Preview

Blue Skies By Irving Berlin: Song Analysis

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
170 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Blue Skies By Irving Berlin: Song Analysis
Blue Skies was written in 1926 by Irving Berlin, and was an instant success, with opening night demanding 24 encores of the piece from star Belle Baker. During the final performance, Ms. Baker forgot her lyrics, urging Berlin to sing them from his seat in the front row. In1927, 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 in all of the major and dime store labels of the time. 1946 was also a notable year for the song, with a Bing Crosby and 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. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye performed the song in 1954's White Christmas. Willie

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    A senator of capitol hill, and decorated war hero, gives the order to shoot down a private plane. This has been the third violation over the Capitol within a month…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue is a well-written book. It is well-written because it uses precise vocabulary. The book includes sentence structure that varies. Also, word order helps make the story flow. There is music in language which creates emphasis on the subject matter. It has compelling details. Also, it avoids condescension and didacticism.…

    • 298 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Bessie smith biography

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In 1929, Smith made her film appearance, in “St. Louis Blues”. In the film, she sings the title song with members of Fletcher Henderson's orchestra, the Hall Johnson Choir, pianist James P. Johnson.…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This Folk song is called "De Colores!". It is a very well known song that is mainly sung in Spanish. There are many different English translations in circulation and this song has also been translated into many other languages. In todays day and age this song is used as an unofficial song anthem of the Farm Worker Movement. It is also seen as an inspirational song that is played in Cursillo workshops. This song is often taught in the United States schools and some community colleges. It is also surprisingly appears in a wide collection of children's songs.…

    • 224 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fictional writing is generally done just to entertain readers. Some authors create stories with a singular point of view, while others introduce more complex plots and storylines. When it comes to author James Baldwin’s short story Sonny’s Blues, there is much depth given to the storyline and the characters. Sonny’s Blues has been analyzed by many different people throughout time because the story has many elements. From Baldwin’s skillful use of metaphors and similes to his incorporation of religious references, this story is insightfully and complexly written. A simple story about a man and his brother leaves readers with an inside look into family, drug addiction, socioeconomic struggles in the Black community, and the language of Jazz music.…

    • 2329 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin makes excellent use of multiple literary elements. Namely, I think the writer utilizes symbolism and the nuances of point of view to give the story a deeper connotation that could not be said plainly. The meat of the story is about an unnamed older brother’s relationship and differences with his younger brother, Sonny. Sonny’s aspiration to become a jazz pianist leads him in an opposite direction than his brother, and into a world where the common suffering is dealt with by heroin and music. The fundamental differences between the brothers in their lack of understanding for each other and their gradual acceptance of one another is highlighted and explained by what the symbolism adds to the story and the change in the narrator’s point of view at the end of the story.…

    • 1558 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary, imagery is defined as the use of pictures or words to create images, especially to create an impression or a mood (dictionary.cambridge.org). In literary works of art, it is customary for authors to employ the use of imagery as a means of adding depth to their writing. It has a way of encompassing the senses as opposed to simply permitting the reader to construct a mental image. James Baldwin utilizes this convention in “Sonny’s Blues” to relay an accurate account of the period that he lived in.…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Bluest Eye, written in 1970, is novel by Toni Morrison. It is Morrison's first novel and was written while she was teaching at Howard University. The Bluest Eye tells the tragic story of Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl growing up in Morrison's hometown of Lorain, Ohio, during the hard times following the Great Depression. In this novel, Toni Morrison addresses a timeless problem of white racial dominance in the United States and points to the impact it has on the life of black females growing up in the 1930's.…

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this paper we will learn and compare two famous composers of patriotic songs Lee Greenwood and Irving Berlin. These brilliant men are both renowned composers, and through the years have created brilliant catalogs of songs. As we compare and contrast Lee Greenwood and Irving Berlin in this paper we will identify multiple areas of their lives such as marital status, song styles, and even heritage. I choose these two fine individuals and their style of music because this style and genre is a true reflection of my childhood and how I felt when I lived with my grandparents.…

    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is a story of how a distant and conflicting relationship between two brothers is saved by the powerful message within music. In “Sonny’s Blues” the music portrays a very powerful message. The story begins with Sonny being arrested for heroin use. Sonny’s older brother is a school teacher and did not want to believe that the news was true, “I didn’t want to believe that I’d ever see my brother going down, coming to nothing, all that light in his face gone out, in the condition I’d already seen so many others” (Baldwin 293). Sonny used his music and drugs to distance himself from all the negativity in his life. Sonny dreams of becoming a musician but he finds himself trapped in a drug infested environment, which just about destroys him. Sonny used the drugs to temporarily tame and overcome his pain and problems. Sonny grew up in Harlem where he was exposed to but negativity. Drugs, alcohol, poverty, and crime were all negative influences on Sonny as a child. After the death of his parents, Sonny’s older brother was there to look after him. His brother tried to be an example in life to Sonny, but he could not find a way to understand Sonny’s beliefs. Soon after the death of their parents, Sonny’s brother joined the army. Sonny was forced to stay with people whom were strangers to him. Sonny used his love for music in order to get away from the discontent. Sonny found a way to focus on the negative energy in his life and use it to create his music. Through his music, Sonny exposed his deepest and most personal feelings. The music was so powerful and stirring because Sonny incorporated his life experiences into what he played. The music allows Sonny and his brother to deal with their pain and suffering. Sonny expressed his suffering through his music. Sonny’s brother is awakened by the music and can finally see Sonny’s situation. The image…

    • 2558 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The brief plot of “Sonny’s Blues” meticulously examines two adult brothers and their divergent approaches to coping with their depressing lives in the dilapidated, drug-ridden streets of Harlem. James Baldwin’s attempt at demonstrating his concern with families, roots, and identity is quite apparent, but the theme of suffering is most prominent. He expresses his thoughts on this subject through his distinctive and eloquent prose which accommodates an abundant use of rhetorical devices and symbols.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Irving Berlin

    • 376 Words
    • 1 Page

    Irving Berlin is quite possibly the most famous composer in the world. Over the course of his lifetime, he penned over 3000 songs, including some of the most recognized songs of all time. He is the definition of an American success story. Born Israel Baline in 1888 Russia as one of eight to Jewish parents, he and his family fled Jewish persecution in Russia and settled in New York City in 1893. From an early age, the young Baline worked to provide money for his family, eventually finding work as a singing waiter in restaurants around Broadway, including Pelhem’s Café for which he wrote his first song Marie from Sunny Italy in 1907. The song went on to become very popular, published under the name I. Berlin. More success followed with Alexander’s Ragtime Band in 1911, the musical revue Yip Yip Yaphank in 1917 (which originally included the song God Bless America, a song that would be considered for the national anthem in the 1930’s), and Blue Skies in 1926 which was used in the landmark film The Jazz Singer. In the midst of his meteoric rise to fame, Berlin managed to fall in love not once, but twice. His first marriage in 1912 to sweetheart Dorothy Goetz ended tragically after she contracted both pneumonia and typhoid fever and died 5 months after they were married. In 1926, Berlin married again, this time to Irish Catholic heiress Ellin Mackay. The start of the 1930’s brought about an extremely lucrative partnership between Berlin and Hollywood, with scores for timeless classics like Top Hat in 1935 and Holliday Inn in 1942, for which he wrote the song White Christmas for Bing Crosby, one of the most recorded songs in American history. In addition to Hollywood, Berlin also found great success on the Broadway stage. His most successful musical was the Rodgers and Hammerstein smash hit Annie Get Your Gun in 1946. Although never winning one, he was honored with a special Tony Award in 1963. Berlin passed away in New York City in 1989 at the age of…

    • 376 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Song Of Myself Analysis

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Paper Towns starts with nine-year-olds Quentin “Q” Jacobsen and Margo Roth Spiegelman discover the corpse of Robert Joyner, a soon to be divorced man who committed suicide in the Jefferson Park. Nine years later, Quentin and Margo grew apart from each other considering that they are neighbors. One night, Margo shows up in Quentin’s window with black paint on her face. She asks Quentin to help her that night with eleven missions to get revenge on the people that have hurt her throughout her high school years. She especially needs Quentin's car and assistance driving. Margo convinces Quentin to take his mother’s minivan, sneak out of his home on a school night, and help her seek revenge. Margo takes Quentin to an adventure filled with fish, vandalizing,…

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Sonny’s Blues” from 40 Short Stories, the narrator who is the older brother of Sonny,…

    • 1032 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lieder ohne Worte (Song without Words) is written by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. It is a collection of forty-eight short lyrical piano pieces of markedly song-like character that he wrote at various periods of his life between 1809 and 1847. They are well suited to the study of musical form because of their artistic value. Op. 19b, No. 1 Andante con moto in E major was written in 1830 and is the first in the collection. The piece is in the key of E major and modulates from E to B to G major.…

    • 1405 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays