'The Half of It, Dearie' Blues
1924 song by Fred Astaire and Kathlene Martyn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"'The Half of it, Dearie' Blues" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced by Fred Astaire and Kathlene Martyn in the 1924 musical Lady be Good.[2]
| "'The Half of It, Dearie' Blues" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Song by Fred Astaire and Kathlene Martyn | |
| Published | December 1, 1924 Harms, Inc.[1] |
| Released | 1924 |
| Composer | George Gershwin |
| Lyricist | Ira Gershwin |
In his 1959 book Lyrics on Several Occasions, Ira Gershwin noted: "Some sort of grievance is featured in the musical-comedy adaptation of The Blues as evidence here in 'The Half of It, Dearie Blues' and in the [Jerome] Kern-[Anne] Caldwell 'Left All Alone Again Blues'[a]âbut of course in such as these the lyric approach isn't attempting to plumb the melancholy depths of the real Blues."[3]
Recordings
- Fred Astaire with George Gershwin at the piano - Fred Astaire - Complete London Sessions. In this first ever recording of the number, on April 19, 1926, Astaire includes a short tap-dancing section and asks Gershwin: "How's that, George," to which Gershwin replies: "That's fine, Freddy, keep going."
- Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959)
Notes
- Left All Alone Again Blues is from the 1920 musical The Night Boat.
