History
The song is featured in the 1951 musical film An American in Paris. Gene Kelly sang the song and tap-danced, while French-speaking children whom he had just taught a few words of English shouted the words "I got" each time they appeared in the lyrics.
It is also featured in the film Mr. Holland's Opus, during a scene in which students are trying out for a Gershwin revue.
A complete list of notable singers who have recorded this song would take up several pages. The most popular versions are those of The Happenings (#3 on the US charts in 1967), Judy Garland, Ethel Merman, and more recently, Jodi Benson.
It is a very popular jazz standard. Many songs use its chord progression, such as Ornette Coleman's "Chippie". Charlie Parker alone based many songs on its chord progression, e.g. "Moose the Mooche". Gary Larson referenced the song in the Far Side.
In 1939, I Got Rhythm was arranged and orchestrated by Bruce Chase for a premiere performance by the Kansas Philharmonic, now the Kansas City Symphony.
The piece I Got Rhythm was originally penned in the key of D flat major.
A version of the song set to a disco beat was recorded by Ethel Merman for her Ethel Merman Disco Album in 1979.
Another version of the song was arranged for solo guitar by Ton Van Bergeyk. It appears on the album Black and Tan Fantasy. Mike Oldfield and Wendy Roberts performed a version on Oldfield's Platinum album.
Read more about this topic: I Got Rhythm
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“It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.”
—Henry James (1843–1916)
“Racism is an ism to which everyone in the world today is exposed; for or against, we must take sides. And the history of the future will differ according to the decision which we make.”
—Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)
“It may be well to remember that the highest level of moral aspiration recorded in history was reached by a few ancient Jews—Micah, Isaiah, and the rest—who took no count whatever of what might not happen to them after death. It is not obvious to me why the same point should not by and by be reached by the Gentiles.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)