| "Blue Skies" | |
|---|---|
 Sheet music cover, 1926 | |
| Song | |
| Published | 1926 by Irving Berlin, Inc. |
| Songwriter(s) | Irving Berlin |
"Blue Skies" is a popular song, written by Irving Berlin in 1926.
"Blue Skies" is one of many popular songs whose lyrics use a "bluebird of happiness" as a symbol of cheer: "Bluebirds singing a song/Nothing but bluebirds all day long." The sunny optimism of the lyrics are undercut by the minor key giving the words an ironic feeling.
The song was composed in 1926 as a last-minute addition to the Rodgers and Hart musical Betsy. Although the show ran for only 39 performances, "Blue Skies" was an instant success, with audiences on opening night demanding 24 encores of the piece from star Belle Baker. [1] During the final repetition, Baker forgot her lyrics, prompting Berlin to sing them from his seat in the front row. [2]
In 1927, the music was published and Ben Selvin's recorded version (as The Knickerbockers with vocals by Charles Kaley) was a hit. That same year, it became one of the first songs to be featured in a talkie, when Al Jolson performed it in The Jazz Singer . The song was recorded for all of the major and dime store labels of the time. A version was recorded by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra in 1935 (Victor 25136). 1946 was also a notable year for the song, with a Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire film taking its title along with two recorded versions by Count Basie and Benny Goodman reaching #8 and #9 on the pop charts, respectively.
Thelonious Monk's 1947 composition "In Walked Bud" is based on the chord changes to "Blue Skies."
Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye performed the song in the 1954 seasonally perennial film, White Christmas .
In 1958, Ella Fitzgerald crossed genres putting her own distinctive scat jazz stylings on "Blue Skies" for her double-LP album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book , that year's installment in her famous eight-album Song Book series . The track was also included in that year's Ella compilation album, Get Happy! . In 1962 the song was released as a single by Johnny Rivers.
The song was featured in Ann Marie Fleming's 2002 short film Blue Skies , performed by Alessandro Juliani. [3]
The song was featured prominently in the film Star Trek: Nemesis , as sung by Lieutenant Commander Data during Commander William T. Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi's wedding at the start of the film. It is sung again at the very end of the film by his "brother," the android B-4, during the final scene set in the 24th century, a time period not revisited by the Star Trek franchise for another 18 years, until the release of Star Trek: Picard in 2020. The song "Blue Skies" is featured in that series' premiere episode during a dream sequence involving Data and Captain Picard. The song receives a cover by lead actress Isa Briones for the 10th episode when Data's "spirit" dies.
| "Blue Skies" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Willie Nelson | ||||
| from the album Stardust | ||||
| B-side | "Moonlight in Vermont" | |||
| Released | July 1978 (U.S.) | |||
| Length | 3:32 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Irving Berlin | |||
| Producer(s) | Booker T. Jones | |||
| Willie Nelson singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Twenty years after Fitzgerald's cover, in 1978, Willie Nelson released another version of "Blue Skies" which became a #1 country music hit. This version harkened back to 1939 when it was a major western swing and country standard, performed by Moon Mullican.
| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [4] | 1 |
| US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [5] | 32 |
| Australian (Kent Music Report) | 53 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 4 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 26 |
Blue Skies is a 1946 American musical comedy film directed by Stuart Heisler and starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, and Joan Caulfield. Based on a story by Irving Berlin, the film is about a dancer who loves a showgirl who loves a compulsive nightclub-opener who can't stay committed to anything in life for very long. Produced by Sol C. Siegel, Blue Skies was filmed in Technicolor and released by Paramount Pictures. The music, lyrics, and story were written by Irving Berlin, with most of the songs recycled from earlier works.
"One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" is a song written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the movie musical The Sky's the Limit (1943) and first performed in the film by Fred Astaire.
"On the Sunny Side of the Street" is a 1930 song composed by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Some authors say that Fats Waller was the composer, but he sold the rights to the song. It was introduced in the Broadway musical Lew Leslie's International Revue starring Harry Richman and Gertrude Lawrence.
The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Song Books were a series of eight studio albums released in irregular intervals between 1956 and 1964, recorded by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, supported by a variety of orchestras, big bands, and small jazz combos.
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book is a 1958 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, with a studio orchestra conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, focusing on the songs of Irving Berlin. It was part of the popular and influential Songbook series.
"Thanks for the Memory" (1938) is a popular song composed by Ralph Rainger with lyrics by Leo Robin. It was introduced in the 1938 film The Big Broadcast of 1938 by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross, and recorded by Shep Fields and His Orchestra featuring John Serry Sr. on accordion in the film and vocals by Bob Goday on Bluebird Records. Dorothy Lamour's solo recording of the song was also popular, and has led to many mistakenly believing over the years that it was she who sang the tune with Hope in the film.
"Heat Wave" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1933 musical As Thousands Cheer, and introduced in the show by Ethel Waters.
"It's Only a Paper Moon" is a popular song published in 1933 with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg and Billy Rose.
"Don't Fence Me In" is a popular American song written in 1934, with music by Cole Porter and lyrics by Robert Fletcher and Cole Porter. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
"The Nearness of You" is a popular song written in 1937 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Ned Washington. Intended for an unproduced Paramount film titled Romance In The Rough, the studio's publishing division Famous Music reregistered and published the song in 1940. It was first recorded by Chick Bullock and his Orchestra on Vocalion. Despite numerous accounts to the contrary, the song was never scheduled for and does not appear in the 1938 Paramount film Romance in the Dark.
"Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" is a song written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 film Shall We Dance, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as part of a celebrated dance duet on roller skates. The sheet music has the tempo marking of "Brightly". The song was ranked No. 34 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.
"Let's Face the Music and Dance" is a song published in 1936 by Irving Berlin for the film Follow the Fleet, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and featured in a celebrated dance duet with Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The jazz song has also been covered by various artists years following its release, including Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Todd Gordon and others.
"How Deep Is the Ocean?" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin in 1932. The song was developed from an earlier Berlin song "To My Mammy" which was sung by Al Jolson in his film Mammy (1930). In the earlier song, the lyrics include the questions "How deep is the ocean? / How high is the sky?" and this was the genesis of "How Deep Is the Ocean?".
"You Keep Coming Back Like a Song" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1946 film Blue Skies, where it was introduced by Bing Crosby. The song was nominated for "Best Song" in 1946 but lost out to "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe". Dinah Shore's version was biggest in the US reaching the No. 5 spot, while Crosby's version peaked at No. 12. Jo Stafford also had chart success with it and her version achieved the No.11 position.
"Reaching for the Moon" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1930 musical film of the same name.
"I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" is a 1938 composition by Duke Ellington, with lyrics added by Irving Mills, Henry Nemo and John Redmond. The song became a number one hit for Ellington in 1938. Other hit versions the same year were by Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey, Connee Boswell, Hot Lips Page, and Mildred Bailey. It was performed as part of The Cotton Club Parade of 1938.
"It's All Right with Me" is a popular song written by Cole Porter, for his 1953 musical Can-Can, where it was introduced by Peter Cookson as the character Judge Aristide Forestier.
"You Took Advantage of Me" is a 1928 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, for the musical Present Arms (1928), where it was introduced by Joyce Barbour and Busby Berkeley as the characters Edna Stevens and Douglas Atwell. The characters were formerly married, but still have romantic feelings for each other. On opening night, Berkeley forgot the lyrics and had to scat and hum the entire second verse. Berkeley also claimed that his nonsense lyrics for the improvised second verse left Hart "almost apoplectic", but the audience was amused and Hart later forgave him. The song was subsequently included in the 1930 film Leathernecking, an adaptation of Present Arms.
"A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin in 1919 which became the theme song of the Ziegfeld Follies. The first verse and refrain are considered part of the Great American Songbook and are often covered as a jazz standard.
"This Year's Kisses" is a popular song written in 1936 by Irving Berlin for the musical film On the Avenue (1937) and introduced by Alice Faye. Popular recordings in 1937 were by Benny Goodman, Hal Kemp, Shep Fields and by Teddy Wilson with Billie Holiday.
