Nice Work If You Can Get It (song)
Encyclopedia
"Nice Work If You Can Get It" is a popular
song.
The music was written by George Gershwin
, the lyrics by Ira Gershwin
. It was one of nine songs George Gershwin wrote for the movie A Damsel in Distress
, in which it was performed by Fred Astaire
with backing vocals provided by The Stafford Sisters
. The song was published in 1937
.
A version of this song was used during the opening credits of the 1995 to 1998 CBS
sitcom Cybill, starring Cybill Shepherd
, who performed the song herself.
The song was included in the Tony Award
-winning Broadway musical Crazy for You
.
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
song.
The music was written by George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, the lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
. It was one of nine songs George Gershwin wrote for the movie A Damsel in Distress
A Damsel in Distress (film)
A Damsel in Distress is a 1937 English-themed Hollywood musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine, George Burns, and Gracie Allen. With a screenplay by P. G...
, in which it was performed by Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
with backing vocals provided by The Stafford Sisters
Jo Stafford
Jo Elizabeth Stafford was an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards and occasional actress whose career ran from the late 1930s to the early 1960s...
. The song was published in 1937
1937 in music
-Events:*January 21 – Paul Sacher conducts the world première of Béla Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta in Basel*June 2 – The incomplete version of Alban Berg's opera Lulu is premièred in Zürich *June 8 – Première of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana in Frankfurt, Germany.*November 30 –...
.
A version of this song was used during the opening credits of the 1995 to 1998 CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
sitcom Cybill, starring Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L...
, who performed the song herself.
The song was included in the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-winning Broadway musical Crazy for You
Crazy for You
Crazy for You is a musical with a book by Ken Ludwig, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. Billed as "The New Gershwin Musical Comedy", it is largely based on the songwriting team’s 1930 musical, Girl Crazy, but interpolates songs from several other productions as well...
.
Notable Recordings
- Fred AstaireFred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
- The Andrews SistersThe Andrews SistersThe Andrews Sisters were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews , soprano Maxene Angelyn Andrews , and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews...
(1938) - Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin SongbookElla Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin SongbookElla Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook is a 1959 five album set by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, focusing on the songs of George and Ira Gershwin. It was recorded with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, marking the first time that Ella and Riddle had worked together...
(1959) - Nice Work If You Can Get It: Ella Fitzgerald and Andre Previn do Gershwin, Pablo Records, 1983
- Doris DayDoris DayDoris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
- Hooray For HollywoodHooray for Hollywood (album)Hooray for Hollywood was the name of a two-album set recorded by Doris Day, released by Columbia Records. The two-album set was released by Columbia under the catalog number AC2L-5, but each individual LP was also released in both monaural and stereophonic versions as indicated below.-Volume...
(1958) - The Hi-Lo'sThe Hi-Lo'sThe Hi-Lo's were an a cappella quartet formed in 1953. The group's name is reportedly a reference to their extreme vocal and physical ranges .-History:The group consisted of Gene Puerling , Bob Strasen , Bob Morse...
- A Musical Thrill (2006) - Billie HolidayBillie HolidayBillie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
(1944) - 3:50 - Thelonious MonkThelonious MonkThelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
- Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
- A Swingin' Affair!A Swingin' Affair!A Swingin' Affair! is the tenth studio album by Frank Sinatra. It is claimed to be the sequel to Songs for Swingin' Lovers."The Lady Is a Tramp" was bumped from the original album and replaced with "No One Ever Tells You", which had been recorded months earlier. Later, "The Lady is a Tramp"...
(1957) - Johnny SmithJohnny SmithJohnny Smith is an American cool jazz and mainstream jazz guitarist.-Early years:...
- Moonlight in VermontMoonlight in Vermont (album)Moonlight in Vermont is a 1952 jazz album by jazz guitarist Johnny Smith, featuring tenor saxophonist Stan Getz. The album, titled for Smith's breakthrough hit song, was the #1 Jazz Album for 1952. The album was popularly and critically well-received and has come to be regarded as an important... - Jeri SouthernJeri SouthernGenevieve Lillian Hering, known by her stage name Jeri Southern, was an American jazz pianist and singer.-Biography:...
- Jeri Southern At the Crescendo (1960) - Maxine SullivanMaxine SullivanMaxine Sullivan , born Marietta Williams, was an American blues and jazz singer.She was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, and married jazz musician John Kirby in 1938 , and stride pianist Cliff Jackson in 1956...
and Her Orchestra (recorded October 22, 1937; released November 20, 1937) - 2:49 - Majestic 12- Red Hot + Rhapsody (1998)