Porgy and Bess is an album by Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte

Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...

 and Lena Horne

Lena Horne

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...

, released by RCA Victor in 1959. It includes songs from George Gershwin

George Gershwin

George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...

's opera Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...

. 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

Bess, You Is My Woman Now

"Bess, You Is My Woman Now" is a duet with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. This song comes from the Gershwins' opera Porgy and Bess 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...

". The album was re-issued on a 2-CD set in 2003 together with Jamaica

Jamaica (musical)

Jamaica is a musical with a book by Yip Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Harold Arlen. Harburg was blacklisted in Hollywood at the time of the writing of the musical...

by BMG

BMG

Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

 Collectables in Stereo.

Track listing

All music composed by George Gershwin

George Gershwin

George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...

, lyricists indicated.

1. "A Woman is a Sometime Thing" (DuBose Heyward
   DuBose Heyward
   Edwin DuBose Heyward was a white American author best known for his 1925 novel Porgy. This novel was the basis for the play by the same name and, in turn, the opera Porgy and Bess with music by George Gershwin.-Life and career:Heyward was born in 1885 in Charleston, South Carolina and was a...
   
   ) – 2:40
2. "Summertime
   Summertime (song)
   "Summertime" is an aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, although the song is also co-credited to Ira Gershwin by ASCAP....
   
   " (Heyward) – 3:11
3. "Oh I Got Plenty of Nothing" (Ira Gershwin
   Ira Gershwin
   Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
   
   , Heyward) – 3:00
4. "I Wants You to Stay Here" (I. Gershwin, Heyward) – 3:30
5. "Bess, You Is My Woman Now
   Bess, You Is My Woman Now
   "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" is a duet with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. This song comes from the Gershwins' opera Porgy and Bess 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...
   
   " (I. Gershwin, Heyward) – 5:57
6. "It Ain't Necessarily So
   It Ain't Necessarily So
   "It Ain't Necessarily So" is a popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song comes from the Gershwins' opera Porgy and Bess where it is sung by the character Sportin' Life, a drug dealer, who expresses his doubt about several statements in the Bible.The role of...
   
   " (I. Gershwin) – 3:03
7. "Street Calls:" (Heyward) – 4:17
   1. "Strawberry Woman"
   2. "The Honey Man"
   3. "Crab Man"
8. "My Man's Gone Now
   My Man's Gone Now
   My Man's Gone Now is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by DuBose Heyward, written for the folk opera Porgy and Bess . Sung in the original production by Ruby Elzy, it has been covered by many female singers notably Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughan, and Shirley Horn, among...
   
   " – 4:05
9. "Bess, Oh Where's My Bess" (I. Gershwin) – 3:36
10. "There's a Boat That's Leavin' Soon for New York" – 2:37

Personnel

• Harry Belafonte
  Harry Belafonte
  Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
  
   – vocals
• Lena Horne
  Lena Horne
  Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
  
   – vocals

Production notes:

• Bob Bollard – producer
• Fred Reynolds – producer
• Lennie Hayton
  Lennie Hayton
  Leonard George "Lennie" Hayton was an American Jewish composer, conductor and arranger. His trademark was the wearing of a captain’s hat, which he always wore at a rakish angle....
  
  – arrangements, musical director
• Robert Corman – arrangements, musical director
• Ernest Oelrich – engineer
• Murray Laden – cover photo

External links

• Porgy and Bess, Harry Belafonte and Friends web site
• Belafonte Tracks discography site