"Summertime" is an aria composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, although the song is also co-credited to Ira Gershwin by ASCAP.[1]
The song soon became a popular and much-recorded jazz 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 lyricist Stephen Sondheim has characterized Heyward's lyrics for "Summertime" and "My Man's Gone Now" as "the best lyrics in the musical theater"
Statistics 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 Discography in 2005 listed 1,161 official releases, ranking the song fourth among jazz standards.[14] Joe Nocera in 2012 said there were "over 25,000" recordings.[15] Guinness World Records lists the website's 2017 figure of 67,591 as the world record total.[16]
In September 1936, a recording by Billie Holiday was the first to hit the US pop charts, reaching no. 12.[6] Other versions to make the pop charts include those by Sam Cooke (US no. 81, 1957), Al Martino (UK no. 49, 1960), The Marcels (US no. 78, 1961), Ricky Nelson (US no. 89, 1962), and the Chris Columbo Quintet (US no. 93, 1963).[17][18] The most commercially successful version was by Billy Stewart, who reached no. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and no. 7 on the R&B chart in 1966;[19] his version reached no. 39 in the UK[20] and no. 13 in Canada. Big Brother and the Holding Company's version featuring Janis Joplin on vocals has been highly praised.[21][22] In Britain, a version by the Fun Boy Three reached no. 18 on the UK Singles Chart in 1982.[23] In 2005, Fantasia Barrino's version earned a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance.[24]
In 1997, American ska punk band Sublime released the single "Doin' Time", which sampled the Herbie Mann recording of "Summertime". "Doin' Time" peaked at number 87 on the Hot 100 in 1998
