Melody Found in Gershwin’s Piano
by Bruce Lloyd Kates
For many years I was a piano tuner. I had occasion to tune the Steinway grand at the home of Ira Gershwin, where I met his widow, Leonore, who was blind at the time. The Steinway that I worked on was the same piano on which George Gerswhin had composed “Rhapsody in Blue.” Needless to say, I was a little nervous about handling it!
While tuning the piano, I noticed that several keys were not functioning very well. So, I opened up the casing and pulled out the mechanism to see what might be causing this. I found a small pencil, a paper clip, and a piece of paper that was crumpled up into a small ball. I took my tweezers and got them out of there. And, absent-mindedly, I dropped them into the side pocket of my jacket.
She was standing a few feet away, reading a book and keeping a watchful eye on Gabriel. She approached and introduced herself. The three of us spoke for a few minutes and I thanked Gabriel for playing so beautifully and said goodbye before heading back to my hotel.
Many years elapsed, and I was never called back to tune that piano because Leonore Gershwin had passed away and the piano was donated to the Smithsonian Institution. Then, one day, while I was going through the old clothes in my closet, I discovered that piece of paper in the pocket of the jacket. However, I had absolutely no recollection as to where this piece of paper had come from. I opened it up and found that it was a piece of manuscript paper with some notes written on it. I went to my piano and played the notes and found that they formed a melodic pattern that was quite pleasant to my ears.
Being that I write songs, I presumed that this must have been something I had hurriedly jotted down on one of my walks a long time ago and forgotten about. So, I worked on the melody to make it into a 32-bar song, “Some Time to Get to Know You,” and I put lyrics to it as well. I added an introductory verse, made a piano arrangement for the accompaniment, and then I went to a recording studio to record it with me singing and playing the piano. (I'm not much of a singer, but I work cheap!)
Some time afterward, I was reading in the L. A. Times about the plans to tear down the Gershwin home on Roxbury Drive. It was only then that I recalled the incident with the crumpled piece of manuscript paper I had found in Gershwin’s piano! The realization dawned on me that, unwittingly, I may have plagiarized one of Gershwin’s own songs. However, I had no knowledge of any tune by Gershwin that was identical to this. So, it occurred to me that this might have been some tune he had written and then discarded for some reason.
Since then, I have written letters to Warner-Chappell, ASCAP, the Smithsonian Institution, the Gershwin family, as well as to a good number of Gershwin aficionados, but no one has ever cared to answer me.
If you wish to hear this song, you may visit my website: www.brucelloydkates.com, click on Music Samples, and scroll down to Music Sample 18. The song is called “Some Time to Get to Know You.” I copyrighted it back in 2002, but would relinquish the copyright if the Gershwin family wishes to claim it. However, I will keep the copyright for the lyrics. They are most definitely my own!
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