Summertime (song)
"
Summertime" is the name of an
aria composed by
George Gershwin for the
1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by
DuBose Heyward and
Ira Gershwin. A popular
jazz-standard, the song is in the
Aeolian mode.
Gershwin began composing the song in December 1933, attempting to create his own
spiritual in the style of the
African American folk music
the period. It is sung multiple times throughout
Porgy and Bess, first by Clara in Act I as a lullaby, then soon after as counterpoint to the
craps game scene, in Act II by Clara in a reprise, and in Act III by Bess singing to Clara's baby.
The common opinion is that "Summertime" vies with the
Beatles' "
Yesterday" as one of the most popular cover songs in popular music, with an estimated 2,500 different versions recorded. But: a small international group of collectors of Summertime under the name "The Summertime Connection" known on August, 2nd 2006 at 14.14 GMT of 13,450 public performances of which 10,446 have been recorded. Of those the group has 5,755 full recordings and about 1,000 samples.
Billie Holiday recorded a version of "Summertime" as did
Frank Sinatra.
Ella Fitzgerald and
Louis Armstrong sang the song in duet.
Charlie Parker played his version along with many other jazz standards with an orchestra section. Both
Miles Davis and
John Coltrane recorded their interpretations. R&B artist
Sam Cooke scored a minor pop hit with his rendition of the song in 1957, when it backed his hit "You Send Me." One of the best known versions is
Janis Joplin's recording of a
blues-rock version with
Big Brother & The Holding Company.
Billy Stewart's version became a Top 10 Pop and R&B hit in 1966 for
Chess Records. Even seemingly unlikely performers such as
the Zombies and
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes have made recordings of it, and
Sublime's song "
Doin' Time" is based on "Summertime".
American Idol winner
Fantasia Barrino performed the song twice on the program in 2004 and subsequently recorded the song for her album
Free Yourself. Canadian Idol contestant
Jenny Gear sang "Summertime" in 2003 on top six night. Also, in season two of Canadian Idol runner-up contestant Theresa Sokyrka performed "Summertime" during the top 32 round and advanced to the top 10 with the highest number of votes that week.
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Charlie Parker*
Johnny Cash (used in a concert)
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Bob Crosby (used as theme song)
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Glenn Miller*
Artie Shaw*
Tommy Dorsey*
Billie Holiday*
Frank Sinatra*
Ella Fitzgerald &
Louis Armstrong (duet)
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Miles Davis*
John Coltrane*
Sam Cooke*
Janis Joplin*
Billy Stewart*
Sublime*
Fantasia Barrino*
Renee Olstead*
SKAMP*
Billy Idol &
Slash*
Theresa Sokyrka*
Al Green*
R.E.M.* Pierpoint, Claudia Roth. "Jazzbo: Why we still listen to Gershwin."
The New Yorker,
January 10 2005.[
1]
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List of more than 4000 cover-versions of "Summertime"*
List of recordings of "Summertime" from AllMusic.com
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All about "Summertime" (fan page) including a complete list of artists who recorded "Summertime"
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Summertime in
MP3 format
*
a list of artists in the collection of the Summertime Connection
