Summertime (song)

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"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.

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[edit] Origin

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.

[edit] Arrangements

Originally composed as an opera-aria, it should be sung by a (mezzo-)soprano accompanied by a symphonic orchestra and a choir. Nowadays the group knows of performances in such different styles as ska, southamerican, rock, housemixes in various forms, all forms of jazz from dixieland to bop and free music. Every conceivable musical instrument has been used from gardenhose (Noguru Hata on Dutch TV) and singing saw (Matthew Beckman) to the traditional Korean flute (Lee Sang Gang), theremin (Lydia Kavina), church bells (Piet van den Broek) and handbells (Raphsody). Also every conceivable form of singing has been used: from a capella via karaoke and doo-wop to great mixed choirs, but also a performance in a swimming pool when the extra reverberation was needed..

[edit] Popularity

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. However, an even greater number of recordings exist: an international group of collectors of recordings of Summertime under the name "The Summertime Connection" knows on December 4th 2006 at 13.39 GMT of 14,113 public performances of which 11,036 have been recorded. Of those the group has 6,311 full recordings and about 1,100 samples and incomplete recordings in its collection.

[edit] Translations

Summertime was composed in English, but nowadays it has been sung in many languages (we mention at random one artist in each language). The Summertime Connection knows of performances in :

  • Bulgarian (Slavi Trifonov),
  • Catalan (The Mimisikous Band),
  • Czech (Hana Hegerová),
  • Dutch (Wieteke van Dort),
  • Esperanto (Nicolin'),
  • Estonian (Optimistid),
  • Finnish (Topi Sorsakoski),
  • French (Joe Dassin),
  • Frisian (De Kast),
  • German (Peter Kraus),
  • Hohenloher (Annâweech),
  • Italian (I Dalton),
  • Japanese (The Dixie Saints),
  • Latvian (Skamp),
  • Maori (Wirimako Black),
  • Papiamento (Tropical Taste),
  • Polish (Petra Janù),
  • Portuguese (Nara Leão),
  • Russian (Oleg Skripka),
  • Serbian (Basa),
  • Spanish (Cubismo),
  • Yiddish (Lee Colbert),
  • Yugoslavian (Henda) and
  • Zulu (Amanda Strydom).

Kwartet Okazjonalny from Poland has performed a humorous tri-lingual version, underlining the stereotypes of the different languages.

[edit] People who have recorded "Summertime"

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

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. Sonny Rollins and Coleman Hawkins performed it as a saxophone duet on the album "Sonny Meets Hawk!", which features a beautiful bass solo by Henry Grimes, which is an opinion, and therefore not a verafiable fact. 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". Mark Hamill gargled "Summertime" on The Muppet Show.

The song is a popular choice on the Pop Idol television franchise:

  • American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino (2004) performed the song twice on the program and subsequently recorded the song for her album Free Yourself and received a Grammy Nomination for that recording.
  • Andréa Boris in the Brasilian version (2004)
  • Canadian Idol contestant Jenny Gear (2003) reached the last six. another contestant, Theresa Sokyrka, sang it in season two.
  • In World Idols (2005) it was performed by Katká Košcova.
  • Aichelle Santos sang it in the Philippine Idols.
  • In America in 2005 it was sung by Lashondra and Sheryn Regis.
  • In 2006 it was sung by Abi Finley on the BBC reality show "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria."
  • In 2006 Leona Lewis performed a powerhouse performance of Summertime at the X Factor, an English TV program.

The song has also been sung by:

[edit] References

[edit] External links


The World of Porgy and Bess
Book and play - Opera
Creators: George Gershwin - Ira Gershwin - DuBose Heyward - Dorothy Heyward
Media: Discography - Film adaptation
Songs and adaptations: "Summertime" - "Catfish Row"
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../s/u/m/Summertime_%28song%29.html"
In other languages