Blue Skies (Irving Berlin song)

"Blue Skies" is a popular song, written by Irving Berlin in 1926.

History

The song was composed in 1926 as a last-minute addition to the Rodgers and Hart musical Betsy. Although the show ran for 39 performances only, "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, Ms. 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 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. Another version of the song 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. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye performed the song in 1954's White Christmas. Crossing genres, Willie Nelson's recording of "Blue Skies" was a #1 country music hit in 1978. It was a major western swing and country standard already in 1939, by Moon Mullican, and in 1962 by Jim Reeves.

Thelonious Monk's 1947 composition "In Walked Bud" is based on the chord changes to "Blue Skies."

"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."

Chart performance

Willie Nelson version

Chart (1978) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[3] 1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[4] 32
Australian Kent Music Report 53
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks 4
New Zealand Singles Chart 26

Selective list of recorded versions

Selected appearances in film

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Blue Skies at jazzstandards.com - retrieved on March 19, 2009
  2. ↑ Laurence Bergreen, As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin, 1996, p. 277.
  3. ↑ "Willie Nelson Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  4. ↑ "Willie Nelson Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  5. ↑ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  7. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Turn Up the Quiet – Diana Krall". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
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