Sparks from the Fire

Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight we welcome you all to The Ira Awards – the music industry’s evening celebrating its most underappreciated creators – the lyricists.

Ira Gershwin

In the music industry, when the royalty split is determined for songwriters, the industry standard for royalties is that the composer gets 50% and the lyricist gets the other 50%.  Each contributor to the song shares equally.  But when it comes to publicity, notoriety, and public appreciation, that’s where the equality stops.  The composer always gets the lion’s share of the attention.

And so to right this inequality, to re-balance the appreciation for these underappreciated wordsmiths, I’ve decided to create just what this world needs most – another awards show – The Ira Awards, presented by Watchfire Music.  Also I’ve decided to name it after the most underappreciated lyricist of them all – Ira Gershwin.

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Ah, Part 5.  Tomorrow night we do Top 3 Inspirational Polkas from Afghanistan and the next night possibly Top 3 Moon Zither Music.  No actually I think I’ll stop this blast into the past for a while and get on to something else.  It’s been fun, though, going back through a lifetime of music and remembering the changing of courses through the influences of great songs.

Alan Jay Lerner

STANDARDS
1. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes — “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” is a show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for their 1933 operetta Roberta.

They asked me how I knew
My true love was true
Oh, I of course replied
Something here inside cannot be denied

They said someday you’ll find
All who love are blind
Oh, when your heart’s on fire
You must realize
Smoke gets in your eyes

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes was my parents’ “song” – Lyman and Virginia.  It always fascinated me that they could be so in love.  Out of that love I was born.  This song summed up their affections for each other.  Go Lyman.  Go Virginia.

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