Abbie Mitchell - Summertime

First performance: 00/10/1965

Coverinfo

As far as it's known, Bruce covered the song only once: 
 
1965-10-00 - RECEPTION HALL, MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ

One show, with The Castiles the sole act on the bill. The 27 song titles of this show have been culled from a surviving inventory/setlist document that was originally in the possession of a member of The Castiles. This list is believed to have emanated from a wedding reception the band performed in the autumn of 1965. With the exception of “Sidewalk” (co-written by Bruce) all of the songs are covers of other artist’s material. The setlist includes numerous 1964-1965 'British Invasion' hits by the Stones, Yardbirds, Kinks, Zombies and Beatles - a clear indication of the kind of music the band was playing at teen gigs. The high proportion of 1950s ballad material in this particular show (sung by George Theiss, not Bruce) is likely the result of it being a wedding, with manager Tex Vinyard making sure his boys also catered to the older relatives in attendance.
 
 
 
 
  

Songinfo

"Summertime" is an aria composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess and first recored by Abbie Mitchell. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based. The song soon became a popular and much recorded jazz standard, described as "without doubt ... one of the finest songs the composer ever wrote. Heyward's inspiration for the lyrics was the southern folk spiritual-lullaby "All My Trials", of which he had Clara sing a snippet in his play Porgy. 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". The song is recognized as among the most covered songs in the history of recorded music, with more than 33,000 covers by groups and solo performers. Gershwin began composing the song in December 1933, attempting to create his own spiritual in the style of the African American folk music of the period. Gershwin had completed setting DuBose Heyward's poem to music by February 1934, and spent the next 20 months completing and orchestrating the score of the opera. The song is sung several times throughout Porgy and Bess. The 1959 movie version of the musical featured Loulie Jean Norman singing the song. 
 
 
  

Bruce on the artist

Lyrics

Summertime
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry

One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll fly to the sky

But till that morning
There's a'nothing can harm you
With daddy and mamma standing by

One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll fly to the sky

But till that morning
There's a'nothing can harm you
With daddy and mamma standing by