Lana Del Rey covers George Gerswhin’s ‘Summertime’

Lana Del Rey has shared a rendition of George Gershwin’s 1935 jazz standard ‘Summertime’.

The singer recorded the cover to raise funds for the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonics. She’s encouraging fans to donate to the LA group’s ‘Play Your Part’ fund along with the ‘NY Plays On’ campaign.

Watch the video for Del Rey’s cover below:

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“I’m so grateful to have been asked to perform this version of summertime by George Gershwin — the legendary composer-pianist whose music the New York Philharmonic has premiered and with whom we performed. Especially during a crisis faced by all performing arts organizations,” Del Rey tweeted alongside her version.

It marks the second time that Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess aria has appeared in Del Rey’s work. A version of the song by jazz flautist Herbie Mann was sampled by Sublime on their song ‘Doin’ Time’, taken from their self-titled 1996 album.

Del Rey went on to cover ‘Doin’ Time’ on her latest album, last year’s ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell’. The album took home the award for ‘Best Album In The World’ at the 2020 NME Awards.

Earlier this month, Del Rey covered the hymn ‘On Eagle’s Wings’ in tribute to Joe Biden’s election victory. She previously announced she was working on an album of “American standards and classics” that she intends to release before Christmas.

Though forthcoming studio album ‘Chemtrails Over the Country Club’ has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, she released first single ‘Let Me Love You Like a Woman’ last month.

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Earlier this week, Del Rey responded to criticism over the controversial mesh face mask she wore to signings of her poetry book Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass, with many questioning its efficacy.

“The mask had plastic on the inside. They’re commonly sewn in by stylists these days,” Del Rey wrote on Twitter.