The Bowery Boys podcast is proud to be sponsored by founded by NYC,

celebrating New York City's 400th anniversary in 2025 and the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026.

Read all about the exciting events and world-class institutions commemorating the five borough's legacy of groundbreaking achievements, and find ways to celebrate the citywin's Rhapsody in Blue from 1924.

What do you think of when you hear that clarinet wailing up to the sky? A night of American

classics in a concert hall, perhaps? Or maybe one of your favorite film scenes, like the opening

of Manhattan? Or perhaps you just think about a pre-flight safety announcement on a certain

airline.

Welcome. We're excited to have you aboard, and we appreciate your attention as we demonstrate the safety features of this aircraft.

FAA regulation requires you to follow the instructions of our crew members.

Or maybe, if you're like me, the music simply makes you think about New York City.

And the melodies that follow, they seem somehow like they belong to the city.

When you hear it, it's hard not to think about the hustle and the bustle of the sidewalks,

roar of the traffic, the elegance of the skyline, the optimism of what the

city can offer. But this music hasn't always belonged to the city, of course. In fact, Rhapsody

and Blue almost wasn't composed at all. On January 3rd, 1924, as the 25-year-old George Gershwin shot Poole with his friend,

the lyricist Bud de Silva, in a billiard hall on West 52nd Street in Manhattan,

he had no idea that he'd be performing that very piece before a packed audience just six weeks later.

Now, George was already a rising star on Broadway, with several hit songs from popular musical reviews behind him.

Not bad for a kid who grew up on the Lower East Side, who had made $15 a week banging out songs on Tin Pan Alley,

and who had made friends with some of the best ragtime and jazz players up in Harlem.

But a major concert piece for a full orchestra in an educational concert about the future

of American music, this was news to him,

...