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. 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.
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 Scroll 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.
Doris Day sings "Blue Skies"
"Blue Skies" is a popular song that was
written by Irving Berlin in 1926.
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