Blue Skies (song)
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"Blue Skies" is a popular song, written by Irving Berlin.
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[edit] History
The song was composed in 1926 as a last minute addition to the Rodgers and Hart musical, Betsy. Although the show only ran for 39 performances, "Blue Skies" was an instant success, with audiences on opening night demanding 28 encores of the piece from star, Belle Baker. During the final repetition, Baker forgot her lyrics, prompting Berlin to sing them from his seat in the front row.
In 1927, the music was published and Ben Selvin's recorded version was a #1 hit. That same year, it became the first song to be featured in a talkie, when Al Jolson performed it in The Jazz Singer. 1946 was also a notable year for the song, with a Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire film taking its title, and two recorded versions by Count Basie and Benny Goodman reaching #8 and #9 on the pop charts, respectively. Crossing genres, Willie Nelson's recording of "Blue Skies" was a #1 country music hit in 1978.
[edit] Recorded Versions
- Ben Selvin (1927)
- Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra (with vocal by Frank Sinatra) (1941)
- Count Basie and his orchestra (with vocal by Jimmy Rushing) (1946)
- Bing Crosby (1946)
- Benny Goodman and his orchestra (with vocal by Art Lund) (1946)
- Frank Sinatra (1946)
- The McGuire Sisters (1957)
- Ella Fitzgerald (1958)
- Jim Reeves (1962)
- Willie Nelson (1978)
- Rosemary Clooney
- Cassandra Wilson (1988)
- Lavay Smith & Red Hot Skillet Lickers (1996)
- Fiona Apple and Brad Mehldau (2002) – unreleased, but performed at Club Largo.
- Brent Spiner performing as Lt. Cmdr. Data, in the 2002 movie Star Trek: Nemesis.
- Caetano Veloso (2004)
[edit] Selected Appearances in Film
- The Jazz Singer (1927)
- Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
- Blue Skies (1946)
- White Christmas (1954)
- Glengary Glen Ross 1994
- With Honors (1994)
- Patch Adams (1998)
- Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
- The Aviator (2004)
