Retrospective presents arguably the 51 finest from the greatest songwriter of them all, George Gershwin, performed by a fabulous list of stars.

In his meagre time span of 38 years, George Gershwin (1898-1937) poured out a phenomenal number of melodies that have become evergreen favourites, usually to the witty lyrics of his brother Ira. No fewer than 51 are included here in a generously filled two CD set.

Beginning with his first smash hit Swanee, the sequence follows Gershwin’s career with the principal songs from show successes such as Lady, Be Good (1924), Tip-Toes (1925), Strike Up The Band (1927), Funny Face (1927) and the recently revived Girl Crazy (1930).

There are the five biggest numbers from his unique 1935 opera Porgy and Bess, then, from his final years in Hollywood, come standards from the 1937 films Shall We Dance? and A Damsel In Distress, and the posthumous Goldwyn Follies of 1938 which contained his last two masterpieces, Our Love Is Here To Stay and Love Walked In.

And what a roster of stars have been gathered to pay tribute! Gershwin’s preferred interpreter Fred Astaire is rightly well represented with 14 songs, three of them with George himself at the keyboard. But also strongly featured are such supreme performers as Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Al Jolson, Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee and Paul Robeson.

Contents:
CD 1
1. Swanee - Al Jolson
2. Do It Again! - Mary Martin
3. I’ll Build A Stairway To Paradise - Georges Guétary
4. Somebody Loves Me - Dinah Shore
5. Oh, Lady Be Good! - Cliff Edwards
6. Fascinating Rhythm - Fred & Adele Astaire
7. Hang On To Me - Fred & Adele Astaire
8. The Half Of It, Dearie, Blues - Fred Astaire
9. I’d Rather Charleston - Fred & Adele Astaire
10. Looking For A Boy - Ella Fitzgerald
11. That Certain Feeling - Layton & Johnstone
12. Sweet And Lowdown - Lee Wiley
13. Clap Yo’ Hands - Whispering Jack Smith
14. Do, Do, Do - Gertrude Lawrence
15. Maybe - Ella Fitzgerald
16. Someone To Watch Over Me - Frank Sinatra
17. Strike Up The Band! - Red Nichols
18. The Man I Love - Sarah Vaughan
19. I’ve Got A Crush On You - Frank Sinatra
20. Soon - Ella Fitzgerald
21. Funny Face - Whispering Jack Smith
22. ’S Wonderful - Whispering Jack Smith
23. My One And Only, What Am I Gonna Do? - Fred Astaire
24. How Long Has This Been Going On? - Peggy Lee
25. Liza, All The Clouds’ll Roll Away - Al Jolson
26. “Of Thee I Sing” – Dance Medley: Of Thee I Sing – Who Cares? – Love Is Sweeping The Country - Abe Lyman

CD 2
1. Bidin’ My Time - The Foursome
2. Embraceable You - Nat King Cole
3. I Got Rhythm - Judy Garland
4. But Not For Me - Ella Fitzgerald
5. My Cousin In Milwaukee - Hildegarde
6. Summertime - Sarah Vaughan
7. I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’ - Lawrence Tibbett
8. Bess, You Is My Woman Now - Lawrence Tibbett & Helen Jepson
9. It Ain’t Necessarily So - Paul Robeson
10. I Loves You, Porgy - Todd Duncan & Ann Brown
11. By Strauss - George Byron
12. Shall We Dance? - Fred Astaire
13. They Can’t Take That Away From Me - Fred Astaire
14. They All Laughed - Fred Astaire
15. I’ve Got Beginner’s Luck - Fred Astaire
16. Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off - Fred Astaire
17. Slap That Bass - Fred Astaire
18. A Foggy Day - Fred Astaire
19. Things Are Looking Up - Fred Astaire
20. Nice Work If You Can Get It - Fred Astaire
21. Our Love Is Here To Stay - Larry Clinton
22. I Was Doing All Right - Larry Clinton
23. Love Walked In - Kenny Baker
24. Aren’t You Kind Of Glad We Did?
25. For You, For Me, For Evermore - Dick Haymes & Judy Garland