"It Ain't Necessarily So" is a popular song with music byGeorge Gershwin and lyrics by his brotherIra Gershwin. The song comes from the Gershwins' operaPorgy and Bess (1935) where it is sung by the character Sportin' Life, a drug dealer, who expresses his doubt about several statements in theBible. The song's melody also functions as aleitmotif for Sportin' Life's character.[1]
African-American composerHall Johnson criticized the song for depicting African Americans as "racially out of character".[2]
MusicologistHoward Pollack has noted the influence of Jewish liturgical music in the song. The first and most direct example of this influence occurs at the start of the song: the melody and phrasing is nearly identical to the blessing incanted before reading from theTorah. The words "It ain't necessarily so" stand in place ofBar'chu et adonai ham'vorach, meaningBlessAdonai, who is blessed. Thismotif repeats multiple times in both, and both include a response from a congregation. While the phrasing of the melody in the blessing varies, it remains strictly intriplets in Gershwin's tune.[3] The song also seems to draw from the tonality of the Jewish prayer modeAdonai malakh (God is King) by emphasizing theminor tenth, themajor third, and theminor seventh.[4]
The role of Sportin' Life was created byJohn W. Bubbles. Other notable incarnations of the character includeAvon Long[5] andCab Calloway on stage andSammy Davis Jr. inthe 1959 film.
Early charted versions were byLeo Reisman (1935) and byBing Crosby (1936).[6] The song was notably sung byBobby Darin on his 1959 albumThat's All.
In 1960,Aretha Franklin recorded a cover on her debut studio album,Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo for Columbia records.[7]
This song was also covered by a plethora of jazz musicians throughout the 1950s and '60s. In 1952,Oscar Peterson covered it on his albumOscar Peterson Plays George Gershwin. He also covered it as a duet in 1976 withJoe Pass on their albumPorgy and Bess. TheCal Tjader Modern Mambo Orchestra recorded it in 1956 forFantasy Records. In 1955,Ahmad Jamal released a cover on his albumAhmad Jamal Plays.Peggy Lee released a cover of it on her albumBlack Coffee in 1955.Louis Armstrong andElla Fitzgerald covered it in their 1958 duet albumPorgy and Bess.Lena Horne covered it in 1959 on her duet album withHarry Belafonte,Porgy and Bess. In 1959, Sammy Davis Jr. also released a studio version of the song on his album withCarmen McRae,Porgy and Bess. In 1960,Art Farmer andBenny Golson covered the song on their albumMeet the Jazztet. Jazz organistFreddie Roach covered the tune in his 1963 albumGood Move!. On her 1963 albumBlack Christ of the Andes,Mary Lou Williams made a cover of the song.
It was covered a number of times during therock and roll era.The Honeycombs released a cover of it on their debut album,The Honeycombs in 1964. The next year, the song was a major Australian hit in 1965 for singerNormie Rowe, reaching number five on the Australian singles charts. Also in 1965,The Moody Blues covered the song for their album,The Magnificent Moodies.
Violin virtuosoJascha Heifetz, close friend of George Gershwin,transcribed the song for violin in 1944.[8] He recorded this version on September 15, 1970, inORTF Studio 102, Paris,[9] first appearing on theHeifetz on Television album from 1971.[10]
In 1984, the song was released as a single by UK bandBronski Beat withJimmy Somerville on lead vocals. The song was taken from Bronski Beat's debut album,The Age of Consent and reached number 16 on the UK singles charts.[11]
Other versions includeCher in 1994,Tina May in 1995,[12]Jamie Cullum in 2002,Joe Henderson withSting in 1997,Brian Wilson on his 2010Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin album andHugh Laurie on his 2011 albumLet Them Talk. In 2014, Spanish jazz singerPedro Ruy-Blas [es] included the song on his albumEl Americano.[13]
A verse was cut solely for the use of an encore. The lyrics were:
Way back in 5000 B.C.
Ole Adam an' Eve had to flee
Sure, dey did dat deed in
De Garden of Eden
But why chasterize you an' me?[14]
InNazi-occupied Denmark, the Danish underground interrupted the 1943 Nazi victory radio announcements with a recording of the song.[15]
The philosopherHilary Putnam used the song as the title of a 1962 paper, later published inThe Journal of Philosophy (59:22).[16]
Mad magazine's 1967 race issue featured a parody version withMartin Luther King Jr. singing, "It's not necessarily Stoke! It's not necessarily Stoke! No, him you can't trust in, Just askBayard Rustin. Oh it's not necessarily Stoke!", in reference to the civil-rights organizerStokely Carmichael.[17]
American musicianLarry Adler used the song as the title of his 1984 autobiography.[18]
TheJascha Heifetz violin version provided the music for Olympic gold medalist gymnastNatalia Lashchenova's gold medal-winning floor routine at the1991 Summer Universiade.[19]
