The BIG FIVE Live! 'Blue Skies'

The song, "Blue Skies" was composed in 1926 as a last-minute addition to the Rodgers and Hart musical Betsy. Although the show ran for only 39 performances, "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 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. . A version was recorded by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra in 1935. 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 the 1954 film White Christmas. 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, when it was performed by Moon Mullican. Thelonious Monk's 1947 composition "In Walked Bud" is based on the chord changes to "Blue Skies."

On May 27th 2021, The Big Five recorded ten video tunes at Sam Rocha's recording studio, "The Cubicle," in San Francisco, as the first live project since the Covid lock-down. We were all very happy for the live collaboration.

The BIG FIVE

Clint Baker - clarinet
Sam Rocha - cornet
Jeff Hamilton - piano
Bill Reinhart - banjo
Riley Baker - string bass

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