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.
"Something's Gotta Give" is a popular song with words and music by Johnny Mercer in 1954. It was published in 1955. It was written for and first performed by Fred Astaire in the 1955 musical film Daddy Long Legs, and was nominated the same year for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, losing to "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" from the film of the same name.
Philip James Bailey is an American singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers of the band Earth, Wind & Fire. Noted for his four-octave vocal range and distinctive falsetto register, Bailey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of Earth, Wind & Fire. Bailey was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame for his work with the band.
"Night and Day" is a popular song by Cole Porter that was written for the 1932 musical Gay Divorce. It is perhaps Porter's most popular contribution to the Great American Songbook and has been recorded by dozens of musicians. NPR says "within three months of the show's opening, more than 30 artists had recorded the song."
Come Dance with Me! is the sixteenth studio album by American vocalist Frank Sinatra, released on January 5, 1959.
"Dream", sometimes referred to as "Dream (When You're Feeling Blue)", is a jazz and pop standard with words and music written by Johnny Mercer in 1944. He originally wrote it as a theme for his radio program. It has been and performed by many artists, with the most popular versions of this song recorded by The Pied Pipers, Frank Sinatra, and Roy Orbison.
"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is a show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for the 1933 musical comedy Roberta. The song was sung in the Broadway show by Tamara Drasin. It was first recorded by Gertrude Niesen, with orchestral direction from Ray Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's second cousin, on October 13, 1933. Niesen's recording of the song was released by Victor, with in the B-side "Jealousy", a song featuring Isham Jones and his Orchestra. The line "When your heart's on fire, smoke gets in your eyes" apparently comes from a Russian proverb.
Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings was Bing Crosby's sixth LP, his first album for Verve, recorded and released in a mono format in 1956.
"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.
"Fascinating Rhythm" is a popular song written by George Gershwin in 1924 with lyrics by Ira Gershwin.
"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.
Alvin Stoller was an American jazz drummer. Though he seems to have been largely forgotten, he was held in high regard in the 1940s and 1950s. He was best known for playing drums on both Mitch Miller's recording of "The Yellow Rose of Texas" and Stan Freberg's parody of Miller's recording.
The Astaire Story is a 1952 album by Fred Astaire. The album was conceived of and produced by Norman Granz, the founder of Clef Records, who was also responsible for the Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts, at which all of the musicians on the album had performed.
The discography of Mr Hudson, a British R&B and pop singer-songwriter, consists of two studio albums, 15 singles and ten music videos. In 2009, he released his second studio album, Straight No Chaser, which included his first top five single, "Supernova", which featured Kanye West and peaked at number two in the United Kingdom. Straight No Chaser went on to debut at number 25 on the UK Albums Chart.
Song Hits from Holiday Inn is a studio album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire released in July 1942 featuring songs presented in the American musical film Holiday Inn. These are the longer studio recorded versions of the songs presented in the film. For the songs that were actually in the film, see Holiday Inn (soundtrack). This album is not only notable because it is one of the greatest works of the highly regarded songwriter Irving Berlin, but it is only Crosby's third studio album. This was also the first release of Crosby's signature song "White Christmas" on shellac disc record. The 1942 version would be released only one more time, in 1945's compilation album, Merry Christmas, before the song was re-recorded in 1947. The later version became the standard.
After Bing Crosby's long-term Decca Records contract was up, he signed many short-term contracts with a wide variety of labels. These included many popular labels such as Reprise, RCA, Verve, Decca (again), United Artists, Capitol and more.
Blue Skies is an album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire released in 1946 featuring songs that were presented in the American musical film Blue Skies. Like Song Hits from Holiday Inn, the entire 78 rpm album would be composed of Irving Berlin songs written specifically for the film. This was the first release of one of Astaire's greatest songs, "Puttin' On the Ritz", on shellac disc record.
The following is the discography of American dancer and singer Fred Astaire.
Now Fred Astaire is a studio album by American dancer and singer Fred Astaire, released in 1959 on Kapp Records.
Three Evenings with Fred Astaire is an album by American dancer and singer Fred Astaire, released on his own label Choreo Records in 1962.
