50 years ago: “Puttin’ on the Ritz” hit #1

Puttin’ on the Ritz Harry Richman

Writer(s): Irving Berlin (see lyrics here) First Charted: February 15, 1930 Peak: 11 US, 6 GA, 7 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.63 video, 0.03 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Irving Berlin wrote “Puttin’ on the Ritz” in May 1927 and published it in December 1929. The phrase, which came from the upscale Ritz-Carlton, means “dressing fashionably.” SF Berlin referenced the trend at the time of poor, black Harlem residents to dress flashy and parade about, WK pretending to be wealthy. SF He later revised the song to reference affluent whites strutting on Park Avenue. WK The song was introduced by Harry Richman in the film of the same name in 1930. He also recorded the song and took it #1. It was the most successful of his six top-ten hits from 1926 to 1932. Richman was a former vaudeville pianist who went on to become a night club, Broadway, and film star. PM Earl Burtnett (#17) and Leo Reisman (#20) each charted with the song in 1930 as well. Fred Astaire also recorded the song that year, but it didn’t chart. He revived the song in 1946 for the movie Blue Skies. Clark Gable did his only song-and-dance number to “Puttin’ on the Ritz” in the 1939 movie Idiot’s Delight. SF It surfaced again in 1974 in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein in a scene featuring Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle as Dr. Frankenstein and his monster respectively, dancing and singing to the song. The song was an unlikely one-hit wonder in 1983 for the Dutch musician known as Taco (his real name). The million-selling synth-pop version reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. JA Irving Berlin was 95 years old at the time, making him the oldest living songwriter to reach the top 10. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Harry Richman JA David A. Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 161. SF Songfacts PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Pages 369-70. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 11/20/2022.

About the Song: Irving Berlin wrote “Puttin’ on the Ritz” in May 1927 and published it in December 1929. The phrase, which came from the upscale Ritz-Carlton, means “dressing fashionably.” SF Berlin referenced the trend at the time of poor, black Harlem residents to dress flashy and parade about, WK pretending to be wealthy. SF He later revised the song to reference affluent whites strutting on Park Avenue. WK The song was introduced by Harry Richman in the film of the same name in 1930. He also recorded the song and took it #1. It was the most successful of his six top-ten hits from 1926 to 1932. Richman was a former vaudeville pianist who went on to become a night club, Broadway, and film star. PM Earl Burtnett (#17) and Leo Reisman (#20) each charted with the song in 1930 as well. Fred Astaire also recorded the song that year, but it didn’t chart. He revived the song in 1946 for the movie Blue Skies. Clark Gable did his only song-and-dance number to “Puttin’ on the Ritz” in the 1939 movie Idiot’s Delight. SF It surfaced again in 1974 in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein in a scene featuring Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle as Dr. Frankenstein and his monster respectively, dancing and singing to the song. The song was an unlikely one-hit wonder in 1983 for the Dutch musician known as Taco (his real name). The million-selling synth-pop version reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. JA Irving Berlin was 95 years old at the time, making him the oldest living songwriter to reach the top 10. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Harry Richman JA David A. Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 161. SF Songfacts PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Pages 369-70. WK Wikipedia First posted 11/20/2022.

50 years ago: “Blue Skies” charts for the first of 9 times

Blue Skies Ben Selvin

Writer(s): Irving Berlin (see lyrics here) First Charted: April 9, 1927 Peak: 12 US, 12 GA, 2 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.81 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Belle Baker first sang “Blue Skies” in the 1926 musical Betsy. JA While the rest of the musical was scored by Rodgers and Hart, this song by Irving Berlin was added – depending on the account, at the request of either Baker JA or the producer, Florenz Ziegfeld. TY The number was so successful, it received 24 encores. RCG The song was well received on the charts as well, with six versions charting in 1927 alone. Ben Selvin had the #1 hit, but Vaughn Deleath (#15), Vincent Lopez (#9), Johnny Marvin & Ed Smalle (#9), George Olsen (#2), Harry Richman (#13) also found success with the song. It topped sheet music sales for a year. MM Frances Langford regularly sang it for World War II troops as a way to celebrate the good feelings soldiers had upon returning home. RCG Count Basie (#8, 1946), Benny Goodman (#9, 1946), and Johnny Long (#22, 1941) would find successs with the song in later years. Tommy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, Glenn Miller, Willie Nelson, and Frank Sinatra have also recorded it. MM It also became a staple in movies, notably sung by Al Jolson in the first sound film, 1927’s The Jazz Singer, TY by Ethel Merman and Alice Faye in the 1938 film Alexander’s Ragtime Band, and Bing Crosby in 1946’s Blue Skies as well as 1954’s White Christmas. JA Berlin captured the nature of love with the suggestion that it “can turn gray skies to blue.” TY He also made clever use of the word blue by beginning each of the three main sections with references to blue – blue skies, bluebirds, and blue days. TY The song’s structure “shifts from a bluesy chorus to an upbeat verse making it a mainstay of jazz artists.” RCG Resources: JA David A. Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 25. MM Max Morath (2002). The NPR Curious Listener’s Guide to Popular Standards. New York, NY; Penguin Putnam Inc. Page 152. RCG RimChiGuy.com The Old Songs (1900-1929) TY Don Tyler (1985). Hit Parade 1920-1955. New York, NY: Quill. Page 38. Related Links: First posted 4/9/2016; last updated 7/25/2022.