Ever since yesterday, there is one song that keeps playing in my head. Maybe it's due to the fact that the mid-July heat is upon us, or maybe that my youngest housemate is a three-months-old girl. Since her parents are also into good music, I shared it with them, and along the way discovered some fantastic versions of this old lullaby from the American South. But first, here are the inspiring lyrics:
Summertime, and a living is easy,
Fish are jumping and the cotton is high,
Your daddy's rich, and your mom is good looking,
So hush little baby, don't you cry.
One of these mornings you're gonna rise up singing,
Spread your wings, and you'll take to the sky,
But until that day nothing can harm you,
With mommy and daddy standing by.
Back to the 30's of Porgy and Bess
Though the song has the feel of folk art, meaning that it was co-created by being interpreted by numerous performers over the years, its roots actually go back to Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess from 1935. Admittedly, the original version - or let's say a true to form version, such as the one by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong from three decades later - didn't do much to get me excited, I realized that this song did take on characteristics of folklore, by having been played by various artists over the time. The interpretation I first payed attention to was the one by Janis Joplin, with that distinct guitar riff.
Letting the Guitar Sing the Blues
Talking about guitar covers, there is a whole lot more talented artists can bring out of their instruments. Have you ever heard of Billy Strings and Marcus King? Not me, but once I listened to their cover I knew you haven't heard Summertime until you heard their version on the blues guitar.
Discovering Further Interpretations
At this point I was ecstatic about finding out what other artists have done with this song. One very fine version is by Norah Jones more on the jazzy piano side, or also this one by Lana del Rey, trying to stay as close to Gershwin as possible. But then, just about when I thought I had heard it all, I saw one cover that completely blew the top for me, by Joanne Shaw Taylor. Not only does it have amazing blues guitar, but she's using the famous Joplin riff, and performs an incredible lyrical interpretation too. So far it has become my favorite.
So to close off, I want to mention the version that brought on this entire search in the first place. It was not Gershwin's opera, or even Janis Joplin, but one cover by the weird punk-ish group called Me First And The Gimmie-Gimmies. Go ahead and give it a listen, but since this is supposed to be a #threetunetuesday, I won't add a video now. It's good on a whole different level, and in fact the group itself deserves its own post... maybe next time.