'S Wonderful
| "'S Wonderful" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Adele Astaire and Allen Kearns (1927) | |
| Published | 1927 |
| Form | Jazz standard |
| Composer | George Gershwin |
| Lyricist | Ira Gershwin |
| Language | English |
| Recorded by | Bing Crosby, Julie London, Helen Merrill, Ella Fitzgerald, Susannah McCorkle, Rita Reys, Skylab, Rod Stewart, Brian Wilson |
"'S Wonderful" is a popular song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics written by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced in the Broadway musical Funny Face (1927) by Adele Astaire and Allen Kearns.[1]
The song is considered a standard and has been recorded by many artists, especially jazz artists. In 1928, Adele Astaire, who introduced the song on stage the previous year, recorded one of the earliest versions with Bernard Clifton. Other vocal versions include those of Brian Wilson, Anita O'Day, Gene Kelly, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Joe Williams, John Pizzarelli, Sarah Vaughan, Karrin Allyson, Diana Krall, João Gilberto and Engelbert Humperdinck. There have also been purely instrumental recordings, for example, by Dave Grusin, Ray Conniff, Lee Konitz and Lennie Tristano, Sonny Stitt, and Lionel Hampton with Oscar Peterson.
The song was included in the 1951 movie An American in Paris, where it was sung by Gene Kelly and Georges Guétary, as well as in the 1957 American musical film Funny Face, in which it was performed by Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire. Doris Day also sang it in Starlift (1951) and Dean Martin sang it during the opening credits of the 1964 film Kiss Me, Stupid.
Megan Washington's version was also used for an Australian TV advertisement for promoting Virgin Australia in 2012.
Notable recordings
- Adele Astaire and Bernard Clifton (1928)
- Whispering Jack Smith (1928)
- Jack Teagarden (1936)
- Benny Goodman Trio - (78 RPM Single) Victor 26090-A (1938)
- Artie Shaw and His Orchestra - (78 RPM Single) Victor 20-1638-B (1944)
- Fred Astaire - The Astaire Story (1952)
- Bing Crosby – The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954–56)
- Helen Merrill – Helen Merrill, featuring Clifford Brown (1954)
- Sarah Vaughan - The Divine Sarah Sings (1954)
- Julie London – Julie Is Her Name (1955)
- Count Basie & Joe Williams - The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards (1956)
- Anita O'Day - Anita Sings the Most (1957)
- Shirley Bassey - The Fabulous Shirley Bassey (1959)
- Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959)
- Zoot Sims - Zoot Sims and the Gershwin Brothers (1975)
- João Gilberto – Amoroso (1977)
- Skylab – Red Hot + Rhapsody (1998)
- Susannah McCorkle – Someone to Watch Over Me—Songs of George Gershwin (1998), Most Requested Songs (2001)
- June Christy - A Friendly Session, Vol. 1 (2000) with the Johnny Guarnieri Quintet
- Chris Connor - Warm Cool: The Atlantic Years (2000)
- Diana Krall - The Look of Love (2001).
- Rosa Passos - Amorosa (2004)
- Rod Stewart – Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III (2004)
- Royce Campbell - Get Happy (2007)
- Rita Reys – Live at Carré (2007)
- Caroll Vanwelden – Cheek to Cheek (2009)
- Brian Wilson – Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin (2010)
- Mark Eitzel - soundtrack of "Vidal Sassoon - The Movie" (2011)
- Kat Edmonson – Way Down Low (2013)
- Dee Bell - Silva.Bell.Elation (2014)