Oct. 17, 2025

An All-Star Porgy and Bess Playlist

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George Gershwin revolutionized opera with Porgy and Bess by incorporating quintessentially African American genres like jazz, blues, spirituals, and gospel. But his songs weren’t confined to the opera house for long. Immediately after the show’s 1935 premiere, popular Black artists began to make the numbers their own. This playlist of classic Porgy covers assembles an all-star roster of musical legends.

Billie Holiday—Clara: “Summertime” (1936)

Holiday’s take on “Summertime” marked the first successful commercial cover of a number from Porgy and Bess. Backed by growling trumpet and slinking clarinet, Lady Day transforms it from a lullaby into a sultry siren song.

 

Paul Robeson—Jake: “A Woman Is a Sometime Thing” (1938)

In 1928, Robeson played Crown in the stage play Porgy, and Gershwin later considered him for the title role in his adaptation. Although Robeson ultimately never sang in the opera, he recorded four selections from the score, including this rather sinister take on Jake’s mock-lullaby.

 

Nina Simone—Serena: “My Man’s Gone Now” (1967) 

Simone, who had previously covered “I Loves You Porgy,” recorded “My Man’s Gone Now” in one spontaneous take during a studio session. Her scat riffs on Serena’s wailing refrain convey the character’s exhaustion and anguish.

 

Harry Belafonte—Porgy: “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’” (1959)

After turning down the lead in the 1959 movie version of Porgy, Belafonte recorded an album of excerpts with Lena Horne. His cover of Porgy’s credo for happy living shows off the crooner’s velvety smooth vocals. 

 

Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald—Porgy and Bess: “Bess, You Is My Woman Now” (1959)  

Of the over two dozen Porgy albums released in 1959 to capitalize on the film adaptation, Fitzgerald and Armstrong’s is the indisputable standout. Their bluesy performance of this love duet restores much of the warmth that’s missing from the movie.

 

Aretha Franklin—Sportin’ Life: “It Ain’t Necessarily So” (1961)

Franklin’s debut studio album—recorded when she was just 18 years old—features a soulful cover of Sportin’ Life’s blasphemous sermon.

 

Diahann Carroll—Bess: “What You Want Wid Bess?” (1959)

The same year she appeared onscreen as Clara in the movie version, Carroll put out her own album of Porgy covers with the André Previn Trio. Previn, who also arranged and conducted Gershwin’s score for the film soundtrack, would later premiere his 2009 opera Brief Encounter at HGO.

 

Diana Ross—Bess: “I Loves You Porgy” (1972)

In 1972, Diana Ross not only portrayed Billie Holiday in the biopic Lady Sings the Blues, but she also recorded a Holiday tribute album titled Blue. Not released until 2006, it features this surprisingly up-tempo rendition of Bess’s torch song.

 

Sammy Davis Jr.—Sportin’ Life: “There’s a Boat That’s Leavin’ Soon for New York” (1959)

When Cab Calloway was unavailable to play Sportin’ Life, Sammy Davis Jr.—with some help from Frank Sinatra—was cast as the charismatic drug dealer. Like his costar Diahann Carroll, Davis recorded his own Porgy album, including this swingin’ version of Sportin’ Life’s showstopper.

 

Ray Charles—Porgy: “Oh Lawd, I’m On My Way” (1976)

This little-known Porgy album by Charles and Cleo Laine has long been out of print. Charles takes Porgy’s hopeful final number at a laidback tempo, backed by harmonica, organ, blues bass, and a full gospel choir.

 

about the author
Joe Cadagin
Joe Cadagin is the Audience Education and Communications Manager at Houston Grand Opera.