Berlin's Blue Skies was sung in the first feature talkie

Person: Irving Berlin
Lived: 1888–1989
Field: Songwriting
From: Russian-born American

The story

In 1926 Irving Berlin had recently married the writer Ellin Mackay and he became a father for the first time when their daughter Mary Ellin was born. He wrote "Blue Skies" out of that happiness: blue days are gone, and from now on there is nothing but blue skies. The lyric's bluebirds are a classic image of cheer, although the minor key gives the tune a wistful edge.

The song began as a last-minute addition to Betsy, a 1926 Ziegfeld production with a score by Rodgers and Hart. The show lasted only 39 performances, but "Blue Skies" was an instant success. On opening night the audience demanded 24 encores from the star, Belle Baker, and when she forgot the words on the final repeat, Berlin sang them from his seat in the front row.

In 1927 the music was published and Ben Selvin's recording became a hit. That same year Al Jolson sang it in The Jazz Singer, the first feature-length film with synchronised talking and singing, which made "Blue Skies" one of the very first songs heard in a talking picture. The song was recorded for every major label of the day.

It kept returning. In 1946 Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire starred in a film named after it, and versions by Count Basie and Benny Goodman both reached the pop top ten. Ella Fitzgerald recorded it in 1958 for her Irving Berlin Song Book, and in 1978 Willie Nelson took it to number one on the country chart, 52 years after it was written.

The Jazz Singer also opened the way for Berlin's own work in Hollywood. Top Hat (1935) began a series of distinctive Berlin film musicals with stars such as Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland and Alice Faye, followed by Follow the Fleet, On the Avenue, Holiday Inn and Easter Parade. His songs have since appeared in dozens of other films, from The Jazz Singer to Titanic and The Green Mile.

Why it matters

Berlin's songs helped define the sound of early talking pictures and the golden age of the Hollywood musical.

About Irving Berlin

Cantor’s son and refugee from the Russian Empire who never learned to read music, yet wrote “White Christmas” “God Bless America” and well over a thousand other songs.

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Irving Berlin

1888–1989 · Songwriting

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