Ira Gershwin

Ira Gershwin was the elder brother of George and, from 1924, his regular lyricist, across a long run of Broadway shows that ended with Porgy and Bess. He began under the pen name Arthur Francis, borrowed from two younger siblings, to avoid trading on his brother's. The words to "I Got Rhythm" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me" are his, in a plain American speech concealing great technique. Of Thee I Sing made him the first lyricist awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; after George's death in 1937 he wrote with Kern, Weill and Arlen.