I Loves You, Porgy

"I Loves You, Porgy" is a duet from the opera Porgy and Bess with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was published in 1935.

Background
Originally a duet by Anne Brown and Todd Duncan in the 1935 production and in the 1942 revival of the opera, "I Loves You, Porgy" has been recorded as a solo number by a number of popular vocalists and jazz musicians, most notably Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, and Bill Evans. Nina Simone's recording of the song (from Little Girl Blue, 1958) was a Top 20 pop hit in the United States in the autumn of 1959. Simone's version went to number eighteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the R&B charts. A live version is featured in her 1964 album Nina Simone in Concert. Bill Evans's piano trio version recorded at the Village Vanguard in 1961, available on the CD re-issue of the album Waltz for Debby, is also acclaimed.

Cover versions
James Brown recorded "I Loves You, Porgy" on the album Cold Sweat (1967)
Nina Simone recorded "I Loves You, Porgy" on the album Little Girl Blue (1958)
Chaka Khan recorded "I Loves You, Porgy" on the album Echoes of an Era (1982).
Barbra Streisand recorded "I Loves You, Porgy" as a medley with "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" (sung as "Porgy, I's Your Woman Now") on her The Broadway Album (1985). 
Jex Saarelaht and Kate Ceberano recorded a version on their album Open the Door - Live at Mietta's (1992). 
Whitney Houston sang  "I Loves You, Porgy" at the beginning of a medley with "I Have Nothing" at the 1994 American Music Awards. This performance was included on the 2014 CD/DVD release, Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances. Houston performed the tune several times during her Bodyguard Tour in 1993, also during her HBO televised Classic Whitney: Live in Washington, D.C. in 1997.
Christina Aguilera performed a critically acclaimed rendition of the song at the Grammy Nomination Concert in December 2008.

References 

Category:1935 songs
Category:Songs from Porgy and Bess
Category:Songs with lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Category:Jazz compositions in F major
Category:1930s jazz standards