SUMMERTIME
Music: George Gershwin- Lyrics: DuBose Heyward
Year: 1934
Origin of the song
In February 1934 George Gershwin finished the first of Porgy and Bess's songs, a poem by DuBose Heyward he titled 'Summertime', and in August 1935, the full score. In addition to 'Summertime', the play featured more than fifty songs, including 'My Man's Gone Now', 'I Got Plenty or Nuttin', 'Bess, You Is My Woman', 'It Ain't Necessarily So' and 'I Loves You, Porgy'.
On September 30 of that year the opera premiered in Boston, where it received good reviews. Shortly afterwards, on October 10, he performed at the Alvin Theatre in New York under the direction of Rouben Mamoulian. Her main performers were Anne Wiggins Brown, Todd Duncan, John W. Bubbles and Ruby Elzy. In the first act, Abbie Mitchell sang the lullaby 'Summertime' to her little one. The critics were mixed and the play was moderately successful: one hundred and twenty-four performances were given.
Edwin DuBose Heyward (1885-1940) was an American writer known for his novel Porgy (1925); in collaboration with his wife, he adapted it to the theatre in 1927. This adaptation served as George Gershwin's basis for the popular opera Porgy and Bess. In addition to several novels, he also wrote children's stories.
Versions in the top charts
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
DAY OF
ENTRANCE |
PERMANENCE WEEKS |
HIGH POSITION REACHED |
|
|
1936.07.10 |
1936.09.12 |
2 |
12 |
Billie Holiday (voc) |
|
|
Sam Cooke |
1957.??.?? |
1957.11.04 |
4 |
81 |
Sam Cooke (voc) |
|
The Marcels |
1961.??.?? |
1961.05.29 |
3 |
78 |
Cornelius Harp, Ronald Mundy, Gene Bricker, Richard Knauss, Fred Johnson (voc) |
|
Rick Nelson |
1962.02.?? |
1962.03.10 |
2 |
89 |
Rick Nelson (voc) |
|
Chris Columbo Quintet |
1963.??.?? |
1963.06.29 |
2 |
93 |
Instrumental |
|
Billy Stewart |
1966.??.?? |
1966.07.16 |
10 |
10 |
Billy Stewart (voc) |
Jazz. Outstanding performances
Instrumental
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
|
|
1939.06.08 |
Sidney Bechet (ss), Meade Lux Lewis (p), Teddy Bunn (g), John Williams (b), Sid Catlett (d) |
|
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1945.01.27 |
Tommy Allison, Stan Fishelson, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Harris (tp), Walter Robertson (tp, tb), Jack Carmen, Ollie Wilson, Trummy Young (tb), Johnny Bothwell, Hal McKusick (as), Al Cohn, Joe Megro (ts), Serge Chaloff (bars), Ike Carpenter (p), Steve Jordan (g), Mickey Mendi (b), Shelly Manne (d), Boyd Raeburn (dir) |
|
|
1952.01.03 |
Erroll Garner (p), John Simmons (b), Shadow Wilson (d) |
|
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1955.08.15 |
Stan Getz (ts), Conte Candoli (tp), Lou Levy (p), Leroy Vinnegar (b), Shelly Manne (d) |
|
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1958.08.04 |
Miles Davis (fis), Ernie Royal, Johnny Coles, Bernie Glow, Louis Mucci (tp), Joe Bennett, Frank Rehak, Jimmy Cleveland, Dick Hixon (tb), Willie Ruff, Julius Watkins, Gunther Schuller (tpa), Bill Barber (tu), Cannonball Adderley (as), Romeo Penque, Jerome Richardson, Danny Bank (fl, cl), Paul Chambers (b), Jimmy Cobb (d), Gil Evans (dir) |
|
|
Johnny Hodges & His Strings |
1958.11.18 |
Johnny Hodges (as), Horst Jankowski (p), Wolfram Rohrig Orchestra |
|
1959.09.22 |
Shelly Manne (d), Joe Gordon (tp), Richie Kamuca (ts), Victor Feldman (p), Monty Budwig (b) |
|
|
1960.10.24 |
John Coltrane (ts), McCoy Tyner (p), Steve Davis (b), Elvin Jones (d) |
|
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1961.03.01 |
Duke Ellington (p), Aaron Bell (b), Sam Woodyard (d) |
|
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1963.07.18 |
Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins (ts), Paul Bley (p), Henry Grimes (b), Roy McCurdy (d) |
|
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1963.09.05 |
Art Blakey (d), Sonny Stitt (as, ts), McCoy Tyner (p), Art Davis (b) |
|
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1973.??.?? |
Gil Evans (p, dir), Tex Allen, Richard Williams (tp), Howard Johnson (tb, bars, fis), Joseph Daley (tb, tu), David Sanborn (as), Billy Harper (ts), Trevor Koehler (ss, bars, fl), Sharon Freeman, Peter Levin (tpa), David Horowitz (sint), Ted Dunbar (g), Herb Bushler (b), Bruce Ditmas (d), Susan Evans (per) |
|
|
1988.12.11 |
Ray Brown (b), Gene Harris (p), Jeff Hamilton (d) |
|
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1998.??.?? |
Joshua Redman (sax), Brad Mehldau (p), Larry Grenadier (b), Brian Blade (d) |
Vocal
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
|
|
Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra |
1936.07.10 |
Billie Holiday (voc), Bunny Berigan (tp), Artie Shaw (cl), Joe Bushkin (p), Dick McDonough (g), Pete Peterson (b), Cozy Cole (d) |
|
1949.12.21 |
Sarah Vaughan (voc), Joe Lippman Orchestra |
|
|
1957.04.24 |
Sarah Vaughan (voc), Hal Mooney Orchestra |
|
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1957.08.18 |
Ella Fitzgerald (voc), Louis Armstrong (voc, tp), Russell García Orchestra |
|
|
1957.12.19 |
Helen Merrill (voc), Mike Simpson (fl, cl, ts), Dick Marx (p), Freddy Rundquist (g), John Frigo (b), Jerry Slosberg (d) |
|
|
1959.11.04 |
Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks, Annie Ross (voc), Harry 'Sweets' Edison (tp), Gildo Mahones (p), Ike Isaacs (b), Jimmy Wormworth (d) |
|
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1960.02.13 |
Ella Fitzgerald (voc), Paul Smith (p), Jim Hall (g), Wilfred Middlebrooks (b), Gus Johnson (d) |
|
|
1961.01.23 |
Chris Connor (voc), Maynard Ferguson, Chet Ferretti, Rolf Ericson, Bill Berry (tp), Ray Winslow, Kenny Rupp (tb), Joe Farrell, Willie Maiden, Frank Hittner, Lanny Morgan (r), Jaki Byard (p), Charlie Sanders (b), Rufus Jones (d) |
|
|
1966.03.15 |
George Benson (g, voc), Ronnie Cuber (bars), Lonnie Smith (org), Ray Lucas (d) |
|
|
1997.12.02 |
Shirley Horn (voc, p), Toots Thielemans (arm), Ron Carter (b), Al Foster (d) |
On cinemas
The song 'Summertime' is included in the soundtrack of the following movies:
|
ORIGINAL TITLE |
TITLE IN SPAIN |
YEAR OF PRODUCTION |
PERFORMERS OF THE SONG IN THE FILM |
|
Rhapsody in Blue |
Rapsodia en blue |
1945 |
Anne Brown & Chorus |
|
Porgy and Bess |
Porgy y Bess |
1959 |
Diahann Carroll (dubbed by Loulie Jean Norman); Dorothy Dandridge (dubbed by Adele Addison) |
|
Once Upon a Time in America |
Érase una vez en América |
1984 |
|
|
The Indian Runner |
Extraño vínculo de sangre |
1991 |
Janis Joplin; Big Brother & The Holding Company |
|
The War |
La guerra |
1994 |
Janis Joplin |
|
There’s Something About Mary |
Algo pasa con Mary |
1998 |
Ray Conniff |
|
A Walk on the Moon |
La tentación |
1999 |
Big Brother & The Holding Company |
|
Chocolat |
Chocolat |
2000 |
Sidney Bechet with Claude Luter Orchestra |
|
La ville est tranquile |
La ciudad está tranquila |
2000 |
|
|
Hart’s War |
La guerra de Hart |
2002 |
Sidney Bechet Quintet |
|
Stuck On You |
Pegado a ti |
2003 |
Billy Stewart |
|
I’ll Be There |
Asuntos de familia |
2003 |
Charlotte Chruch |
|
Fuera del cuerpo |
Fuera del cuerpo |
2004 |
|
|
Bikur Ha-Tizmoret |
La banda nos visita |
2007 |
|
|
Le premier jour du reste de ta vie |
El primer día del resto de tu vida |
2008 |
Janis Joplin |