''Blue Skies'' is a studio album of
phonograph record
A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...
s by
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
and
Fred Astaire released in
1946
Events January
* January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
* January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
featuring songs that were presented in the American
musical film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...
''
Blue Skies''. Like ''
Song Hits from Holiday Inn'', the entire 78 rpm album would be composed of
Irving Berlin songs written specifically for the film. This was the first release of one of Astaire's greatest songs, "
Puttin' On the Ritz", on
shellac disc record.
Reception
Down Beat
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
magazine liked it:
The album quickly entered
Billboard's album charts reaching the No. 2 spot and was also ranked No. 20 of the top selling popular record albums for 1947.
Track listing
These newly issued songs were featured on a 5-disc, 78 rpm album set Decca Album No. A-481. The first four discs are sung by Bing Crosby, while the last disc has Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire dueting on "A Couple of Song and Dance Men" and Astaire soloing on "Puttin' On the Ritz". All music and lyrics by
Irving Berlin.
LP release
Eight of the songs were included on the Decca 10" LP ''Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies"'' (DL 5042) issued in 1949. The omissions were "A Serenade to an Old-Fashioned Girl" and "Everybody Step".
;Side one
#
Blue Skies"
# "(I'll See You In) C-U-B-A"
# "
You Keep Coming Back Like a Song"
# "Getting Nowhere"
;Side two
# "
All By Myself"
# "
I've Got My Captain Working for Me Now
"I've Got My Captain Working for Me Now" is a popular song written in 1919 by Irving Berlin. It was published by Music Publishers Inc. in New York, New York.
The song tells of a young man who returns to work as a manager in his father's factory ...
"
# "A Couple of Song and Dance Men"
# "Puttin' On the Ritz"
References
{{Authority control
Bing Crosby albums
Fred Astaire albums
1946 albums
Decca Records albums