We finished the video last Tuesday with a reference to the song "Blue Skies" by Irving Berlin. The song captured the optimism and good times of the American people during the Roaring Twenties before the economic collapse of the Great Depression. President Herbert Hoover also brought greater significance to the song when he promised "blue skies" or a continuance of economic prosperity to the American people during the onset of the Great Depression.
Here are the lyrics and a video by Ella Fitzgerald:
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 you're in love, my how they fly
Blue days
All of them gone
Nothing but blue skies
From now on
I never saw the sun shining so bright
Never saw things going so right
Noticing the days hurrying by
When you're in love, my how they fly
Blue days
All of them gone
Nothing but blue skies
From now on
The song was composed as part of the musical Betsy and became an instant hit. On opening night, the audience asked for an encore of the piece 24 times. Over the decades, the song has been recorded more than 70 times by various artists and used in 14 movies, a sign of its timeless popularity.
Wow, this is a great post! I did a little bit more research about Berlin's background and found that soon after writing this song Berlin and Ellin fell in love. They met at a speak-easy during the Prohibition movement. The tabloids followed their relationship and in 1926, they married in City Hall. Perhaps those were the "blue skies" he so fondly wrote about!
From a larger perspective, Irving Berlin was part of a music generation that spanned from composers such as Gershwin and Porter to Armstrong and Ellington. Collectively, these figures became synonymous with the Tin Pan Alley, a street in Manhattan that housed all the biggest names in the music industry. However, like the Harlem Renaissance, the Tin Pan Alley fell into obscurity after the onset of the Depression era. Surprisingly, the US Government turned to what remained of the Tin Pan Alley for patriotic war songs. The officials in charge of the project believed that the Tin Pan Alley had "a reservoir of talent and competence capable of influencing people’s feelings and opinions." In the end, however, George Orhan's "Over There" from WWI dominated the American perception of war songs and the Tin Pan Alley lost its significance to the war effort. Its second downfall contrasted greatly with the height of its prosperity, where 28 bands in one year earned as much as $1 million.
One note to add on is that in World War II, the search for a war song to be the war's "Over There" became to frenzied that there was debate in Congress as to whether to exempt some musicians and entertainers from the draft. This, combined with the "Stars Over America" bond campaign in World War II really show the ability for the entertainment industry to sway public perception. While we might scorn communist and fascist enemies for "propaganda," it is important to remember that patriotic movies, posters, and songs have always been large parts of our entertainment industry, especially in wartime.
Nice post Katherine; I find it a bit of irony that the singer here, Ella Fitzgerald started her career right in the midst of the Depression, maybe getting a job was her "Blue Sky". Anyway the singer happened to experience most of the Great Depression in her childhood and young adult life, being born in 1917, and becoming a singer at 17.
Continuing off of what Josh mentioned, I find it very interesting how entertainers and musicians were exempted, this gives clear indication what began the pattern of letting celebrities get away with much more mischief than the average person. In our current society, stars like Miley Cyrus, are very well known children and young adults. She however is able to post to social media and other tabloids about her drug abuse, yet somehow she goes unpunished by authorities. This proves that the Great Depression was a stepping stone for special treatment for celebrities.
Wow, this is a great post! I did a little bit more research about Berlin's background and found that soon after writing this song Berlin and Ellin fell in love. They met at a speak-easy during the Prohibition movement. The tabloids followed their relationship and in 1926, they married in City Hall. Perhaps those were the "blue skies" he so fondly wrote about!
ReplyDeleteSource: http://www.americanlegends.com/musicians/irving_berlin.html
From a larger perspective, Irving Berlin was part of a music generation that spanned from composers such as Gershwin and Porter to Armstrong and Ellington. Collectively, these figures became synonymous with the Tin Pan Alley, a street in Manhattan that housed all the biggest names in the music industry. However, like the Harlem Renaissance, the Tin Pan Alley fell into obscurity after the onset of the Depression era. Surprisingly, the US Government turned to what remained of the Tin Pan Alley for patriotic war songs. The officials in charge of the project believed that the Tin Pan Alley had "a reservoir of talent and competence capable of influencing people’s feelings and opinions." In the end, however, George Orhan's "Over There" from WWI dominated the American perception of war songs and the Tin Pan Alley lost its significance to the war effort. Its second downfall contrasted greatly with the height of its prosperity, where 28 bands in one year earned as much as $1 million.
ReplyDeleteOne note to add on is that in World War II, the search for a war song to be the war's "Over There" became to frenzied that there was debate in Congress as to whether to exempt some musicians and entertainers from the draft. This, combined with the "Stars Over America" bond campaign in World War II really show the ability for the entertainment industry to sway public perception. While we might scorn communist and fascist enemies for "propaganda," it is important to remember that patriotic movies, posters, and songs have always been large parts of our entertainment industry, especially in wartime.
ReplyDeleteNice post Katherine; I find it a bit of irony that the singer here, Ella Fitzgerald started her career right in the midst of the Depression, maybe getting a job was her "Blue Sky". Anyway the singer happened to experience most of the Great Depression in her childhood and young adult life, being born in 1917, and becoming a singer at 17.
ReplyDeleteContinuing off of what Josh mentioned, I find it very interesting how entertainers and musicians were exempted, this gives clear indication what began the pattern of letting celebrities get away with much more mischief than the average person. In our current society, stars like Miley Cyrus, are very well known children and young adults. She however is able to post to social media and other tabloids about her drug abuse, yet somehow she goes unpunished by authorities. This proves that the Great Depression was a stepping stone for special treatment for celebrities.
ReplyDelete