🥂🍾 The Lawrence Welk Show 's Ken Delo performed the champagne music version of George Gershwin ; Irving Caesar "Swanee" 🏞️🌴https://t.co/32Gbe1vniehttps://t.co/VhX7libPrj pic.twitter.com/D29GZzz8di— 🎼AdagioForStrings🎻 (@adagioforstring) May 20, 2019
Al Jolson performed George Gershwin ; Irving Caesar "Swanee" 🏞️🌴in a 1945 biopic of Gershwin 📽️🎞️ 1/2https://t.co/xlWvUWtXhvhttps://t.co/nFsKPF6lVo pic.twitter.com/Jju0XPT8MP— 🎼AdagioForStrings🎻 (@adagioforstring) May 20, 2019
Al Jolson performed George Gershwin ; Irving Caesar "Swanee" 🏞️🌴2/2— 🎼AdagioForStrings🎻 (@adagioforstring) May 20, 2019
In the film, Gershwin 's music teacher chastises him for selling out & only writing pop hits versus composing serious music like Beethoven pic.twitter.com/C4yuBt6ASc
Oscar Levant made a cameo in the 1945 biopic - razzing everyone & - apparently incorrectly - pointing out a Diminished 9th that doesn't exist in "Swanee"https://t.co/8VWuJXm6ur pic.twitter.com/ffLKmFSomE— 🎼AdagioForStrings🎻 (@adagioforstring) May 20, 2019
Charles Coburn portraying Max Dreyfus repeated Oscar Levant 's alleged error in referring to the possible phantom 👻 #Diminished9th #MusicTheoryGate— 🎼AdagioForStrings🎻 (@adagioforstring) May 20, 2019
But was nice enough to publish Gershwin 's song & cajole Jolson into debuting ithttps://t.co/bvhWspW2dc pic.twitter.com/dZDn2Wj7CF
Irving Caesar interviewed for a 1987 American Masters documentary says he and Gershwin wrote "Swanee" in 10 minutes - 10 MINUTES ‼️‼️‼️https://t.co/r7IsCmtB4C pic.twitter.com/HCFCJzrSJn— 🎼AdagioForStrings🎻 (@adagioforstring) May 20, 2019
Narrator: Soon [Irving] Caesar and Gershwin were plotting to write another hit.
Caesar: We were walking down Broadway and heard a song that was a very big hit at the time: "Hindustan", a one step. I said to George, "Why don't we write an American one step? Why must it be a Hindustan, George?" And very quietly we wrote "Swanee" in ten minutes....TEN MINUTES!!!! I started out and picked it up and BOOM! We were off to the races. [singing lyrics] "I've been away from you a long time ...dah dah dah"
Narrator: Al Jolson , one of the most magnetic stars of Broadway introduced "Swanee" at the Winter Garden. When sixty girls with light bulbs in their shoes sang the chorus, the house came down.
Narrator: Within a year, a million copies of sheet music were sold. The lyricist and composer each earned $10,000 in royalties.
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