Harlem’s Ella Fitzgerald Sings Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’ In Berlin 1968 (video)

Ella Fitzgerald wasn’t born in Harlem, but she thrived in Harlem from staring on Amateur Nights at the Apollo Theater, to performing at the the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. 

Here’s a beautiful performance by Ella Fitzgerald of “Summertime,” the famous lullaby from the 1935 George Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, who wrote the novel the opera is based on.

Summertime,
And the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’
And the cotton is high

Oh, your daddy’s rich
And your mamma’s good lookin’
So hush little baby
Don’t you cry

It was filmed on February 11, 1968 at the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin. Fitzgerald was on a 21-city tour of Eastern and Western Europe, presented by Norman Granz.

Here’s the video:

She was accompanied by the Tee Carson Trio, with Carson on piano, Keter Betts on bass and Joe Harris on drums.

Via Open Culture