Summertime (George Gershwin song)

Summertime is a famous song. It is a soft lullaby. A woman named Clara sings it to a baby. The music was made in 1934. George Gershwin wrote the music. DuBose Heyward wrote the words. The song sounds like folk music. It mixes jazz with older styles. Many people have recorded this song. It is a favorite for jazz singers. It is a very special piece of music.

"Summertime" is a famous song. It is an aria, which is a solo piece for a singer. George Gershwin wrote the music in 1934. DuBose Heyward wrote the words. They made it for an opera called Porgy and Bess.

Gershwin wanted the song to sound like a folk song. He mixed jazz with styles from Black people in the southeast United States. The song is a lullaby. In the opera, a woman named Clara sings it to a baby. Later, a woman named Bess sings it to an orphaned baby.

Many singers love this song. It is a jazz standard. This means it is a song that many jazz artists play. In 2005, a list showed over 1,161 official versions of the song. Billie Holiday made a recording in 1936. It was the first to hit the pop charts. Sidney Bechet made a version in 1939. That song went into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Other famous singers like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald also sang it. It is one of the most recorded songs in jazz history.

"Summertime" is a very famous song. It is an aria, which is a solo piece for a singer. George Gershwin wrote the music in 1934. DuBose Heyward wrote the lyrics, or the words. They created it for an opera called Porgy and Bess. Many people call it a jazz standard. This means it is a song that many different musicians play. It is loved for its beautiful and moving sound.

Making the song was a careful task. Gershwin began working on it in December 1933. He wanted it to sound like a folk song. He used a pentatonic scale to help with this. This scale uses five notes: C, D, E, G, and A. He also used a slow musical movement called a blues. By February 1934, the music and words were finished. Gershwin spent 20 more months finishing the whole opera.

The song has a special place in the story. In the opera, it is first heard in act 1. A character named Clara sings it as a lullaby. This is a quiet song to help a baby sleep. The song theme appears again during a scene with a craps game. It also appears in act 2 when Clara sings it again. In act 3, a woman named Bess sings it to a baby. The baby is now an orphan after a storm.

Many people have recorded this song over the years. Abbie Mitchell made the first recording on July 19, 1935. George Gershwin played the piano for that recording. In 1936, Billie Holiday made a version that hit the pop charts. Her song reached number 12 in the United States. Sidney Bechet made a recording in 1939. That version entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.

This song connects many different kinds of music. It mixes jazz with styles from Black people in the southeast United States. Some think it sounds like the spiritual song "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child." It has been recorded many, many times. A list from 2005 showed 1,161 official releases. Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald sang it on a 1959 album. Even the film version of the opera used the song. It remains a favorite for many artists today.

"Summertime" is a world-famous aria, which is a solo vocal piece. It was composed by George Gershwin in 1934 for the 1935 opera titled *Porgy and Bess*. DuBose Heyward wrote the lyrics, which consist of two stanzas. Heyward was also the author of the novel *Porgy*. This song has become a massive jazz standard. A jazz standard is a song that many different musicians perform in their own styles. Many experts consider it one of the finest pieces Gershwin ever wrote. It is praised for mixing jazz with styles from Black people in the southeast United States.

The creation of the song involved a specific musical goal. Gershwin began composing the piece in December 1933. He wanted to create his own spiritual. A spiritual is a type of religious folk music. He aimed to mimic the African American folk music of that era. By February 1934, he had finished setting Heyward's poem to music. He then spent the next 20 months completing the orchestration for the full opera.

Musically, the song uses specific structures to achieve its unique sound. Musicologist K. J. McElrath noted that Gershwin successfully made the tune sound like a folk song. To do this, he used the pentatonic scale. This is a scale consisting of five notes: C, D, E, G, and A. He used this scale within an A minor tonality. He also used a slow-moving harmonic progression. This specific progression suggests the sound of the blues. These technical choices allow performers to play the song at many different tempos.

In the story of *Porgy and Bess*, the song serves several different purposes. It appears during different acts to change the mood of the opera. In Act 1, the character Clara sings it as a lullaby. This follows a communal "wa-do-wa" sound. The theme is heard again as a counterpoint during a craps game scene. It is reprised by Clara in Act 2. Finally, in Act 3, the character Bess sings it to Clara's orphaned baby. This happens after both parents have died in a storm.

The history of the song is marked by many important recordings. Abbie Mitchell made the first recording on July 19, 1935. George Gershwin himself played the piano and conducted the orchestra for this version. In September 1936, Billie Holiday released a version that reached number 12 on the US pop charts. Sidney Bechet recorded a version in 1939. That specific recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.

"Summertime" has reached incredible levels of popularity through the decades. The Jazz Discography listed 1,161 official releases in 2005. This ranking placed the song fourth among all jazz standards. Many different genres have claimed the song. Billy Stewart released an R&B version in 1966 that reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Fun Boy Three released a version in the UK in 1982 that reached number 18. Even the 1959 film version of the opera featured the song. That version was ranked #52 in an AFI survey of top American cinema tunes.

This song connects to many larger musical traditions and histories. While Gershwin did not use existing spirituals, many people see it as an adaptation. It is often linked to the African American spiritual "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child." The song also bridges the gap between classical opera and popular jazz. A 1959 recording by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald was even certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry in 2022. It remains a vital piece of American musical culture.