‘I Got Rhythm,’ Sarah Vaughan

by JAY LUSTIG

Sarah Vaughan’s 1963 album “Sweet ‘n’ Sassy” included her powerhouse rendition of “I Got Rhythm.”

Sarah Vaughan was born in Newark on March 27, 1924, and to commemorate the 91st anniversary of her birth, today’s pick for 350 Jersey Songs is her powerhouse rendition of George and Ira Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm,” from her 1963 album, “Sweet ‘n’ Sassy” (which was mostly more mellow than this hard-driving tune would suggest).

One of Vaughan’s nicknames, of course, was Sassy. She died in 1990, at the age of 66.

Vaughan was, earlier, represented in the 350 Jersey Songs series by a live version of the Harold Arlen- and Ted Koehler-written standard “I’ve Got the World on a String,” from a 1981 concert in the Netherlands.

New Jersey celebrated its 350th birthday in 2014. And in the 350 Jersey Songs series, we marked the occasion by posting 350 songs — one a day, from September 2014 to September 2015 — that have something to do with the state, its musical history, or both. To see the entire list, click here.

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