It Ain't Necessarily So

The song comes from the Gershwins' opera Porgy and Bess (1935) where it is sung by the character Sportin' Life, a drug dealer, who expresses his doubt about several statements in the Bible.

[2] The first and most direct example of influence occurs at the start of the song; the melody and phrasing is nearly identical to the blessing incanted before reading from the Torah.

Other notable incarnations of the character include Avon Long[5] and Cab Calloway on stage and Sammy Davis Jr. in the 1959 film.

The Moody Blues' version is notable for the fact that it was their first recording with band member Ray Thomas singing the lead vocals.

[10] In 1984, the song was released as a single by UK band Bronski Beat with Jimmy 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.

In 2014, Spanish jazz singer Pedro Ruy-Blas [es] included the song on his album El Americano.

Ole Adam an' Eve had to flee Sure, dey did dat deed in De Garden of Eden But why chasterize you an' me?

[12] In Nazi-occupied Denmark, the Danish underground interrupted the 1943 Nazi victory radio announcements with a recording of the song.

[14] Mad magazine's 1967 race issue featured a parody version with Martin Luther King Jr. singing, "It's not necessarily Stoke!