"Summertime"is anariacomposed in 1934 byGeorge Gershwinfor the 1935operaPorgy and Bess.The lyrics are byDuBose Heyward,the author of the novelPorgyon which the opera was based, andIra Gershwin.[1]
| "Summertime" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Language | English |
| Released | 1935 |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Composer(s) | George Gershwin |
| Lyricist(s) | DuBose Heyward Ira Gershwin |
The song soon became a popular and much-recordedjazz standard,described as "without doubt... one of the finest songs the composer ever wrote... Gershwin's highly evocative writing brilliantly mixes elements of jazz and the song styles of blacks in the southeast United States from the early twentieth century".[2]Composer and lyricistStephen Sondheimcharacterized Heyward's lyrics for "Summertime" and "My Man's Gone Now"as" the best lyrics in the musical theater ".[3]
Porgy and Bess
editGershwin began composing the song in December 1933, attempting to create his ownspiritualin the style of the African American folk music ofthe period.[4][5]Gershwin had completed setting DuBose Heyward's poem to music by February 1934, and spent the next 20 months completing and orchestrating the score of the opera.[6]
The song is sung several times throughoutPorgy and Bess.Its lyrics are the first words heard in act 1 of the opera, following the communal "wa-do-wa". It is sung by Clara as alullaby.The song theme is reprised soon after as counterpoint to thecrapsgamescene, in act 2 in a reprise by Clara, and in act 3 by Bess, singing to Clara's now-orphaned baby after both parents died in the storm.
The song was recorded for the first time byAbbie Mitchellon July 19, 1935, with George Gershwin playing the piano and conducting the orchestra (on:George Gershwin Conducts Excerpts from Porgy & Bess,Mark 56 667).
The 1959 movie version of the musical featuredLoulie Jean Normansinging the song. That rendition finished at #52 inAFI's 100 Years...100 Songssurvey of top tunes in American cinema.[7][8]
Analysis
editLyrics
editHeyward's inspiration for the lyrics was the southern folk spiritual-lullaby "All My Trials",of which he had Clara sing a snippet in his playPorgy.[9][10]The lyrics have been highly praised byStephen Sondheim.Writing of the opening line, he says
That "and" is worth a great deal of attention. I would write "Summertime when" but that "and" sets up a tone, a whole poetic tone, not to mention a whole kind of diction that is going to be used in the play; an informal, uneducated diction and a stream of consciousness, as in many of the songs like "My Man's Gone Now". It's the exact right word, and that word is worth its weight in gold. "Summertime when the livin' is easy" is a boring line compared to "Summertime and". The choices of "ands" [and] "buts" become almost traumatic as you are writing a lyric – or should, anyway – because each one weighs so much.[11]
Music
editMusicologist K. J. McElrath wrote of the song:
Gershwin was remarkably successful in his intent to have this sound like a folk song. This is reinforced by his extensive use (one exception: the note B under the word "high" ) of thepentatonic scale(C–D–E–G–A) in the context of theA minortonality and a slow-moving harmonic progression that suggests a "blues".Because of these factors, this tune has been a favorite of jazz performers for decades and can be done in a variety of tempos and styles.[6]
While in his own description, Gershwin did not use any previously composed spirituals in his opera,Summertimeis often considered an adaptation of the African American spiritual "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child",which ended the play version ofPorgy.[10][12][13]
Other versions
editStatistics for the number of recordings of "Summertime" vary by source; while older data is restricted to commercial releases, newer sources may include versions self-published online.The Jazz Discographyin 2005 listed 1,161 official releases, ranking the song fourth among jazz standards.[14]
Other prominent versions include those by:
- In September 1936, a recording byBillie Holidaywas the first to hit the US pop charts, reaching number 12.[6]
- TheChris Columbo Quintet(US number 93, 1963).[15][16]
- Billy Stewart'sscat-ladenR&Bversion reached number 10 on theBillboardHot 100and number 7 on theR&B chartin 1966;[17]his version also reached number 39 in the UK[18]and number 13 in Canada.
- Janis Joplinrecorded a version for her bandBig Brother and The Holding Company's 1968Cheap Thrillsalbum. The album charted at number 1 for eight weeks on theBillboard200chart.[19]
- In the UK, a version by theFun Boy Threereached number 18 on theUK Singles Chartin 1982.[20]
- The version byLouis ArmstrongandElla Fitzgerald,released on their 1959 albumPorgy and Bess,was certified silver by theBritish Phonographic Industry(BPI) in 2022.[21]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Summertime" at ASCAPArchived2006-02-11 at theWayback Machine
- ^Robert Cummings."Summertime"atAllMusic
- ^"A Century of Creativity: DuBose and Dorothy Heyward".Loc.gov. 1926-08-02. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-11-04.Retrieved2013-12-29.
- ^Pollack, Howard(2006).George Gershwin: His Life and Work.University of California Press. p.589.ISBN9780520248649.Retrieved2013-12-29.
Gershwin summertime spiritual style.
- ^Hyland, William (2003).George Gershwin: A New Biography.Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 171.ISBN9780275981112.Retrieved2013-12-29.
- ^abc""Summertime" at ".Jazzstandards.com.Retrieved2013-12-29.
- ^"100 Greatest Songs in Movies - AFI".www.filmsite.org.
- ^"AFI List of Top 100 Songs From U.S. Films".Chicago Tribune.
- ^Edward Jablonski,Lawrence Delbert Stewart,The Gershwin Years: George and Ira,Da Capo Press, 1996,ISBN0-306-80739-4,p. 202
- ^abJeffrey Paul Melnick,A Right to Sing the Blues,Harvard University Press 1999,ISBN0-674-76976-7,pp. 129–133
- ^Joanne Lesley Gordon,Art Isn't Easy: The Achievement of Stephen Sondheim,Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, Illinois, 1990, p. 13
- ^Samuel A. Floyd Jr., ed. (1990).Black Music in the Harlem Renaissance: A Collection of Essays.New York: Westport.ISBN0-313-26546-1.,p. 22
- ^Rosenberg, Deena (1991).Fascinating Rhythm: The Collaboration of George and Ira Gershwin.Penguin Books USA.ISBN0-525-93356-5.,p. 281
- ^Phillips, Damon J. (2013).Shaping Jazz: Cities, Labels, and the Global Emergence of an Art Form.Princeton University Press. p. 22, Table 1.2.ISBN978-1-4008-4648-1.Retrieved23 June2020.
- ^Whitburn, Joel(2003).Top Pop Singles 1955–2002(1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p.914.ISBN0-89820-155-1.
- ^Betts 2004,p. 497.
- ^Whitburn, Joel(1996).Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995.Record Research. p. 421.
- ^Betts 2004,p. 747.
- ^Cabison, Rosalie (2 January 2013)."Billboard 200".Billboard.Retrieved11 September2023.
- ^Betts 2004,p. 302.
- ^"British certifications – Summertime".British Phonographic Industry.Retrieved15 October2022.
Sources
- Betts, Graham (2004).Complete UK Hit Singles 1952–2004(1st ed.). London: Collins.ISBN0-00-717931-6.
External links
edit- "A Languid Look Back To Gershwin's 'Summertime'",NPR Music,October 23, 2008