The Half of it Dearie Blues

Gershwin's:The Half of it Deary Blues: Gershwin is often venerated as a blues influenced composer, largely based on the popularity of his Rhapsody in Blue. It incorporated conventional aspects of the blues canon, the way in which classical,composers often adapt folkloric elements in their own extended works. Johnny Mercer, who knows a lot about American popular songwriting, ,thought that Gershin's " blues" ventures were rather academic and in,his words, were " mechanical" when compared with Harold Arlen's Blues In The Night. So many Arlen ballads that were infused with the spirit and elements that were  decidedly "bluesy" in tone and texture.
In searching the Gershwin songbook. I could only come up with one song that seemed true to the blues tradition. It is aptly named The Half Of It Dearie Blues. Sung by Ella Fitzgerald, it has a wonderful Nelson Riddle arrangement that is truly down and dirty  in the best blues tradition. I'm sure Arlen would agree since Gershwin was his earliest idol  who described Arlen " As the best of us all" in terms of classic American popular song traditions..
Gershwin's Porgy & Bess is his masterpiece does contains many aspects of black music themes in terms of subject matter and lyrical expression. 

https://youtu.be/MsY57dhQefQ