summertime

"Summertime" is the name of an aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward. The song soon became a popular jazz standard.

Gershwin is said to have based this song on a Ukrainian lullaby, Oi Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon (A Dream Passes By The Windows), which he heard in a New York City performance by Oleksander Koshetz’s Ukrainian National Chorus.

Gershwin began composing the song in December 1933, attempting to create his own spiritual in the style of the African American folk music of the period. It is sung multiple times throughout Porgy and Bess, first by Clara in Act I as a lullaby and soon after as counterpoint to the craps game scene, in Act II in a reprise by Clara, and in Act III by Bess, singing to Clara's baby.

Recorded versions (in alphabetic order)

1. Cem Adrian on his 2005 album Ben Bu Sarkiyi Sana Yazdim
2. Luis Arcaraz (released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-4416, with the flip side "It's the Talk of the Town"^[1])
3. Chet Baker - on Chet Baker Quartet Plays Standards
4. Fantasia Barrino on her debut album Free Yourself
5. Art Blakey - A Jazz Message (1963)
6. Brainbox on their debut album Brainbox (1969)
7. Eva Cassidy on the 2008 release Somewhere
8. Charlotte Church on her self-titled album
9. John Coltrane - My Favorite Things (1960)
10. Perry Como (released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-4530, with the flip side "While We're Young"^[2])
11. Sam Cooke in 1957
12. Bing Crosby & Matty Malneck (originally recorded July 8, 1938 and released by Decca Records as catalog number 2147B, with the flip side "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby"^[3]; re-released in 1947 by Decca Records as catalog number 24542, with the flip side "Love Walked in"^[4])
13. Bob Crosby & his Orchestra (recorded October 21, 1938, released by Decca Records as catalog number 2205B, with the flip side "I'm Free (What's New?)"^[3])
14. Miles Davis, on his album Porgy and Bess (1958).
15. Deep Dive Corp. on their EP Summertime, 2000.
16. Doc Watson recorded 1973, appears on the album Elementary Doc Watson/Then and Now, re-released in 1997 on the Collectables label. Recorded 1987-91 Doc Watson and David Grisman and released on the album Doc and Dawg by Acoustic Disc in 1997. More recent recordings with grandson Richard Watson.
17. The Doors on their live album, Friday April 10 at Boston Arena, and an instumental verion on Live at the Matrix 1967.
18. Tal Farlow on his 1969 album The Return of Tal Farlow (Prestige Records).
19. Frances Faye (recorded about 1954,released by Capitol Records as catalog number 2842, with the flip side "Mad about the Boy"^[5])
20. Ella Fitzgerald, recorded in 1960, live in Berlin, on the Verve Records album Mack the Knife: Ella in Berlin
21. Flowers on their album Challenge!
22. Peter Gabriel on the album The Glory Of Gershwin, produced by George Martin, 1994
23. Al Gallodoro (recorded in 1951, released by Columbia Records as catalog number 39472, with the flip side "Hora Staccato"^[6])
24. Wayne Hancock on his album Thunderstorms and Neon Signs
25. Richard Hayes (with the Eddie Sauter orchestra) (released by Mercury Records as catalog number 5833, with the flip side "Junco Partner (A Worthless Cajun)"^[7])
26. Billie Holiday (recorded July 10, 1936, released by Columbia Records as catalog number 37496, with the flip side "Billie's Blues"^[8])
27. Anne Jamison (recorded July 14, 1939, released by Decca Records as catalog number 2876A, with the flip side "Looking for a Boy"^[9])
28. Jazzamor on their album Lazy Sunday Afternoon
29. Scarlett Johansson for "Unexpected Dreams – songs from the stars" and later performed on Live EPs released at the time of her debut album Anywhere I Lay My Head
30. Janis Joplin released this song with Big Brother and the Holding Company. Some live versions have erroneously been credited with having Jimi Hendrix guesting on guitar, though in actuality the guitarists were James Gurley and Sam Andrew. ^[10]
31. Sammy Kaye's Orchestra (released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-2390, with the flip side "June Is Busting Out All Over"^[11])
32. Angélique Kidjo, released on Keep on Moving: The Best of Angélique Kidjo (2003)
33. Jerry Kruger and her Orchestra (recorded April 25, 1939, released by Vocalion Records as catalog number 4927, with the flip side "Rain, Rain Go Away"^[12])
34. Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians (recorded November 10, 1937, released by Victor Records as catalog number 25716, with the flip side "I'll See You in My Dreams"^[13])
35. Gordon MacRae (Recorded 1959) from the album 'Fascinatin' Rhythm: Capitol Sings George Gershwin.
36. Paul McCartney on his 1988 album Choba B CCCP
37. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on their album Are a Drag, 1999
38. Colin Meloy on his album Colin Meloy Sings Sam Cooke
39. Yehudi Menuhin and Stéphane Grappelli- Menuhin and Grappelli Play Gershwin, (1988)
40. Charles Mingus on Mingus Three, 1957
41. Joni Mitchell & Herbie Hancock on a Gershwin's 100th anniversary birthday tribute album Gershwin's World.
42. Morcheeba on Red Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove, 1998.
43. Charlie Parker String Ensemble (recorded November 30, 1949, released by Mercury Records as catalog number 11038, with the flip side "I Didn't Know What Time It Was"^[14])
44. Oscar Peterson trio on Night Train vol.3, released by Verve Records as catalog number 711 071, 1969.
45. Jane Pickens (recorded June 19, 1940, released by Columbia Records as catalog number 35580, with the flip side "Negro Spirituals"^[15])
46. Courtney Pine on the album The Glory Of Gershwin, produced by George Martin, 1994
47. Boyd Raeburn and his Orchestra (released by Guild Records as catalog number 111, with the flip side "March of the #oyds"^[16])
48. Red Saunders and his Orchestra (recorded December 31, 1953, released by Blue Lake Records as catalog number 101, with the flip side "Riverboat"^[17])
49. Nina Simone, 1999 album, "The Amazing Nina Simone/Nina Simone at Town Hall"
50. Skamp on their 1999 album Angata
51. Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra (recorded December 19, 1944, released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number RCA201500, with the flip side "I Got Plenty of Nothin'"^[18])
52. Billy Stewart, 1966, released as a single.
53. Sublime on their song "Doin' Time" from their self-titled album.
54. Ten Years After on their album Undead, 1968.
55. The Twilight Singers on their 2004 album "She Loves You"
56. Sarah Vaughan (recorded in December, 1949, released by Columbia Records as catalog number 38701, with the flip side "I'm Crazy to Love You"^[19])
57. The Zombies on their 1965 debut album, Begin Here

References

See also

• List of 1930s jazz standards

External links

• The site of The Summertime Connection
• A second site of TSC with texts in different languages
• Summertime in MP3 format