''Porgy and Bess'' is an album by

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

and

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

, released by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

in 1959. It features songs from

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

's opera ''

Porgy and Bess ''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'', itse ...

''. 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" 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 Bes ...

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

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

'' by BMG Collectables in Stereo.

Track listing

All music composed by

, lyricists indicated. #"A Woman is a Sometime Thing" ( DuBose Heyward) – 2:40 #" Summertime" (Heyward) – 3:11 #"Oh I Got Plenty of Nothing" (

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

, Heyward) – 3:00 #"I Wants to Stay Here" (I. Gershwin, Heyward) – 3:30 #"

" (I. Gershwin, Heyward) – 5:57 #"

It Ain't Necessarily So "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, ...

" (I. Gershwin) – 3:03 #"Street Calls": "Strawberry Woman" / "The Honey Man" / "Crab Man" (Heyward) – 4:17 #"

My Man's Gone Now "My Man's Gone Now" is an aria composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by DuBose Heyward, written for the opera '' Porgy and Bess'' (1935). Sung in the original production by Ruby Elzy, it has been covered by many singers, notably Ella Fitzgera ...

" – 4:05 #"Bess, Oh Where's My Bess" (I. Gershwin) – 3:36 #"There's a Boat That's Leavin' Soon for New York" – 2:37

Personnel

– vocals *

– vocals Production notes: *Bob Bollard – producer *Fred Reynolds – producer *

Lennie Hayton Leonard George Hayton (February 14, 1908 – April 24, 1971) was an American musician, composer, conductor and arranger. Hayton's trademark was a captain's hat, which he always wore at a rakish angle. Early life Hayton was born in New Yor ...

–

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

s, musical director *Robert Corman – arrangements, musical director *Ernest Oelrich – engineer *Murray Laden – cover photo

References

{{Authority control 1959 albums Vocal duet albums Harry Belafonte albums Lena Horne albums Albums arranged by Lennie Hayton RCA Records albums Harry Belafonte and Lena Horne album