Yes, there are a plethora of songs about summer, from Nat “King” Cole’s “Hazy Lazy Crazy Days of Summer” to Mungo Jerry’s “In the Summertime” to Sly and the Family Stones “Hot Fun in the Summertime” and concluding with Eddie Cochrane’s “Summertime Blues” as some of the most popular. But nothing comes close to the iconic popularity of George Gershwin’s “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess. It simply captures the heat, humidity and passion of the season like no other song.
There is an endless list of covers of it, but we’ve put together a “must hear” list for you to start with. If you’ve heard all of these before, go listen to them again!
Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald-This 1959 duet from their Verve album is simultaneously and gorgeously lush and stark.- Billie Holiday-From 1936 with her own orchestra, her voice is haunting and instantly nostalgic.
- Leontyne Price. She did a version in 1960 with the Vienna Philharmonic that gives the song the classic/operatic sound Gershwin
initially aimed for.
- Miles Davis w/ Gil Evans. Davis’ muted horn with the soft woodwinds on this 1959 big band session is one of the
sleekest around - Lambert, Hendricks and Ross-did a vocalese version of the Davis-Evans collaboration the same year and made it their own, with Ross’ high pitched closing something you’ll
never forget. - Billy Stewart. His over the top intro with his “Dat-dat’s” rar-a-tatting like a machine gun digs into your
subconscious. - Sidney Bechet’s 1939 duet with guitarist Teddy Bunn is possibly the most passionate, bluesy and riveting, with Bechet’s vibrato so wide it could
fill Dodger Stadium.I play this version more than all of these other ones put together.
- John Coltrane’s 1961 version with his quartet of McCoy Tyner/p, Elvin Jones/dr and Steve Davis/b from his My Favorite Things album is possibly the most outside, and still sends out shock waves.
- Gene Harris from a live set in 1995 teams with Ron Eschete/g, Luther Hughes/b and Paul Humphrey/dr to dig into a particularly
soulful take Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company on their 1968 album is particularly dreamy
- BONUS-Willie Nelson recently released a version from his Gershwin album that is as
timeless as his own “Crazy.”