'Summertime,' Rendered 25,000 Ways - NYTimes.com Two Sunday Reviews ago, I wrote about the long history of "Porgy and Bess" as a prism through which African-Americans have viewed their own history. I am a relatively recent devotee of what I like to think of as the "real" "Porgy and Bess," the full-length opera. So far as I can tell, there is only one performance of the opera ever recorded on DVD - a 1993 Trevor Nunn production with Simon Rattle conducting, released in 2001. Like most people, I came to "Porgy and Bess" through some of the many popular recordings of its famous songs. Indeed, I received several e-mails questioning my sanity for writing about the opera without mentioning two of the most famous recordings: the Ella Fitzgerald-Louis Armstrong version, and the equally sublime Miles Davis recording. As I mentioned in the article, no song has been recorded more than "Summertime," which has been covered more than 25,000 times - by rockers, country singers, jazz musicians and blues artists. Here is a selection of some of the more memorable versions, straddling multiple eras. (And yes, I would have posted this last week, if my blog had been up and running. Better late than never....) Billie Holiday's version was the first to be released, in 1936. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's 1957 cover is often referred to as one of the best. Miles Davis's jazz trumpet distinguished this 1958 version. This Herbie Mann cover from 1961 was recorded at the Village Gate in New York. The Zombies performing on the variety show Shindig! in 1965. In this 1967 cover, The Doors give the song a trippy "60s twist. Janis Joplin performed the song live in Stockholm in 1969. Nick Drake, the reclusive British singer-songwriter, released a brooding version three years before his death, in 1971. The opera singer Leontyne Price starred in a 1952 revival of "Porgy and Bess." This performance is from October 1978. This obscure R.E.M. version from 1990 was produced exclusively for loyal members of the band's fan club. Booker T and the MGs at the Strand in New York, 1991. Sublime's ska cover from 1996 sampled Herbie Mann's arrangements. British trip-hop band Morcheeba released this electronic cover in 1998. The opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa sang "Summertime" at The Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2002. "American Idol" contestant Fantasia Barino performed the song on the talent competition in 2004. She would go on to win, with judges citing this performance as the clincher. Torch singer Norah Jones rendered "Summertime" at the 2003 Tanglewood Jazz Festival. The indefatigable Doc Watson performed the song with his grandson, Richard, in 2007. Jill Scott and George Benson perform the song as part of the Broadway's Best series in 2007.