Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess is an opera with music by George Gershwin and libretto by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on Heyward's novel Porgy and the play of the same name that he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy. All three works deal with African American life in the fictitious Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina in the early 1930s.

Songs

Porgy and Bess contains many songs that have become popular in their own right, becoming standards in jazz and blues in addition to their original operatic setting.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some of the more popular songs include:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• "Summertime", Act I Scene 1
• "A Woman is a Sometime Thing", Act I Scene 1
• "My Man's Gone Now", Act I Scene 2
• "It Take a Long Pull to Get There", Act II Scene 1
• "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'", Act II Scene 1
• "Buzzard Keep on Flyin'", Act II Scene 1
• "Bess, You Is My Woman Now", Act II Scene 1
• "Oh, I Can't Sit Down," Act II Scene 1
• "It Aint Necessarily So", Act II Scene 2
• "What you want wid Bess", Act II Scene 2
• "Oh, Doctor Jesus", Act II Scene 3
• "A Red-Haired Woman", Act II Scene 4
• "There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York", Act III Scene 2
• "Bess, O Where's My Bess?", Act III Scene 3
• "I'm on my way", Act III Scene 3

Sarah Vaughn's rendition of "It Ain't Necessarily So" and Billie Holiday's version of "Summertime". Frank Sinatra also had recorded "Summertime". Janis Joplin recorded a Blues rock version of "Summertime" with Big Brother & The Holding Company. Billy Stewart's version became a Top 10 Pop and R&B hit in 1966 for Chess Records.

Related Topics:
Sarah Vaughn - Billie Holiday - Frank Sinatra - Janis Joplin - Blues rock - Big Brother & The Holding Company - Billy Stewart - Top 10 - Pop - R&B - 1966 - Chess Records

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Summertime" vies with the Beatles "Yesterday" as one of the most popular cover songs in popular music, with an estimated 2,500 different versions recorded. Even seemingly unlikely performers such as the Zombies have made recordings of it.

Related Topics:
Beatles - Yesterday - Cover - The Zombies

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~