Wiki
-
Length
3:05
"Summertime" is a song by George Gershwin covered by Lana Del Rey. She announced and released the song on all platforms on November 19, 2020, with information about the track being leaked by a fan the day previous. It was speculated to be the lead single from her then-recently announced covers album "Pacific Blue", which was later scrapped. The song was produced by Dean Reid, Gabe Simon and Zach Dawes. It was also accompanied with a music video directed by Constellation Jones.
Lana used the song as a fundraiser for the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras, and announced that she will be making donations to both in a move to advocate support for struggling artists during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lana Del Rey tweeted: “I'm so grateful to have been asked to perform this version of 'Summertime' by George Gershwin — the legendary composer-pianist whose music the New York Philharmonic has premiered and with whom we performed. Especially during a crisis faced by all performing arts organizations.” She continued: “Im so happy to have recorded this song to support the wonderful arts institutions that are the LA and NY Philharmonic orchestras that have faced such difficult challenges this year.. I'll be donating to both to support them and loved making this video I hope you like it.”
"Summertime" was written by George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, and Ira Gershwin as an aria for the 1935 opera "Porgy and Bess". It was famously rerecorded by American jazz singer Billie Holiday, whose vocals were sampled in Del Rey's cover. Musically, the song served as inspiration for, and was sampled in Sublime's "Doin' Time", which Del Rey also covered on her 2019 album, "Norman Fucking Rockwell!".
Chad Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, said in a statement: “We're incredibly grateful for Lana Del Rey's support and for her drawing attention to the challenges arts organisations have faced over the past several months. The performing arts have been hit especially hard by the pandemic, but we look forward to the day when the orchestra and artists, including Lana, will be able return to our stages again. In the meantime, we are extraordinarily thankful for her support and the many, many other donors who have stepped forward during this difficult time.”
New York Philharmonic President & CEO Deborah Borda added: “What a wonderful gift from Lana Del Rey! It's particularly poetic, since the song is by George Gershwin — the legendary composer-pianist whose music the New York Philharmonic has premiered and with whom we performed. We are most grateful to Lana, as we are to all who are supporting us during a crisis faced by all performing arts organisations."
On March 30, 2023, a second cover of the song by Del Rey, taking inspiration from Janis Joplin's 1968 arrangement, leaked. This version was recorded on February 26, 2013.
Track descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. Feel free to contribute!
All user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
