"Nice Work if You Can Get It" - Sting, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Fred Astaire, and a duet with Claude Bolling and Stephan Grapelli

Auditions for the summer musical are in a month and a half so it's time to pick out a piece.  I looked through some Broadway books, and Nice Work if You Can Get It is the song that stuck out this year.  The version I know best is Sting's from the album, The Glory of Gershwin:

Various pop stars sing Gershwin songs on this album.  My favorite performances, besides Sting's are Carly Simon's I've Got a Crush On You, Cher's jazzy It Ain't Necessarily So, Jon Bon Jovi's bluesy How Long Has This Been Going On, and one more, which gets a post of its own tomorrow.

Nice Work if You Can Get It was introduced by Fred Astaire in the 1930's musical Damsel in Distress, and it was also used in the 1992, Tony-winning musical Crazy for You.  Last night, I wandered around YouTube listening to different versions.  My favorites are Ella Fitzgerald's, Billie Holiday's, Sarah Vaughan's, Fred Astaire's, and this instrumental version by Claude Bolling and Stephane Grappelli: