"I GOT RHYTHM" (1930)

"All right, you cats been talkin’ ‘bout you got rhythm.
You got this and you got that. I got rhythm!
I’m gonna see what you all got."
---Louis Armstrong,
in his spoken introduction to "I Got Rhythm"

"I Got Rhythm" already was becoming a jazz anthem by the time that Louis Armstrong and his band made their brilliant recording in 1931. Ethel Merman had officially stopped the show when she sang the song in the October 14, 1930 debut of the musical Girl Crazy by George and Ira Gershwin. An all-star orchestra was in the pit that night, led by trumpeter Red Nichols with sidemen that included Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Jimmy Dorsey and Glenn Miller. Girl Crazy made Merman a star and put “I Got Rhythm” on the way to become what is probably the most widely heard Gershwin song and the one most commonly recorded by instrumentalists. The first recording, shortly after the show opened in 1930, was by Red Nichols and His Five Pennies with vocalist Dick Robertson and rose to fifth place on the pop charts. In 1931 a recording by Ethel Waters peaked at seventeen and Louis Armstrong’s version also rose to seventeen in 1932.

Since the 272 performances on Broadway when it first opened in 1930, Girl Crazy has been recycled a few times. It served as the basis for three films, the first of which was a lacklustre RKO effort in 1932. The second release, by MGM in 1943 with Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, was much more successful. MGM probably should have stopped with that release, but went on to a third release in 1965, entitled When the Boys Meet the Girls, which, with the exception of the music, received very poor reviews. In 1992 Girl Crazy appeared on Broadway again as the basis for the hit Crazy for You that ran for 1,622 performances. Several other Gershwin hits were introduced in Girl Crazy, including "Embraceable You" and "But Not for Me," both sung by Ginger Rodgers, the other female lead in the 1930 show. That show also made her a star, but her performance was somewhat overshadowed by Merman’s climatic rendition of "I Got Rhythm."

The popularity of "I Got Rhythm" with jazz musicians lies in its harmonic chord progression. The term "rhythm changes", as understood by jazz musicians, refers to the chord progressions of "I Got Rhythm". Will Friedwald, in his book Stardust Melodies, provides a detailed history and analysis of the song. He describes it as being a "…simple, playful melody and well-constructed chord sequence…designed to encourage improvisation." He goes on to say "…1932 was the year of Sidney Bechet’s variation on "I Got Rhythm," which the great New Orleans reedman titled "Shag," a piece sometimes described as the first instance of what would soon become exceedingly commonplace in jazz: a musician taking the chord sequence to "Rhythm" and putting a new melody of his own on top of it." While Bechet may have been the first to recycle the chords in "I Got Rhythm", since then the "rhythm changes" have been used to create hundreds of published songs. Some notable examples include: "Lester Leaps In," "Cottontail," "Salt Peanuts," "Shaw Nuff," "Hit that Jive, Jack!" "Straighten Up and Fly Right," "Anthropology," and "Giant Steps." It is well-known that bebop artists like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie frequently used variations of the "I Got Rhythm" changes for improvisation. However, it may come as a surprise that Thelonious Monk used a "Rhythm" foundation for a number of his original compositions, including "Bemsha Swing" and "Rhythm-a-ning."

Although instrumentalists primarily focused their improvisations on the harmonic progressions in "I Got Rhythm," vocalists improvised on the melody and lyrics. Notable recordings by jazz singers include Ella Fitzgerald, Mark Murphy and Sarah Vaughn. However, singers from other genres, like pop and Broadway, have delivered the song convincingly. In 1967 The Happenings, a pop music group, recorded a rock version of "I Got Rhythm" that sold over a million copies and peaked at third place on the Billboard charts.

Will Friedwald sums up the impact of "I Got Rhythm" on the jazz world: "It would be impossible to name a melody or set of chord sequence that has withstood more interpretations and variations, while Ira Gershwin’s lyric has become part of our common cultural consciousness. Performers looking for an inspiring piece of material may "ask for anything more," but they’re not very likely to get it."

I Got Rhythm
by George and Ira Gershwin

Verse
Days can be sunny, with never a sigh
Don't need what money can buy
Birds in the trees sing their day full of song
Why shouldn't we sing along?
I'm chipper all the day, happy with my lot
How do I get that way? Look at what I've got
Refrain
I got rhythm, I got music
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more?
I got daisies, in green pastures
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more?
Old man trouble
I don't mind him
You won't find him 'round my door
I got starlight
I got sweet dreams
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more?
Old man trouble
I don't mind him
You won't find him, 'round my door
I got starlight
I got sweet dreams
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more?
I got rhythm, I got music
I got daisies, in green pastures
I got starlight
I got sweet dreams
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more?