On November 8, 1926, the musical Oh Kay! opened at the Imperial Theater, and during that memorable performance Gertrude Lawrence introduced the audience to a song entitled “Someone to Watch over Me.” Oh Kay! would enjoy great success on Broadway, running for 256 performances before crossing the Atlantic for a London version in 1927. The musical would again court success in a 1960 Off-Broadway revival and again on Broadway in 1990.

It is little wonder the musical was such an enduring hit. With a libretto written by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse and music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin the score included songs such as “The Woman’s Touch,” “Don’t Ask!” “Dear Little Girl,” “Maybe,” “Clap Yo’ Hands!” “Do, Do, Do,” “Bride and Groom,” “Fidgety Feet,” “Heaven on Earth,” “Oh, Kay!” and, of course, “Someone to Watch over Me.” Joining Gertrude Lawrence in the original cast were Oscar Shaw, Victor Moore, Harland Dixon, The Fairbanks Twins, Gerald Oliver Smith, Betty Compton, and Constance Carpenter.

While the musical did have many things going for it, competition was fierce on Broadway. Ira Gershwin was quick to point out that “Oh, Kay!” was one of eleven shows opening that night and one of over 240 shows opening that year.

The working title for the production was Mayfair and then Cheerio, before it became “Oh, Kay!” It is widely believed that “Kay” refers to George’s romantic and musical colleague, Kay Swift (1897-1993), an accomplished pianist and composer and the first woman to write a complete Broadway musical, Fine and Dandy (1930).

Publicist and lyricist Howard Dietz is credited with helping write the lyrics to the songs “Oh, Kay!” and “Heaven on Earth” during Ira’s six-week hospitalization for an appendectomy. In his autobiography, Dancing in the Dark, Dietz comments that George gave him credit for an undistinguished song, “Oh, Kay!” written by Ira and no credit for “Someone to Watch over Me,” for which Dietz claims credit for naming the tune and assisting with the lyrics. Dietz said, “George paid me next to nothing. It was decided I was to get one cent for every copy of sheet music sold. When Ira sent me my first paycheck it was for 96 cents.”

“Someone to Watch over Me” was a hit three times over in 1927. In February, Gertrude Lawrence’s recording with Tom Waring at the piano was on the charts for 11 weeks, peaking at number two. In March, George Olsen and His Orchestra, with vocalists Fran Frey, Bob Borger, and Bob Rice, took an upbeat version to number three. Also in March George Gershwin’s own version rose to number seventeen.

“Someone to Watch over Me” was originally written as an up-tempo rhythm song. While experimenting one day, George played it at a slower pace, and the brothers immediately recognized it as the wistful, warm song that we know today. The song became a highlight of “Oh Kay!” as a forlorn Gertrude Lawrence, alone on stage and dressed in a maid’s uniform, sang “Someone to Watch over Me” to a rag doll. Broadway critic Percy Hammond wrote that Lawrence’s performance had “wrung the withers of even the most hard-hearted of those present.”