It was introduced in 1929 by Ruby Keeler (as Dixie Dugan) in Florenz Ziegfeld's musical Show Girl.
[1] The stage performances were accompanied by the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
[2] On the show's opening night in Boston on June 25, 1929, Keeler's husband and popular singer Al Jolson suddenly stood up from his seat in the third row and sang a chorus of the song, much to the surprise of the audience and Gershwin himself.
Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappeli's licensed version appears as a song in Bioshock (2007).
Featured in-game, the song has been slowed down[29] whilst the original recording is played at slightly faster speed.