“The appeal to jazz musicians is not the lyrics … so much as the repeated-note melody of the bridge combined with the riff-like melody in the A section.” - C. Andre Barbera

Rank 98 Music George Gershwin Lyrics Ira Gershwin   The musical comedy Funny Face opened to rave reviews on November 22, 1927. That night Adele Astaire and Allen Kearns would introduce “’S Wonderful!” a song that would immediately bewitch the Alvin Theater audience.     More on Adele Astaire       More on Allen Kearns   Funny Face starred comedian Victor Moore and the brother and sister team of Fred and Adele Astaire. Originally titled Smarty, the musical was overhauled after a disappointing opening at Philadelphia’s Shubert Theatre. The new title was Fred Astaire’s affectionate nickname for his sister. With music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin and a book written by Fred Thompson and Paul Gerard Smith, the revamped musical would go on to enjoy a successful run of 244 performances. Included in the original score along with “S’Wonderful!” were hits such as “Funny Face,” “Let’s Kiss and Make Up,” “He Loves and She Loves,” and “My One and Only (What Am I Gonna Do?)”     More on George Gershwin       More on Ira Gershwin   Immensely popular from the outset, “’S Wonderful!” hit the pop charts twice in 1928. Its first appearance of the year was courtesy of Frank Crumit who took it to fifth place that January. The song struck success again in March when an Ipana Troubadors recording reached twelfth place.   Chart information used by permission from Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954   The Astaire siblings, on the other hand, were not to share in the same good fortune enjoyed by “S’Wonderful.” While vacationing in the summer of 1928 Fred was a passenger in a serious automobile accident, and Adele was badly burned in a boating accident, requiring weeks to recuperate in hospital. Despite the setbacks they were both in London that fall for another 263 performances of Funny Face. The 1957 Paramount film Funny Face is generally well-reviewed and was based on an unproduced play named Wedding Day and also starred Fred Astaire, this time with Audrey Hepburn. The songs were mostly Gershwin, four of which were in the original show.

More information on this tune... Philip Furia The Poets of Tin Pan Alley: A History of America's Great Lyricists Oxford University Press; Reprint edition Paperback: 336 pages (Furia analyzes the lyric.) Alec Wilder American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950 Oxford University Press; Reprint edition Hardcover: 576 pages (Wilder analyzes the music.) - Jeremy Wilson

This section suggests definitive or otherwise significant recordings that will help jazz students get acquainted with “'S Wonderful!.” These recordings have been selected from the Jazz History and CD Recommendations sections.

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Fred Astaire was the vocalist most closely associated with “’S Wonderful,” (Fred Astaire's Finest Hour) and his 1952 recording with Oscar Peterson gives us the dual pleasure of a charming, faithful rendition of the tune, while putting it in the context of an exceptional jazz performance. As for instrumental versions, the Stan Getz recording of 1950 (B000005HAL ) with the young Horace Silver on piano is an all-time classic .

Noah Baerman - Jazz Pianist and Educator

Arguably, the lyrics are what make “S’Wonderful!” so wonderful. The slurred transformation of words such as “It’s Wonderful”(“S’Wonderful”) and “It’s Marvelous” (“S’Marvelous”), coupled with clipped syllables from words in the verse (“fashion” becomes “fash”, “emotion” becomes “emoshe”), creates a whimsical wordplay within a sophisticated song. In such context the lyrical device is clever, not just cute, making it memorable to the listener.

Interestingly, the song appeals to jazz musicians despite its lack of musical complexity. As with many standards, it is the listener’s knowledge of the lyrics that makes “S’Wonderful!” a recognizable and enjoyable target for jazz arrangements. The simplicity of the song offers musicians a good vehicle to showcase their improvisational skills. In Wayne Schneider’s The Gershwin Style: New Looks at the Music of George Gershwin, contributor C. Andre Barbera says,

“S Wonderful!” is George Gershwin’s most skeletal song. The appeal to jazz musicians is not the lyrics … so much as the repeated-note melody of the bridge combined with the riff-like melody in the A section.

The appeal of this simplicity is twofold: it allows the musician more freedom to improvise, and it takes the emphasis off the melody, accentuating the rhythmic and harmonic progressions. -JW

Musical analysis of “’S Wonderful!”
Original Key	Eb major with false key change to G major in the bridge
Form	A1 – A2 – B – A3
Tonality	Major throughout; almost completely pentatonic; range of only an octave
Movement	“A” is based on a downward minor third repeated twice, followed by a downward interval or step up. “B” is all step-wise over a three-note range.
Comments     (assumed background)
There is some speculation that this very simple melody was inspired, influenced by, or based on canonical chants that Gershwin heard as a boy in the synagogue or possibly in a Yiddish theatre production. Certainly the downward minor third could be the “mother of all intervals,”  existing in virtually all folk music traditions, work chants, field hollers and sacred chants. It’s even one that children seem to know innately (“nah-nah-nah”). In addition, the pentatonic scale is the most ancient of all recorded musical scales. Underneath its “skeletal” simplicity, there is something almost mystical about this tune. Wedded to the sophisticated harmonic progression (I – bii˚7 – ii7 – V7 – I) and Ira’s petulant and witty lyric (itself based on Yiddish dialect), this is a powerful piece of music.
K. J. McElrath - Musicologist for JazzStandards.com

George Gershwin’s catchy tune was around for eleven years before Benny Goodman recorded it with his quartet in 1938. The next year, vocalist Lee Wiley, along with some of Eddie Condon’s gang, did a slow version for a Gershwin tribute album.

In one of the many sessions of standards that Coleman Hawkins recorded in 1944, his version of “’S Wonderful” is performed by a swinging group including hot trumpeter and frequent colleague Roy Eldridge and pianist Teddy Wilson (also on Goodman’s version). (There are two takes from this session on different CDs listed below.) The following year Artie Shaw’s big band recorded an excellent arrangement of the tune, featuring the leader on clarinet. It wasn’t until 1950 with Stan Getz’s rendition that this tune began to be recorded again with frequency.

Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian

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Lee Wiley Lee Wiley Sings the Songs of George and Ira Gershwin and Cole Porter Audiophile 1 Coleman Hawkins 1943-1944 Classics 807 Coleman Hawkins Coleman Hawkins 1943-1944, Vol. 2: The Alternates Neatwork 2011

“'S Wonderful!” was included in these films:

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• Rhapsody in Blue (1945, )
• An American in Paris (1951, Gene Kelly)
• Funny Face (1957, Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn)

And on Broadway:

• My One and Only (1983, at the St. James Theater, 767 performances)

This section shows the jazz standards written by the same writing team.

George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin
Year	Rank	Title
1924	18	“The Man I Love”
1924	22	“Oh, Lady Be Good!”
1930	24	“Embraceable You”
1930	54	“But Not for Me”
1938	57	“Love Is Here to Stay”
1930	73	“I Got Rhythm”
1926	77	“Someone to Watch Over Me”
1937	86	“They Can't Take That Away from Me”
1937	88	“A Foggy Day”
1927	98	“'S Wonderful!”
1937	158	“Nice Work If You Can Get It”
1937	201	“Love Walked In”
1927	213	“How Long Has This Been Going On?”
1929	320	“Strike Up the Band”
1924	329	“Fascinating Rhythm”
1929	381	“Soon”
1931	419	“Who Cares? (So Long As You Care for Me)”
1935	420	“It Ain't Necessarily So”
1930	487	“I've Got a Crush on You”
1936	766	“Let's Call the Whole Thing Off”
1936	927	“They All Laughed”
1926	983	“Maybe”

George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward
Year	Rank	Title
1935	270	“I Loves You Porgy”
1935	539	“Bess, You Is My Woman Now”

George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn
Year	Rank	Title
1929	189	“Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)”

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