''Summertime'' is a 1971 album by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. It consists of tracks assembled by Alpert's

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

label and was released during Alpert's hiatus from performing that occurred between the albums '' The Brass Are Comin''' (1969) and '' You Smile – The Song Begins'' (1974). The title track is a version of the

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

aria from the 1935

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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 (play), ...

'', though influenced by the

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

jazz interpretation of the song. It was released as a single in June 1971 with "Hurt So Bad" on the flip side, but it failed to chart. "Jerusalem", written by Alpert, and " Strike Up the Band", another Gershwin tune, are tracks from a single that reached No. 74 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 1970. "The Nicest Things Happen" was written by Tijuana Brass member

Julius Wechter Julius Wechter (May 10, 1935 – February 1, 1999) was an American musician and composer who played the marimba and vibraphone. He also played various percussion instruments. He composed the song " Spanish Flea" for Herb Alpert and was leader of t ...

and his wife Cissy.

Cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of contemporary and recent hits found on the album include the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' " Martha My Dear",

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved worldwide success and helped define the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Widely considered one of Canada's greatest songwriters, ...

's " If You Could Read My Mind", the

Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...

' " Darlin'" and

Little Anthony & the Imperials Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

' " Hurt So Bad".

Reception

''Summertime'' received mixed contemporary reviews. An August 1971 review distributed by the Gannett News Service concluded: "Nothing exceptional in this album except some easy to take, summertime listening. Publishers release books that don't tax the mind at this time of year too." Writing in the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

'' in the same month, reviewer Bob Talbert had a more positive impression: "Alpert has adjusted, one hopes, to the fact that even the Tom Joneses and

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

es cool off and find a steady sales and popularity groove. This new Alpert Brass album will bring joy to his fans' hearts and gain him a legion of new ones." In a modern-day review of the album for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Richard S. Ginell lamented: "Clearly, Alpert wasn't quite ready to re-emerge full-blown into the performing world."

Track listing

# " Hurt So Bad" ( Teddy Randazzo / Bobby Weinstein / Bobby Hart) – 2:20 # "Jerusalem" (Herb Alpert) – 2:33 # " Martha My Dear" (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

) – 2:07 # " If You Could Read My Mind" (Gordon Lightfoot) – 2:39 # " Darlin'" (

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who is one of the vocalists of the Beach Boys, of which he was an original member alongside his cousins Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson and their frien ...

) – 2:50 # " Summertime" (George Gershwin /

DuBose Heyward Edwin DuBose Heyward (August 31, 1885 – June 16, 1940) was an American author best known for his 1925 novel '' Porgy''. He and his wife Dorothy, a playwright, adapted it as a 1927 play of the same name. The couple worked with composer Georg ...

, "adapted from ideas by"

Ahmad Jamal Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones; July 2, 1930 – April 16, 2023) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator. For six decades, he was one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. He was a NEA Jazz Ma ...

, Gil Evans, Miles Davis, Lani Hall and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross) – 2:10 # "The Nicest Things Happen" (Julius Wechter / Cissy Wechter) – 3:12 # "Montezuma's Revenge" (Sol Lake) – 2:41 # " Catch a Falling Star" ( Paul Vance / Lee Pockriss) – 3:00 # " Strike Up The Band" (George Gershwin /

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 ...

) – 2:33

References

{{Authority control 1971 albums Herb Alpert albums A&M Records albums Albums produced by Herb Alpert Albums produced by Jerry Moss