![]() Most vocal covers of “Autumn” have shied away from the verse, opting to stick principally with the chorus. To start, Duke’s original iteration consisted of an unconventional first verse that’s consistently proven unwieldy for vocalists. As he writes in his autobiography, Passport to Paris, it didn’t contain what his publisher saw as “popular appeal.” He put music to it, but he never expected the tune to go anywhere. The song wasn’t even a song at first it was conceived as a poem, seemingly written on a lark and borne out of homesickness for Manhattan, while Duke was summering in Westport, Conn. “April in Paris,” “I Can’t Get Started,” and “Taking a Chance on Love,” are but a few.īut the fact that he continued to write poetry and classical music-for orchestra, chamber ensembles, etc.-as Vladimir Dukelsky (until legally adopting his pen name in 1955) turns out to be of particular consequence in telling the story of one of Vernon Duke’s most enduring standards: “Autumn in New York.” It’s as Duke that he’d partner with the best lyricists of the day-Ira Gershwin, Yip Harburg, Howard Dietz, Ogden Nash, Sammy Cahn, Johnny Mercer-to write songs that have achieved immortality as standards. And so, from Vladimir Dukelsky we get Vernon Duke.Ĭompared to his pal Gershwin who was able to cross over and make iconic contributions to the classical canon, Dukelsky’s contributions to his native form pale. Gershwin had more practical advice, for he, too, was the son of Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants trying to make a living writing music in 1920s America: Change your name to something American-sounding and write popular music. Gershwin’s young charge, still a little green yet, harbored dreams of becoming a classical composer after all, he’d studied under the great Reinhold Glière in Kiev. Dukelsky, five years Gershwin’s junior, had been classically trained at the Kiev Conservatory, where the classical pianist and composer Vladimir Horowitz was a classmate. in 1921, a new friend and would-be mentor convinced Dukelsky to change his surname to Duke. Perhaps that’s why, shortly after he arrived in the U.S. The 1954 edition of Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians claims, in its entry for Dukelsky, that his grandmother was a descendent of Georgian royals (if you’re thinking peaches and Hank Aaron, you’ve got the wrong Georgia). But you’d earn extra credit for knowing that before George Gershwin was George Gershwin, he was born in a Brooklyn tenement to Lithuanian and Ukrainian Jews and named for his paternal grandfather-you guessed it-Jacob Gershowitz. Here’s a clue: ever heard “I Got Rhythm”? That’s George Gershwin, you say? Well, you’d be correct. No, he’s not your periodontist at least that’s not the Jacob Gershowitz I’m referring to. Her accolades included fourteen Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.Let’s play a little game: How much do you really know about your favorite Tin Pan Alley composers?įirst, a relatively easy one: Jacob Gershowitz. Three years later, she died at the age of 79 after years of declining health. In 1993, she ended her nearly 60-year career with her last public performance. ![]() After taking over the band when Webb died, Fitzgerald left it behind in 1942 to start her solo career. Fitzgerald's rendition of the nursery rhyme "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" helped boost both her and Webb to national fame. After a tumultuous adolescence, Fitzgerald found stability in musical success with the Chick Webb Orchestra, performing across the country but most often associated with the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. Ella Jane Fitzgerald (Ap— June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer sometimes referred to as the First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz, and Lady Ella.
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