Ella Fitzgerald Sings ‘Summertime’ by George Gershwin, Berlin 1968

in Music | February 12th, 2013 3 Comments

Here’s a beautiful performance by Ella Fitzgerald of “Summertime,” the famous lullaby from the 1935 George Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, who wrote the novel the opera is based on.

Summertime, And the livin’ is easy Fish are jumpin’ And the cotton is high

Oh, your daddy’s rich And your mamma’s good lookin’ So hush little baby Don’t you cry

It was filmed on February 11, 1968 at the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin. Fitzgerald was on a 21-city tour of Eastern and Western Europe, presented by Norman Granz. She was accompanied by the Tee Carson Trio, with Carson on piano, Keter Betts on bass and Joe Harris on drums.

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