Brooklyn’s Gershwin brothers, George and Ira, were among the leading Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1920s and 30s, with countless popular songs and more than a dozen Broadway musicals to their name. But George (1898-1937), who wrote all of the music to Ira’s lyrics, longed for a place in the classical music pantheon. In 1924, his Rhapsody in Blue for piano and band (later orchestra) established his credentials as a serious composer. Its use of jazz elements within classical structures became a hallmark of Gershwin’s style. His Piano Concerto in F and An American in Paris continued in this direction, culminating in his 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. Despite his ultimate success in the classical arena, Gershwin’s requests for lessons with other major composers were repeatedly denied. Arnold Schoenberg, for example, told him “I would only make you a bad Schoenberg, and you’re such a good Gershwin already.”
Strike Up the Band began life as a satirical musical in 1927. Its plot centered around a war with Switzerland over cheese. A critical success but commercial failure, it was heavily revised in a 1930 version in which the cheese was replaced with chocolate and relegated to a dream sequence. These changes were enough to make it a moderate success, running 191 performances on Broadway. The 1927 version has since become the standard production, with some of Gershwin’s 1930 songs added. Perhaps the most famous song to emerge from the musical is the titular Strike Up the Band, which has become a standard concert march in its own right. It has thus been arranged in several different forms, most notably for concert band by Warren Barker. The Barker arrangement pays homage to several famous marches:
Here is an orchestral arrangement played by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops:
The original song inspired plenty of satirical feelings of pride and patriotism, here in an extra swung version by Ella Fitzgerald:
Finally, some archival footage from the rehearsals for the 1930 production, including Gershwin himself playing Strike Up the Band:
Bonus: in 1940, Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney starred in a movie called Strike Up the Band that used the title song but had nothing else to do with Gershwin’s musical. Here is but one delightful scene with a fruit orchestra:
Read more about the composer:
Gershwin.com – the official Gershwin family website.
Another Gershwin bio, with portraits, at naxos.com.
And the piece: