" 'S Wonderful" is a popular song written in 1927 by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song was first performed in the Broadway musical Funny Face in 1927 by Adele Astaire and Allen Kearns.
The song is a well-known standard and has been recorded by many musicians, especially those who play jazz. In 1928, Adele Astaire, who first performed the song on stage the previous year, recorded one of the earliest versions of the song with Bernard Clifton. However, the most successful recordings of the song in 1928 were by Frank Crumit and the Ipana Troubadors.
Other recordings
Other vocal versions of the song include recordings by Bing Crosby, who recorded it in 1954 for his radio show. This version was later added to a box set called The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954-56), released by Mosaic Records in 2009 (catalog MD7-245). Other artists who performed the song include Sun Ra, Brian Wilson, Anita O'Day, Gene Kelly, Ella Fitzgerald (on her album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book), Michael Feinstein (on his album Pure Gershwin), Joe Williams, John Pizzarelli, Sarah Vaughan, Karrin Allyson, Diana Krall (on her album The Look of Love), and as a duet with Tony Bennett on their album Love Is Here to Stay. Additional performers are João Gilberto, Shirley Bassey, Harry Connick Jr., and Engelbert Humperdinck. Ray Conniff also recorded an instrumental version of the song, which became his first minor hit, reaching No. 73 on the Hot 100.
Instrumental recordings of the song have been made by artists such as Dave Grusin, Ray Conniff, Lee Konitz, Lennie Tristano, Sonny Stitt, and Lionel Hampton with Oscar Peterson. The song also appears on the original Broadway cast recordings of Nice Work If You Can Get It and My One and Only, as well as the 2015 original Broadway cast recording of An American in Paris, which features actors Brandon Uranowitz, Robert Fairchild, and Max von Essen.
Film and television appearances
The song was part of the 1951 movie An American in Paris, where Gene Kelly and Georges Guétary sang it. It also appeared in the 1957 film Funny Face, performed by Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire. Doris Day sang the song in Starlift (1951), and Dean Martin performed it during the opening credits of the 1964 movie Kiss Me, Stupid. In the Family Ties Season 7 episode "They Can't Take That Away From Me, Part 1," Alex Keaton (Michael J. Fox) and Marty Brodie (Jane Adams) played a piano duet version of the song. Max Gustafson (Walter Matthau) played the song during a date scene in Grumpier Old Men (1995). A version by João Gilberto was included in the 2010 film Eat Pray Love.