Introduction
Willie Nelson’s recording of “Summertime,” the iconic Gershwin standard, serves as the title track for his Grammy-winning 2016 album, Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin. This interpretation is a prime example of Nelson’s late-career genius for re-imagining the Great American Songbook, a tradition he began with his groundbreaking 1978 album Stardust. Where the original opera aria by George Gershwin is often sung with soaring, dramatic vocals, Nelson’s version is subdued, almost whispery, conveying the song’s lullaby-like simplicity with a deep, personal resonance.
The track retains the core sentiment of the song—the easy, relaxed feeling of the season where “the livin’ is easy”—but Willie’s weathered, conversational vocal delivery imbues the hopeful message with a certain poignancy. His voice, softened by decades of life and music, suggests that the “easy livin'” is something cherished and perhaps fleeting. The arrangement is clean and jazzy, built around a sparse rhythm section and the gentle touch of his sister Bobbie Nelson on piano, complemented by Mickey Raphael’s evocative harmonica.
By choosing to focus an entire album on the works of George and Ira Gershwin, Nelson links his outlaw country sensibility directly to the sophistication of classic American popular music. His take on “Summertime” is both an act of deep respect for the source material and a signature Willie Nelson performance, proving that true artistry lies not just in writing a song, but in telling its story with unflinching, honest emotion.