Josephine Baker - Blue Skies - 1927 - Irving Berlin

Josephine recorded her version in 1927. Josephine Baker (June 3, 1906 -- April 12, 1975) was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. Nicknamed the “Bronze Venus,“ the “Black Pearl,“ and even the “Créole Goddess“ in anglophone nations. “Blue Skies“ is a popular song, written by Irving Berlin in 1926. 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 24 encores of the piece from star, Belle Baker. In 1927, the music was published and Ben Selvin’s recorded version was a #1 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. 1946 was also a notable year for the song, with a Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire film taking its title, and two recorded versions by C