“Oh, Doctor Jesus”
Song by Cleo Laine
The spooky elegy “Oh, Doctor Jesus” is sung by Cleo Laine with The Reverend James Cleveland Singers on the 1976 Ray Charles/Cleo Laine version of Porgy And Bess. It’s the final song on Side 2 of the double-LP box set, and doesn’t feature Ray Charles vocally or instrumentally.
“Oh, Doctor Jesus” is sung by the character of Serena, a grieving widow who lives on Catfish Row where much of Porgy And Bess takes place. It’s a solemn prayer to Jesus for Bess, in bed with a serious fever, to get better again.
There is no percussion, or much music at all, on “Oh, Doctor Jesus”: only Cleo and her haunting backing choir lift this slowly-unfolding, spine-tingling cry to the heavens. It ends the first half of this version of Porgy And Bess on a stark, chilly note – but one that is destined for success, as Bess does indeed eventually recover from her illness.
As “Oh, Doctor Jesus” doesn’t include Ray Charles it may be of limited interest to Ray fans in and of itself; but as part of the balance of the Charles/Laine Porgy And Bess it slots in quite nicely and, of course, helps drive the story along.
Listen to “Oh, Doctor Jesus”
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Songs on Porgy And Bess