George Shearing: Lullaby of Birdland

In 1952, inspiration struck George Shearing just as he was biting into his char-broiled steak. "What's wrong?" asked his wife, afraid he didn't like her cooking. George dashed to the piano and, within 10 minutes, finished a theme song for midtown Manhattan's "Jazz Corner of the World." The royalties kept him in gravy for decades. His tasty tune was char-broiled >400 times by jazz artists, with countless warm-overs by non-jazz chefs from Pérez Prado and Bill Haley to The 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic and The Muppets. Early birds may get the worm, but latecomers can still enjoy steak.