Our Love Is Here to Stay

By Tom Quiner

The last song George Gershwin wrote before his untimely death was “Our Love is Here to Stay.” The title was later shortened to “Love is Here to Stay.”

His brother Ira added the fitting lyric after George died. The song first appeared in the “Goldwyn Follies,” but didn’t really gain fame until Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron sang it in “An American in Paris” in 1951.

This is my all-time favorite song by my all-time favorite composer and lyricist. It’s worth savoring the song performed by world-famous artists who each lend it their own unique interpretation.

Let’s begin with the great American cabaret singer, Bobby Short:

The only thing that would have made it better is if Short himself was on the piano. That is when he’s really in his element.

Here is an awesome rendition with the iconic Ella Fitzgerald singing to a Nelson Riddle arrangement:

Here’s the version that really put the song on the map: Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron singing and dancing. What a delightful moment in movie history:

For a more contemporary take on this classic, here is Harry Connick Junior’s jazzy version, cleverly interlaced with a scene from a Gene Kelly/Mitzi Gaynor movie (“Why Am I So Gone About That Gal”).

A classic song like this begs to be interpreted by the greats.