   1935 "Bess, You Is My Woman Now"
   1935 "A Woman Is a Sometime Thing"

   &937 "A Foggy Day"
   1937 "Nice Work If You Can Get It"
   1937 "Shall We Dance?"
   1937 "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off"
   1937 "They Can't Take That Away from Me"

   1938 "Love Is Here to Stay"
   1938 "Love Walked In" (the songs he was working on when he died.)

Gershwin's Classical works include:
   1924 "Rhapsody In Blue", piano concerto.
   1925"Concerto in F", for Piano and Orchestra
   1928"An American in Paris", an orchestral tone poem.
   1932"2nd Rhapsody", piano concerto.
   1933"Cuban Overture", an orchestral tone poem.
   1935"Porgy and Bess", - without question, America's greatest Grand opera.
   1936"Three Preludes", for piano

His jazz concerto "Rhapsody in Blue" was commisioned by Paul Whiteman for Whiteman's Aeolian Hall (NY) concert in 1924. Gershwin's Grand opera "Porgy And Bess", (with book by DuBose Heyward) had such arias as "Summertime", "I Got Plenty of Nothin" and "It Ain't Necessarily So", which became "Pop" hits for vocalists during the Big Bands era.

While not fully recognized at the time, these classical works were the crowning achievements of this genius' musical career. George died in 1938, of an inoperable brain tumor.

   Ira Gershwin
b. Dec. 6, 1896, New York, NY, USA. d. Aug. 15, 1983, Beverly Hills, CA, USA.
AKA: Arthur Jackson. (early in his career, Ira used the pseudonym of Arthur Jackson.)
Overview
Here's a photo of Ira, older brother of George Gershwin, who was an outstanding lyricist in his own right. He was one of just a small handful of lyricists working during the Golden Age of Broadway (and Hollywood). He wrote the words for hundreds of songs that helped shape the American personna during the 1920's to 1940's. His lyrics for the 1931 musical 'Of Thee I Sing' won the first Pulitizer Prize for a Musical Comedy Show ever awarded. While Ira's favorite collaborator was his own younger brother, George, he worked with such other well known composers as Burton Lane; Vincent Youmans; Harold Arlen; Kurt Weill, and Jerome Kern. Ira continued to work long after his brother's death in 1938. On Dec. 6, 1996, Ira was the first lyricist to be honored by a special tribute performance on the centennial observance of his birth, in New York's venerable Carnegie Hall.

Mom and Pop Gershwin lived on 2nd Avenue and 5th Street, in New York City. Ira attended Townsend Harris High School, where one of his fellow students and good friend was E.Y. "Yip" Harburg. Yip was often a guest in Ira's home, where the two worked at their love, - writing lyrics. Ira started his career in 1918 using the pen name of Arthur Francis. In the early years, Ira often worked with his brother George, but it wasn't until 1924 that George and Ira started working as a team. They went to Hollywood in 1931 and did a score for Fox Studios, 'Delicious', starring Janet Gaynor. They returned to New York and did three more shows including Porgy and Bess. In 1937, the brothers accepted an offer from RKO. Their three films, Damsel in Distress; Goldwyn Follies and Shall We Dance produced no fewer than 14 major hits. These included: "They Can't Take That Away From Me," "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," "Nice Work if You Can Get It," and "Love Walked In."

In 1937, George Gershwin died (from an inoperable Brain Tumor). Ira never got over his brother's demise. He couldn't believe that his younger brother had died first. After that, he never again believed in God, and would often dream of his brother. He even had a guilt complex because he out-lived his younger brother.

In 1941, Ira returned as lyricist for the Broadway show 'Lady In The Dark'. In 1943, he worked on RKO's 'North Star.' In 1944, he worked on Columbia's 'Cover Girl', which produced "Long Ago and Far Away." In 1945, he worked on Twentieth Century-Fox's 'Where Do We Go From Here', in which the story was told in song, with minimal dialogue. In 1949, he worked on MGM's 'Barkleys of Broadway', with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. In 1954, he worked on Paramount's 'The Country Girl', and 'A Star is Born' with Judy Garland in the title role. After these two films, Ira retired at age 58.

In 1964, Ira added lyrics to three of his brother George's unfinished works.

Ira's lyrical genius was such that he was much in demand by other composers. He collaborated with such top composers as Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Harry Warren, Burton Lane, Kurt Weill, and Aaron Copland.

Among Ira's lyrics with composers other than brother George are:
1930 "Cheerful Little Earful", written with co-lyricist Billy Rose and composer Harry Warren for the revue 'Sweet and Low'.

1936 "I Can't Get Started", (music: Vernon Duke) introduced by Bob Hope and Eve Arden in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1936.

1944 "Long Ago and Far Away", written with composer Jerome Kern for the wartime movie musical Cover Girl; it was the biggest hit he ever had in any one year.

1954 "The Man That Got Away," with composer Harold Arlen for the movie musical 'A Star is Born'.

Of course, Ira worked with a great many other composers, including his neighbor Burton Lane. He wrote the lyrics for "My Ship", with music by Kurt Weill.

Ira was well beloved by most of his contemporaries. His peer, composer Harry Warren, dubbed him the 'president of the Sweet Fellows Society'. Others called Ira 'The Jeweler' because of the brilliance of his three and four syllable rhymes that often were fitted to tunes written ahead of time.

Only three of Ira's lyrics ever became Hollywood Oscar nominations, 1937's "They Can't Take That Away from Me," 1944's "Long Ago and Far Away," and 1954's "The Man That Got Away". None won.

Ira, like his brother, is a member of the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.

   Alberto Ginostera
Currently no information on this Argentine Composer.