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Summertime (song)

 

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Summertime (song)



 
 
"Summertime" is the name of an aria
Aria

An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment....
 composed by George Gershwin
George Gershwin

George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. He wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works in collaboration with his elder brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin....
 for the 1935 opera
Opera

Opera is an Performing arts in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work which combines a text and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition....
 Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward....
. The lyrics are by DuBose
DuBose Heyward

DuBose Heyward was an United States author best known for his 1924 novel Porgy. With his wife Dorothy Heyward, whom he met at the MacDowell Colony in 1922, he was co-author of the non-musical play adapted from the novel....
 and Dorothy Heyward
Dorothy Heyward

Dorothy Heyward was an United States playwright. She was married to the author DuBose Heyward, and adapted several of his scripts for the stage, including Porgy....
, and Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin

Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
. The song soon became a popular jazz standard
Jazz standard

A jazz standard is a jazz tune that is held in continuing esteem and which is widely known, performed, and recorded among jazz musicians as part of the jazz musical repertoire....
.

The original song of ("summer time") was in fact "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" (or simply "Motherless Child") is a traditional Negro spiritual.

Gershwin is said to have based this song on a Ukrainian lullaby
Lullaby

A lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetative....
, Oi Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon
Oi Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon

"Oy Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon" is a Culture of Ukraine lullaby which provided the inspiration for the popular song "Summertime ". The title is usually translated into English as "The Dream Passes by the Windows"....
 (A Dream Passes By The Windows), which he heard in a New York City performance by Oleksander Koshetz
Oleksander Koshetz

Oleksander Koshetz was a Ukrainians choral conducting, arranger, composer, ethnographer, writer, musicologist, and lecturer. He helped popularize Ukrainian music around the world....
’s Ukrainian National Chorus
Ukrainian Republic Capella

The Ukrainian Republic Capella was a musical company during and after World War I which toured Europe and North America with the intent to promote Ukrainian culture abroad....
.

Gershwin began composing the song in December 1933, attempting to create his own spiritual
Spiritual (music)

Spirituals are songs which were created by African people History of slavery in the United States....
 in the style of the African American
African American

African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the Black people populations of Africa....
 folk music of the period.






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Encyclopedia


"Summertime" is the name of an aria
Aria

An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment....
 composed by George Gershwin
George Gershwin

George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. He wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works in collaboration with his elder brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin....
 for the 1935 opera
Opera

Opera is an Performing arts in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work which combines a text and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition....
 Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward....
. The lyrics are by DuBose
DuBose Heyward

DuBose Heyward was an United States author best known for his 1924 novel Porgy. With his wife Dorothy Heyward, whom he met at the MacDowell Colony in 1922, he was co-author of the non-musical play adapted from the novel....
 and Dorothy Heyward
Dorothy Heyward

Dorothy Heyward was an United States playwright. She was married to the author DuBose Heyward, and adapted several of his scripts for the stage, including Porgy....
, and Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin

Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
. The song soon became a popular jazz standard
Jazz standard

A jazz standard is a jazz tune that is held in continuing esteem and which is widely known, performed, and recorded among jazz musicians as part of the jazz musical repertoire....
.

The original song of ("summer time") was in fact "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" (or simply "Motherless Child") is a traditional Negro spiritual.

Gershwin is said to have based this song on a Ukrainian lullaby
Lullaby

A lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetative....
, Oi Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon
Oi Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon

"Oy Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon" is a Culture of Ukraine lullaby which provided the inspiration for the popular song "Summertime ". The title is usually translated into English as "The Dream Passes by the Windows"....
 (A Dream Passes By The Windows), which he heard in a New York City performance by Oleksander Koshetz
Oleksander Koshetz

Oleksander Koshetz was a Ukrainians choral conducting, arranger, composer, ethnographer, writer, musicologist, and lecturer. He helped popularize Ukrainian music around the world....
’s Ukrainian National Chorus
Ukrainian Republic Capella

The Ukrainian Republic Capella was a musical company during and after World War I which toured Europe and North America with the intent to promote Ukrainian culture abroad....
.

Gershwin began composing the song in December 1933, attempting to create his own spiritual
Spiritual (music)

Spirituals are songs which were created by African people History of slavery in the United States....
 in the style of the African American
African American

African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the Black people populations of Africa....
 folk music of the period. It is sung multiple times throughout Porgy and Bess, first by Clara in Act I as a lullaby and soon after as counterpoint to the craps
Craps

Craps is a dice game played against other players or a bank. Craps developed from a simplification of the Old English game Hazard . Its origins are highly complex and may date to the Crusades, later being influenced by French gamblers....
 game
Game

A game is a structured wiktionary:activity, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from Manual labour, which is usually carried out for wiktionary:remuneration, and from art, which is more concerned with the expression of ideas....
 scene, in Act II in a reprise by Clara, and in Act III by Bess, singing to Clara's baby.

Recorded versions

  • Luis Arcaraz (released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-4416, with the flip side "It's the Talk of the Town
    It's the Talk of the Town

    "It's the Talk of the Town" is a popular music song.The music was written by Jerry Livingston, the lyrics by Al J. Neiburg and Marty Symes. The song was published in 1933 in music....
    ")
  • Art Blakey
    Art Blakey

    Arthur Blakey , born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, he was an United States jazz drummer and bandleader....
     - A Jazz Message
    A Jazz Message

    A Jazz Message is a jazz album by Art Blakey and the Jazz messengers, released in 1963. The album is Blakey's second and last album for Impulse! Records and is one of the only known collaborations between he and McCoy Tyner, the famous pianist with John Coltrane....
     (1963)
  • Charlotte Church
    Charlotte Church

    Charlotte Idris Church is a Wales singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a European classical music before branching into pop music in 2005....
     on her self-titled album
  • Perry Como
    Perry Como

    Pierino "Perry" Como was an United States singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with it in 1943....
     (released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-4530, with the flip side "While We're Young")
  • Bing Crosby
    Bing Crosby

    Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an United States popular singer and actor whose career lasted from 1926 until his death.One of the first multimedia stars, from 1934 to 1954 Bing Crosby held a nearly unrivaled command of record sales, radio ratings and motion picture grosses....
     & Matty Malneck (originally recorded July 8, 1938
    1938 in music

    Events* January 16**Benny Goodman plays the first jazz concert at Carnegie Hall.**B?la Bart?k's Sonata for two pianos and percussion is premiered in Basel....
     and released by Decca Records
    Decca Records

    Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 in music by Edward Lewis . Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
     as catalog number 2147B, with the flip side "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby
    You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby

    "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" is a popular music song with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, published in 1938 in music....
    "; re-released in 1947 by Decca Records
    Decca Records

    Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 in music by Edward Lewis . Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
     as catalog number 24542, with the flip side "Love Walked in
    Love Walked In

    "Love Walked In" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song was composed in 1930, but the lyrics were not written until 1937, for the movie musical The Goldwyn Follies ....
    ")
  • Bob Crosby
    Bob Crosby

    Bob Crosby was an United States dixieland bandleader and vocalist, best known for his group Crosby and the Bob-Cats.He was the youngest of seven children: five boys, Larry Crosby , Everett , Ted , Bing Crosby and Bob; and two girls, Catherine and Mary Rose ....
     & his Orchestra (recorded October 21, 1938
    1938 in music

    Events* January 16**Benny Goodman plays the first jazz concert at Carnegie Hall.**B?la Bart?k's Sonata for two pianos and percussion is premiered in Basel....
    , released by Decca Records
    Decca Records

    Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 in music by Edward Lewis . Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
     as catalog number 2205B, with the flip side "I'm Free(What's New?)")
  • Frances Faye
    Frances Faye

    Frances Faye was an American cabaret and show tune singer and pianist. She was born to a working-class Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City....
     (recorded about 1954
    1954 in music

    Events*Frank Sinatra wins the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in From Here to Eternity, 1953; resuscitating his singing career in the process...
    ,released by Capitol Records
    Capitol Records

    Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label owned by EMI and located in Hollywood, California and New York City as part of Capitol Music Group....
     as catalog number 2842, with the flip side "Mad about the Boy
    Mad About the Boy

    "Mad About the Boy" is a popular song with words and music by actor and playwright No?l Coward.It was introduced in the 1932 in music revue Words and Music by Joyce Barbour, Steffi Duna, Norah Howard and Doris Hare....
    ")
  • Al Gallodoro (recorded in 1951
    1951 in music

    Events*July 11 - Disc jockey and music promoter Alan Freed broadcasts his first Rhythm and blues radio programme from station WJW in Cleveland, Ohio....
    , released by Columbia Records
    Columbia Records

    Columbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders....
     as catalog number 39472, with the flip side "Hora Staccato")
  • Wayne Hancock
    Wayne Hancock

    Wayne "The Train" Hancock is a Country music musician.Hancock began writing songs at the age of 12, and at 18 won a talent contest called the "Wrangler County Showdown." Immediately after the contest, he was shipped to boot camp and served four years with the United States Marine Corps....
     on his album Thunderstorms and Neon Signs
  • Richard Hayes
    Richard Hayes

    Richard Hayes is a professor of Buddhist philosophy at the University of New Mexico.Hayes is a noted scholar in the field of Buddhist Sanskrit, specializing in the study of Dharmakirti and Dignaga....
     (with the Eddie Sauter
    Eddie Sauter

    Edward Ernest Sauter was a composer and jazz arranger who achieved renown among musicians during the swing era.Sauter studied music at Columbia University and the Juilliard School....
     orchestra) (released by Mercury Records
    Mercury Records

    Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Music Group in the US, and are both subsidiaries of Universal Music Group....
     as catalog number 5833, with the flip side "Junco Partner (A Worthless Cajun)")
  • Billie Holiday
    Billie Holiday

    Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter.Nicknamed Lady Day by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing....
     (recorded July 10, 1936
    1936 in music

    Events*January 4 - Billboard magazine magazine publishes its first music hit parade*March 28 - Inaugurational concert of the S?o Paulo City Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ernst Mehlich...
    , released by Columbia Records
    Columbia Records

    Columbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders....
     as catalog number 37496, with the flip side "Billie's Blues")
  • Anne Jamison (recorded July 14, 1939
    1939 in music

    Events*March 23 ? B?la Bart?k's Violin Concerto No. 2 is premiered by Zolt?n Sz?kely and the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Willem Mengelberg...
    , released by Decca Records
    Decca Records

    Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 in music by Edward Lewis . Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
     as catalog number 2876A, with the flip side "Looking for a Boy")
  • Janis Joplin
    Janis Joplin

    Janis Lyn Joplin was an United States singer, songwriter, and music arranger, from Port Arthur, Texas. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company, and later as a solo artist....
     released this song with Big Brother and the holding company as well as recording a live version with Jimi Hendrix
    Jimi Hendrix

    James Marshall Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter whose guitar playing continues to be a considerable influence on rock music....
     on the guitar.
  • Sammy Kaye
    Sammy Kaye

    Sammy Kaye was a famous United States bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line "Swing and sway with Sammy Kaye" became one of the most famous of the so-called Big Band Era....
    's Orchestra (released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-2390, with the flip side "June Is Busting Out All Over")
  • Jerry Kruger and her Orchestra (recorded April 25, 1939
    1939 in music

    Events*March 23 ? B?la Bart?k's Violin Concerto No. 2 is premiered by Zolt?n Sz?kely and the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Willem Mengelberg...
    , released by Vocalion Records
    Vocalion Records

    Vocalion Records was a record label historically active in the United States and in the United Kingdom.Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which also introduced a line of phonographs at the same time....
     as catalog number 4927, with the flip side "Rain, Rain Go Away")
  • Guy Lombardo
    Guy Lombardo

    Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian bandleader and violinist.Forming The Royal Canadians in 1924 with his brothers Carmen Lombardo, Lebert Lombardo, and Victor Lombardo and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven."...
     and his Royal Canadians (recorded November 10, 1937
    1937 in music

    Events* January 21 - Paul Sacher conducts the world premiere of B?la Bart?k's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta in Basel* June 2 - The incomplete version of Alban Berg's opera Lulu is premiered in Z?rich ...
    , released by Victor Records as catalog number 25716, with the flip side "I'll See You in My Dreams
    I'll see you in my dreams

    I'll See You In My Dreams is a 2003 Portugal Short film horror film directed by Miguel ?ngel Vivas. It was produced by a crew of musicians, filmmakers and actors who call themselves O Pato Profissional Produ??es....
    ")
  • Charlie Parker
    Charlie Parker

    Charles Parker, Jr. was an American jazz saxophonist and composer.Parker is widely considered one of the most influential of jazz musicians, along with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington....
     String Ensemble (recorded November 30, 1949
    1949 in music

    Events*December 24 - At the start of the Holy Year, Charles Gounod's Inno e Marcia Pontificale is adopted as the new papal anthem.*December 29 - Les Paul and Mary Ford marry....
    , released by Mercury Records
    Mercury Records

    Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Music Group in the US, and are both subsidiaries of Universal Music Group....
     as catalog number 11038, with the flip side "I Didn't Know What Time It Was
    I Didn't Know What Time It Was

    "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" is a popular music song. The music was written by Richard Rodgers and the lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical Too Many Girls ....
    ")
  • Jane Pickens (recorded June 19, 1940
    1940 in music

    Events*January - Frank Sinatra joins the Tommy Dorsey orchestra*July 20 - Billboard magazine publishes its first "Music Popularity Chart"*May 27 - Quartetto Egie make their debut performance...
    , released by Columbia Records
    Columbia Records

    Columbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders....
     as catalog number 35580, with the flip side "Negro Spirituals")
  • Boyd Raeburn
    Boyd Raeburn

    Boyd Raeburn was an American jazz bandleader and bass saxophone.His big band, which was active ca. 1944-1947, performed arrangements that were often quite avant-garde, like the arrangements of Stan Kenton during the same period....
     and his Orchestra (released by Guild Records as catalog number 111, with the flip side "March of the Boyds")
  • Red Saunders
    Red Saunders

    Red Saunders was a British photographer and founder of Rock Against Racism. He has specialised in rock music photography. He is part of theatre group Complicite....
     and his Orchestra (recorded December 31, 1953
    1953 in music

    Events*Arthur Bliss replaces Arnold Bax as Master of the Queen's Music.*Alfred Schnittke becomes a student of Evgeny Golubev.*Frank Sinatra begins recording at Capitol...
    , released by Blue Lake Records as catalog number 101, with the flip side "Riverboat")
  • Charlie Spivak
    Charlie Spivak

    Charlie Spivak was an United States trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his big band in the 1940s.The details of Spivak's birth are unclear....
     and his Orchestra (recorded December 19, 1944
    1944 in music

    Events*January 18 - The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City for the first time hosts a jazz concert; the performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden....
    , released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number RCA201500, with the flip side "I Got Plenty of Nothin'
    Porgy and Bess

    Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward....
    ")
  • Sarah Vaughan
    Sarah Vaughan

    Sarah Lois Vaughan was an United States jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century"....
     (recorded in December, 1949
    1949 in music

    Events*December 24 - At the start of the Holy Year, Charles Gounod's Inno e Marcia Pontificale is adopted as the new papal anthem.*December 29 - Les Paul and Mary Ford marry....
    , released by Columbia Records
    Columbia Records

    Columbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders....
     as catalog number 38701, with the flip side "I'm Crazy to Love You")
  • Gordon MacRae (Recorded 1959) from the album "Fascinatin' Rhythm: Capitol Sings George Gershwin."
  • The Zombies
    The Zombies

    The Zombies, formed in 1961 in St Albans, are an England Rock music band . Led by Rod Argent on piano and Colin Blunstone on vocals, the band scored US chart-topper in the mid- and late-1960s with "She's Not There", "Tell Her No", and "Time of the Season"....
     on their 1965 debut album, Begin Here
    Begin Here

    Begin Here is The Zombies' British debut LP released in 1965. The American version repeated a lot of the tracks from it, but as was common in those days, deleted some cuts and substituted some others....


External links

  • in MP3
    MP3

    MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a digital audio Encoder format using a form of lossy data compression. It is a common audio format for consumer audio storage, as well as a de facto standard encoding for the transfer and playback of music on digital audio players....
     format