| "'S Wonderful" | |
|---|---|
 Sheet music, 1927 | |
| Song byAdele Astaire andAllen Kearns | |
| Published | 1927 byNew World Music |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Composer(s) | George Gershwin |
| Lyricist(s) | Ira Gershwin |
"'S Wonderful" is a 1927popular song composed byGeorge Gershwin, with lyrics written byIra Gershwin. It was introduced in theBroadway musicalFunny Face (1927) byAdele Astaire andAllen Kearns.[1]
The song is considered astandard and has been recorded by many artists, especially jazz artists. In 1928,Adele Astaire, who introduced the song on stage the previous year, recorded one of the earliest versions with Bernard Clifton. The most successful recordings in 1928 were however byFrank Crumit and by theIpana Troubadors.[2]
Other vocal versions include those ofBing Crosby (recorded in 1954[3] for use on hisradio show and subsequently included in the box setThe Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954-56) issued byMosaic Records (catalog MD7-245) in 2009[4]),Sun Ra,Brian Wilson,Anita O'Day,Gene Kelly,Ella Fitzgerald (for her albumElla Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book),Michael Feinstein (for his albumPure Gershwin),Joe Williams,John Pizzarelli,Sarah Vaughan,Karrin Allyson,Diana Krall for her albumThe Look of Love and as a duet withTony Bennett on their collaborative albumLove Is Here to Stay,João Gilberto,Shirley Bassey,Harry Connick Jr. andEngelbert Humperdinck.
There have also been many instrumental recordings, for example, byDave Grusin,Ray Conniff,Lee Konitz andLennie Tristano,Sonny Stitt, andLionel Hampton withOscar Peterson. The song also appears on the original Broadway cast recordings ofNice Work If You Can Get It andMy One and Only. It also appears in the 2015 original Broadway cast recording ofAn American in Paris featuringBrandon Uranowitz,Robert Fairchild, andMax von Essen.
The song was included in the 1951 movieAn American in Paris, where it was sung byGene Kelly andGeorges Guétary, as well as in the 1957 American musical filmFunny Face, in which it was performed byAudrey Hepburn andFred Astaire.Doris Day also sang it inStarlift (1951) andDean Martin sang it during the opening credits of the 1964 filmKiss Me, Stupid. In the Season 7Family Ties episode "They Can't Take That Away From Me, Part 1", Alex Keating (Michael J. Fox) and Marty Brodie (Jane Adams) play a piano duet version of the song. Max Gustafson (Walter Matthau) plays the song during a date in a scene fromGrumpier Old Men (1995). A version byJoão Gilberto is featured in the 2010 filmEat Pray Love.
