"It Ain't Necessarily So" is a popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by his brother Ira Gershwin. The song comes from the Gershwins' opera Porgy and Bess (1935) where it is sung by the character Sportin' Life, a drug dealer, who expresses his doubt about several statements in the Bible. The song's melody also functions as a theme for Sportin' Life's character. [1]
The song is controversial for casting doubt on the veracity of the Bible in its central lyrics: "It ain't necessarily so, It ain't necessarily so, The t'ings dat yo' li'ble, To read in de Bible, It ain't necessarily so."[ citation needed ]
The song was criticized by the composer Hall Johnson for depicting African Americans as unfaithful. [2]
The first and most direct example of influence occurs at the start of the song; the melody and phrasing is nearly identical to the blessing incanted before reading from the Torah. The words "It ain't necessarily so" stand in place of Bar'chu et adonai ham'vorach, meaning Bless Adonai, who is blessed. This motif repeats multiple times in both, and both include a response from a congregation. While the phrasing of the melody in the blessing varies, it remains strictly in triplets in Gershwin's tune. [3] The song also seems to draw from the tonality of the Jewish prayer mode Adonai malakh (God is King) by emphasizing the minor tenth, the major third, and the minor seventh. [4]
The role of Sportin' Life was created by John W. Bubbles. Other notable incarnations of the character include Avon Long [5] and Cab Calloway on stage and Sammy Davis Jr. in the 1959 film.
Early charted versions were by Leo Reisman (1935) and by Bing Crosby (1936). [6] The song was notably sung by Bobby Darin on his 1959 album That's All .
In 1960, Aretha Franklin recorded a cover on her debut studio album, Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo for Columbia records. [7]
This song was also covered by a plethora of jazz musicians throughout the 1950s and '60s. In 1952, Oscar Peterson covered it on his album Oscar Peterson Plays George Gershwin . He also covered it as a duet in 1976 with Joe Pass on their album Porgy and Bess . The Cal Tjader Modern Mambo Orchestra recorded it in 1956 for Fantasy Records. In 1955, Ahmad Jamal released a cover on his album Ahmad Jamal Plays . Peggy Lee released a cover of it on her album Black Coffee in 1955. Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald covered it in their 1958 duet album Porgy and Bess . Lena Horne covered it in 1959 on her duet album with Harry Belafonte, Porgy and Bess . In 1959, Sammy Davis Jr. also released a studio version of the song on his album with Carmen McRae, Porgy and Bess . In 1960, Art Farmer and Benny Golson covered the song on their album Meet the Jazztet . Jazz organist Freddie Roach covered the tune in his 1963 album Good Move! . On her 1963 album Black Christ of the Andes, Mary Lou Williams made a cover of the song.[ citation needed ]
It was covered a number of times during the rock and roll era. The Honeycombs released a cover of it on their debut album, The Honeycombs in 1964. The next year, the song was a major Australian hit in 1965 for singer Normie Rowe, reaching number five on the Australian singles charts. Also in 1965, The Moody Blues covered the song for their album, The Magnificent Moodies . The Moody Blues' version is notable for the fact that it was their first recording with band member Ray Thomas singing the lead vocals.[ citation needed ]
Violin virtuoso Jascha Heifetz, close friend of George Gershwin, transcribed the song for violin in 1944. [8] He recorded this version on September 15, 1970, in ORTF Studio 102, Paris, [9] first appearing on the Heifetz on Television album from 1971. [10]
In 1984, the song was released as a single by UK band Bronski Beat with Jimmy Somerville on lead vocals. The song was taken from Bronski Beat's debut album, The Age of Consent and reached number 16 on the UK singles charts.[ citation needed ]
Other versions include Cher in 1994, Tina May in 1995, [11] Jamie Cullum in 2002, Sting, Brian Wilson on his 2010 Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin album and Hugh Laurie on his 2011 album Let Them Talk . In 2014, Spanish jazz singer Pedro Ruy-Blas included the song on his album El Americano.[ citation needed ]
A verse was cut solely for the use of an encore. The lyrics were:
Way back in 5000 B.C.
Ole Adam an' Eve had to flee
Sure, dey did dat deed in
De Garden of Eden
But why chasterize you an' me? [12]
In Nazi-occupied Denmark, the Danish underground interrupted the 1943 Nazi victory radio announcements with a recording of the song. [13]
The philosopher Hilary Putnam used the song as the title of a 1962 paper, later published in The Journal of Philosophy (59:22). [14]
Mad magazine's 1967 race issue featured a parody version with Martin Luther King Jr. singing, "It's not necessarily Stoke! It's not necessarily Stoke! No, him you can't trust in, Just ask Bayard Rustin. Oh it's not necessarily Stoke!", in reference to the civil-rights organiser Stokely Carmichael. [2]
American musician Larry Adler used the song as the title of his 1984 autobiography. [15]
The Jascha Heifetz violin version provided the music for Olympic gold medalist gymnast Natalia Lashchenova's gold medal–winning floor routine at the 1991 Summer Universiade. [16]
Porgy and Bess is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play Porgy, itself an adaptation of DuBose Heyward's 1925 novel of the same name.
Highlights from Porgy and Bess, the 1935 album of George Gershwin's opera, was recorded just days after Porgy and Bess opened on Broadway on October 10, 1935. While the opera was performed by an all-African American singing cast, the 1935 album featured mostly white opera singers. Gershwin's involvement is clearly stated on the album cover, which reads "Recorded under the supervision of the composer."
Decca Presents Selections from George Gershwin's folk opera Porgy and Bess consists of two volumes of records, the first from 1940, and the next from 1942.
Porgy and Bess is a studio album by jazz vocalist and trumpeter Louis Armstrong and singer Ella Fitzgerald, released on Verve Records in 1959. The third and final of the pair's albums for the label, it is a suite of selections from the George Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess. Orchestral arrangements are by Russell Garcia, who had previously arranged the 1956 jazz vocal recording The Complete Porgy and Bess.
Porgy and Bess, the opera by George Gershwin, has been recorded by a variety of artists since it was completed in 1935, including renditions by jazz instrumentalists and vocalists, in addition to operatic treatments.
"They Can't Take That Away from Me" is a 1937 popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced by Fred Astaire in the 1937 film Shall We Dance and gained huge success.
Porgy and Bess (2006), first studio cast recording directly based on the original 1935 production of George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. This studio recording originated as several semi-staged performances which took place on February 24 and 25, 2006 at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville, with Alvy Powell as Porgy, Marquita Lister as Bess, Nicole Cabell as Clara and Robert Mack as Sportin' Life. The Nashville Symphony Orchestra was conducted by John Mauceri. The recording incorporates changes Gershwin made to his original score after its first publication, which were not discovered until 1987.
"I Loves You, Porgy" is a duet from the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was performed in the opera's premiere in 1935 and on Broadway the same year by Anne Brown and Todd Duncan. They recorded the song on volume 2 of the album Selections from George Gershwin's Folk Opera Porgy and Bess in 1942. The duet occurs in act 2, scene 3, Catfish Row, where Porgy promises Bess that he will protect her. Bess has a lover, Crown, who is abusive and continually seduces her.
Porgy and Bess is a 1976 album by pianist Oscar Peterson and guitarist Joe Pass featuring music from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. This is the only album on which Peterson plays the clavichord.
Oscar Peterson Plays Porgy & Bess is a 1959 studio album by Oscar Peterson, playing selections from George Gershwin's 1935 opera, Porgy and Bess.
Porgy & Bess is a 1997 album by the jazz saxophonist Joe Henderson, released on Verve Records. It contains Henderson's arrangements of music from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. It was his final album as a leader.
Porgy and Bess is an album by Harry Belafonte and Lena Horne, released by RCA Victor in 1959. It features songs from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. Belafonte and Horne sing two songs together: "There's a Boat That's Leavin' Soon for New York" and "Bess, You Is My Woman Now". The album was re-issued on a 2-CD set in 2003 together with Jamaica by BMG Collectables in Stereo.
"Bess, You Is My Woman Now" is a duet with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. This song comes from the Gershwins' opera Porgy and Bess (1935) where it is sung by the main character Porgy and his beloved Bess. They express their love for each other and say that they now belong together.
The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess is an album by the American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet performing the score to George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess recorded in 1964-65 and released on the Atlantic label.
"I Got Plenty o' Nuttin' " is a bass-baritone aria sung by the character Porgy from George Gershwin's 1935 "folk-opera" Porgy and Bess (1934). The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, and Ira Gershwin. It is one of the most famous arias from the opera and it has been recorded by hundreds of singers and music groups.
Porgy and Bess is an album by American jazz pianist Hank Jones featuring interpretations of music from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess recorded in 1958 for the Capitol label.
Porgy and Bess is a 1959 album by Sammy Davis Jr. of selections from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess co-starring Carmen McRae. Davis is accompanied by orchestras conducted by Buddy Bregman and Morty Stevens, sometimes supported by the Bill Thompson singers. McRae is featured on three of the ten songs, "Summertime", "My Man's Gone Now" and the only duet, "I Loves You, Porgy", all three backed by an orchestra directed by Jack Pleis. "The record is piled to the sky with strings, harps, choruses, and pillowy orchestration," writes Tim Sendra on Allmusic, but "credit[s] Sammy and Carmen for holding up their end of the deal."
Toshiko Akiyoshi Plays Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" is a 2016 recording by jazz pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi.
Porgy & Bess is an album by multi-instrumentalist Buddy Collette featuring jazz versions of music from the George Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess recorded at sessions in 1957 and released on the Interlude label in 1959.
Porgy & Bess Revisited, subtitled Played by a Very Unusual Cast, is an album of jazz interpretations of songs from the George Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess performed by cornetist Rex Stewart and trumpeter Cootie Williams, with saxophonists Hilton Jefferson and Pinky Williams and trombonist Lawrence Brown, that was recorded in late 1958 and released on the Warner Bros. label.
