Today in Music (1918): “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning” hit #1

Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning Arthur Fields

Writer(s): Irving Berlin (music/words) (see lyrics here) First Charted: October 12, 1918 Peak: 14 PM, 3 GA (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.27 video, 0.14 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Irving Berlin was born in Russia and imgrated to the United States with his family. When World War I broke out, he became an American citizen and, at age 30, was drafted into the army. He said, “I found out quickly…there were a lot of things about army life I didn’t like, and the thing I didn’t like most of all was reveille.” TY2 Berlin “decided to incorporate his hatred of the military life in a song” TY2 and found out lots of soldiers felt just like him. The resulting “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning” was featured in the all-soldier minstrel and vaudeville revue Yip, Yip, Yaphank. Berlin performed the song himself. Several calls are put forth for Sergeant Berlin and when he fails to appear, two soldiers drag him from his tent at which point he launches into the song. TY2 The show was done at the request of his commanding officer who asked Berlin to put on a musical show to raise money for a community house where friends and relatives could visit the soldiers. TY2 Berlin also wrote “God Bless America” at the time but held that song back for later. The ”comic complaining” in “Morning” “appealed not only to the soldiers but also to the country at large.” TY2 The song charted twice in 1918. Arthur Fields hit #1 with the song while Irving Kaufman’s version got to #5. The song was the biggest hit of Fields’ 20 chart entries. He was also a songwriter, most famously penning “Aba Daba Honeymoon.” PM The song was revived in Berlin’s World War II show This Is the Army, which was released as a movie in 1943. The song was also featured in the 1938 musical film Alexander’s Ragtime Band. DJ Resources: DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 149. TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Pages 99-100. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Pages 155 and 560. Related Links: First posted 5/14/2025.