Today is the first day of summer! The Summer Solstice officially occurs this year at 10:58 am ET, making today the longest day of the year.
Summer and music have always been the perfect team. The warmth brings people outside, and music festivals and outdoor concerts bloom. The summer brings energy and life, and it's the time when most artists are on the road. Summer's favorable qualities have made it the subject of countless songs, and the setting of the warmest musical memories.
One of the most famous songs of summer is "Summertime" from the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. It is originally performed by the character Clara as a lullaby to her baby, but gained it's own life as a popular jazz standard. Here, Ella Fitzgerald performs a haunting rendition with the Tee Carson Trio in Germany in 1965.
