DESCRIPTION:
"Summertime" is an aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera "Porgy and Bess." 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 along with the song styles of blues and folk characteristic of the southeast United States in the early 20th century. It is recognized as one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded music, with more than 33,000 covers by groups and solo performers.