Summertime Trivia Questions

In 'Porgy and Bess,' Clara sings 'Summertime' as a lullaby to her infant son, setting a calm, hopeful tone before the drama unfolds.

The song was first recorded by Abbie Mitchell in 1935 for the original cast album. Janis Joplin's famous version came out in 1969, decades later.

George Gershwin composed 'Summertime' for his 1935 opera 'Porgy and Bess,' which is set in a fictional African-American community in Charleston, South Carolina.

While it's one of the most covered songs, estimates put the number around 3,000 to 5,000 recorded versions, not 30,000.

Billie Holiday's 1936 recording was a hit but never hit number one. The first chart-topping version was by Sam Cooke in 1957 on the R&B charts.

DuBose Heyward, author of the novel 'Porgy,' wrote most of the lyrics for 'Summertime.' Ira Gershwin contributed to other songs in the opera but not this one.

The song is actually in the key of B minor, but that's a minor key—so the statement is true. It has a bittersweet lullaby quality.

George Gershwin composed the melody quickly after being inspired by DuBose Heyward's novel, though the full opera took nearly two years to complete.