What famous American composer wrote the music and lyrics for the classic song Blue Skies?
Irving Berlin, born in Tyumen, Russia (or possibly Mogilev, now Belarus), was an American composer and lyricist, one of the most prodigious and famous American songwriters in history. Berlin, who was Jewish, was one of the few Tin Pan Alley/Broadway songwriters who wrote both lyrics and music for his songs. Although he never learned to read music beyond a rudimentary level, he composed over 3,000 songs, many of which, including “God Bless America”, “White Christmas”, “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”, and “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” left an indelible mark on American music and culture. He produced 17 film scores and 21 Broadway scores, in addition to his individual songs. Irving Berlin’s family immigrated to the United States in 1893. His parents were Leah (Lena) Jarchin and Moses Baline; his father was a rabbi who obtained work certifying kosher meat. Following the death of his father in 1896, Irving found himself having to work to survive. He did various street jobs, including
“Blue Skies” is a popular song, written by Irving Berlin in 1926. 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 24 encores of the piece from star, Belle Baker. During the final repetition, Ms. 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 one of the first songs 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. The fact that it became a No. 1 c
