[ Ref. 230926 MMDigest, Seek "Rhapsody in Blue" Roll ... ]

"Rhapsody in Blue" is Duo-Art roll no. 40073 and is available
from Keystone Music Roll Company and can be reached at
http://www.player-care.com/cb/keystone.html 

I used to know George's brother, Ira Gershwin, when he lived
in Manhattan. He told me that George was struggling as he still
couldn't read music but had two concerts booked ahead, one in
Boston and the next one in Manhattan.

He was asked what he would play in Manhattan as the people wanted
to publicize it, but he told them that it was a secret. He actually
didn't know.

But then on the way to Boston he was in a light blue colored train
car and he began to listen to the sound of the wheels on the tracks
as the train left the stations, speeded up, slowed down, etc., and
the music came to him.

He held his concert in Boston and then on the way home he, again,
listened to the sounds of the train wheels on the tracks. This
became "Rhapsody in Blue" that he played in Manhattan! It was a hit
and his best concert to date.

Soon after that he traveled to Europe where he studied music and
learned how to write his own compositions. Then his career really
took off.

Vincent W. Morgan
New York City