Harmonica - Blue Skies - Irving Berlin
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Blue Skies by Irving Berlin played on chromatic harmonica.
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“Blue Skies” is a popular song, written by Irving Berlin.
Here are the lyrics:
I was blue, just as blue as I could be
Every day was a cloudy day for me
Then good luck came a-knocking at my door
Skies were gray but theyre not gray anymore
Blue skies
Smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies
Do I see
Bluebirds
Singing a song
Nothing but bluebirds
All day long
Never saw the sun shining so bright
Never saw things going so right
Noticing the days hurrying by
When youre in love, my how they fly
Blue days
All of them gone
Nothing but blue skies
From now on
I should care if the wind blows east or west
I should fret if the worst looks like the best
I should mind if they say it cant be true
I should smile, thats exactly what I do
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.
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)
* Groove Armada (1999)
* 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)
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)
Duration : 0:2:35
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A very underrated …
A very underrated instrument played by underrated musicians.
Nice job. I like …
Nice job. I like the tempo you set on this song.
i had a homarnica …
i had a homarnica as a kid neva played anything but blew in it to jus make noise, but dam this guys makes sweet music out of it, i neva new it took sooo much skill to play it , u are very talented dude
I think you have …
I think you have some natural vibrato going on here, probably don’t need the constant wah. Good job!
I guess it’s a …
I guess it’s a HOHNER Chrometta 14
what harmonica is …
what harmonica is this one i know its chromatic but what ne?
Damn good son!
good son!
nice thx
nice thx
Yeah, online or at …
Yeah, online or at a local music shoppe–I’d say online is your best bet. Hohner Special 20 marine bands are pretty good, I heard Lee Oskars are pretty good too. A good one is gonna be about 29 bucks. But you could get a set of every key for 44 bucks but it’s ten Johnson blues kings which are…decent to mess around with averaging out to a little over 4 bucks a piece. But if you’re just starting out I recommend getting a nice one so you know if you’re doin it right. Good Luck!
You GO DUDE! …
You GO DUDE! Awesome!
Very
Very
Hey Man…
You …
Hey Man…
You are genious…
good play…
good play…
well i just heard …
well i just heard Ellas song 5 min ago, and i was pretty pessimist about this……but then i was shocked. Good Job. I enjoyed it. Really.
genius!
genius!
i was already …
i was already inspired.. but i dont know where the to buy one from (apart from online) HELP!!
you’re amazing u …
you’re amazing u play so well
me too
me too
this is wonderful …
this is wonderful you have inspired me to pick up a harmonica
….okay, two …
….okay, two things. One, he wants the wah wah sound, that’s quite obvious. It sounds nice. Putting the harmonica in and out of his mouth would start and stop the sound much more rigidly. Which is not wanted.
Two, he’s playing the harmonica. Of course he’s learned how to play the harmonica.
Unless you mean diatonic harmonica.
im a big fan of …
im a big fan of hats myself and am jealous of that hat
I wouldn’t have …
I wouldn’t have thought you’d be one to care about being taken seriously Mr ”PenisBoat”!
your not al jolson. …
your not al jolson… go away i’m not looking for you!
You play very well, …
You play very well, but you should avoid opening and closing your hands when you play. That’s makes wow wow wow sounds which not as good as putting the harmonica in and out of your mouth.
Well, very good overall! Have you learnt hamonica?
how can anyone take …
how can anyone take you seriously with a hat like that