Summertime (George Gershwin song) facts for kids

Summertime is a famous song written in 1934 by George Gershwin. It was created for his 1935 opera called Porgy and Bess. An opera is a play where most of the words are sung.

The words for "Summertime" were written by DuBose Heyward. He also wrote the book Porgy, which the opera is based on. Ira Gershwin, George's brother, is also given credit for some of the lyrics.

This song quickly became a very popular jazz standard. A jazz standard is a song that many jazz musicians play and record. People often say it is one of the best songs George Gershwin ever wrote. It mixes jazz sounds with the music styles of African Americans from the early 1900s.

About Porgy and Bess

George Gershwin started writing "Summertime" in December 1933. He wanted it to sound like a spiritual, which is a type of African American folk music. By February 1934, he had finished setting DuBose Heyward's poem to music. He then spent almost two years finishing the rest of the opera.

The song "Summertime" is sung many times in Porgy and Bess. It is the very first song you hear in the opera. A character named Clara sings it as a lullaby to her baby. A lullaby is a soft song to help a baby sleep.

Later in the opera, the song appears again. It is sung by Clara in the second act. In the third act, another character named Bess sings it. She sings it to Clara's baby after both of the baby's parents have died.

The song was first recorded on July 19, 1935. Abbie Mitchell sang it, and George Gershwin himself played the piano. He also conducted the orchestra for this first recording.

In the 1959 movie version of Porgy and Bess, Loulie Jean Norman sang "Summertime". This movie version was ranked among the top songs in American movies.

The Music of "Summertime"

Music experts say that Gershwin did a great job making "Summertime" sound like a folk song. He used a special musical scale called the pentatonic scale. This scale has five notes and helps give the song its unique sound.

The song is in the key of A minor. It also has a slow, changing harmony that sounds a bit like the blues. Because of these musical elements, "Summertime" has been a favorite for jazz musicians. They can play it in many different speeds and styles.

Some people think "Summertime" might be based on an old African American spiritual. This spiritual is called "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child". Others suggest it might be a mix of that spiritual and a Ukrainian lullaby. A Ukrainian-Canadian musician named Alexis Kochan believes Gershwin might have heard a Ukrainian lullaby in New York City in 1929. This lullaby was called "Oi Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon".

Many Versions of "Summertime"

"Summertime" is one of the most recorded songs ever. The exact number of recordings changes depending on where you look. Some lists only count official music releases. Newer lists might include songs that people share online themselves.

In 2005, one music guide listed 1,161 official recordings. This made it the fourth most recorded jazz standard. By 2012, some said there were over 25,000 recordings. In 2017, the Guinness World Records website said there were 67,591 versions!

In September 1936, a recording by Billie Holiday was the first to become popular on the US music charts. It reached number 12. Many other artists have had popular versions of the song. These include Sam Cooke, Al Martino, and The Marcels.

The most successful version on the charts was by Billy Stewart in 1966. His version reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band Big Brother and the Holding Company, with Janis Joplin singing, also made a very famous version. In 2005, Fantasia Barrino's version was nominated for a Grammy Award.

In 1997, the band Sublime released a song called "Doin' Time". This song used a part of an older recording of "Summertime" by Herbie Mann. "Doin' Time" also became a hit song.

See also

In Spanish: Summertime (canción de George Gershwin) para niños