The less remembered of the
Gershwin brothers, Ira specialized in lyrics. Ira, with his brother
George, formed one of America's most famous songwriting teams of the 20s and 30s. Notable
Broadway classics written by Ira were
Strike Up The Band and
Of Thee I Sing. Many of their stage hits were adapted for movies. They composed scores for movies including
Shall We Dance and
A Damsel in Distress.
After George's death, Ira continued working with other greats such as Aaron Copland, Jerome Kern, and Kurt Weill.