Porgy and Bess ... be true to your school
Posted on 10/10/2009 6:09:38 PM PDT by curth
Brian Wilson has been given the go-ahead to finish writing incomplete music by George Gershwin.
The Beach Boys mainman will be given full access to the compositions by Gershwin's estate, and will release the music on a forthcoming album of Gershwin covers.
Though the album has no fixed release date, it will come out on Walt Disney imprint Disney Pearl, whom Wilson has recently signed a deal with, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Speaking about the album, Wilson said he has always loved the music of Gershwin, who died in 1937.
"The earliest music I remember hearing is 'Rhapsody In Blue'," he said. "Along with Irving Berlin, Gershwin basically invented the popular song, but he did something more. He had a gift for melody that nobody has ever equalled, yet his music is timeless and always accessible. This is the most spiritual project I've ever worked on."
In a statement, Todd Gershwin of the George Gershwin estate and Michael Owen of the Ira Gershwin [George's older brother who wrote the compositions' lyrics] estate praised Wilson as a songwriter.
"The Gershwin families are delighted that the legendary musician Brian Wilson has chosen to record a collection of George and Ira Gershwin songs for his next project. In every generation, American music has been pushed forward by visionaries, from the Gershwin brothers to Brian Wilson. This latest interpretation will be a new opportunity to discover the magic of Gershwin music."
(Excerpt) Read more at nme.com ...
Hey!....I’m picking up good vibrations about the whole thing!
Hopefully, syncopated fascinating rhythm, good vibrations...in blue.
We should wait until Kanye West has a chance to weigh in on this. He may say that Beyonce is a better choice.
Some things ought never be meddled with. One of the chief offenders of such meddling is Disney: they meddle in everything and have no sense of propriety or shame. So I am not a bit surprised at their involvement in this fiasco.
George Gershwin’s music ought to remain unfinished, and Wilson ought to leave it alone. He is an adequate musician in his own right, but George Gershwin he is not. And can never be.
Disney’s blasphemies have nearly come to completion.
WTF?
lol...why bother? Finishing them is a complete waste of time.
My favorite Gershwin, ‘Walkin’ the Dog’ with Fred & Ginger. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKaLGPzMJzI
Seems I read in another article that the Gershwin estate came to Wilson. Not the other way around.
Obviously they think Wilson can do it.
Disney had nothing to do with it. Wilson had recently signed a deal with them before the Gershwin thing came along.
Hey there FRiend! Long time no see!
Disney’s string of blasphemies won’t be completed until they release the 0bama Holiday Songbook, here are just SOME of the selections:
1.) Glenn Beck Got Run Over By A Reindeer
2.) 0bama Came Upon A Midnight Clear
3.) 0bama Rest You Merry Acorn Men (& Women)
4.) 0bama Claus is Comin’ To Town
5.) The Little Drummer Boy (Ahhh Rama-dan-dan!)
6.) We Wish You A Merry Kwanzaa!
7.) I Saw Mommy Kissing A Picture of 0bama
(under our Holiday Tree of course!)
8.) Deck the Halls (with Stimulus Money!)
9.) Oh Little Town of Wherever-He-Was-Born
10.) Away In Chicago
You may well be right, but none of that comes out in the article. If anything, the Gershwin estate’s statement reads as this being something Brian Wilson has chosen, not the other way around.
As for Disney being implicated, who knows for sure? I have no difficulty believing they are into this up to their necks.
It is a matter of time before Disney decides to do a remake of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, complete with trademarked characters and cross-licensing to McDonalds, who will produce matching Happy Meal plastic figurines. Then the Blasphemy will be complete.
Not surprised. Wilson is a brilliant composer. One listen to "God only knows" will confirm that.
(DieHard chokes on his Earl Grey tea...!)
ROTFL! Gidday mate! I particularly like #5, #2 and #10 — they’re Hell-Funny! We can expect this album to be in the shops for the runup to 2012 elections, around August/September in time for the Obama-mas season. ObamaClaus(R) wants to deliver a major present for the Republic just in time for Festivus...
I agree with you that the music should remain unfinished and that Brian Wilson should leave it alone.
However, in my humble opinion, Brian Wilson is far more than “adequate”. To me, he is a musical genius. I have no doubt that he could pull this off though.
11. My First No-bel
"All I Want For Holiday is my Health Care Passed"
"Michelle Will be Ringing"
"Rush's Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire"
"F the Halls (of Congress)" as sung by Rahm
"Frosty Pelosi"
"Soviet Wonderland"
"The Thirty Days of Ramadan" and that old crowd-pleaser
"I'll be Home (in the White House) for 7 Christmases"
The Gershwin Estate approached Brian . Here is another article:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-brian-wilson8-2009oct08,0,2518188.story
Bad idea. Let Gershwin be Gershwin and Brian be Brian.
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