The Marvelous Music of Irving Berlin Quiz

Answer: Anything You Can Do

The one-upsmanship conversation takes place between the sharpshootin' sweetie, Annie Oakley, and a feller from Buffalo Bill's Old West Show, named Frank Butler. Originally Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had asked Jerome Kern to compose the score, but Kern died suddenly, and Irving Berlin (reluctantly at first), agreed to take on the task. In the original Broadway production, Ethel Merman played Ms. Oakley and Frank Butler was played by Ray Middleton.
The 1950 movie version, which took home an Oscar for Best Score, starred Betty Hutton and Howard Keel as Annie and Frank.

Interesting fact: In real life, Annie Oakley and Frank Butler were hitched for over 40 years, and both toured with Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. Annie passed in 1926, and a bereaved Frank died just 18 days later after refusing all nourishment.

This is how the verbal battle of the sexes begins:

"Anything you can do, I can do better
I can do anything better than you
No, you can't
Yes, I can".

Answer: A Pretty Girl

"A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" is from "The Ziegfield Follies" of 1919. The show was the brainchild of the famed showman Florenz ("Flo") Ziegfield, modeled after the successful Paris hit show, "The Folies Bergeres". From 1913-1920, The Follies called Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre home. Over the years such stars as Bob Hope, W.C. Fields, Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Will Rogers and Ethel Merman all appeared in the show, and don't forget those beautiful dancers, known as "Ziegfield Girls".

Interesting fact: Flo Ziegfield's wife was Billie Burke, who played the good witch, Glinda, in "The Wizard of Oz", the 1939 film which starred Judy Garland.

Answer: Always

Irving Berlin not only wrote it, he meant it. "Always" was written for his fiancée, Ellin McKay, in 1925. Because of objections to the marriage due to religious differences on the part of Ms. McKay's father (Ellin was Catholic, Berlin was Jewish), they decided to elope.
When he said he'd be loving her always, he wasn't just whistlin' Dixie. Mr. and Mrs. Irving Berlin were married for 62 years, from 1926-1988, when Ellin died at the age of 85.
Among the many diverse artists who have covered this tender tune are Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Phil Collins, and The Ink Spots. Former Beatle Paul McCartney included it as track nine of his album "Kisses on the Bottom" (2012).

Answer: Change Partners

"Change Partners" was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Song, but lost out to "Thanks for the Memories", from "The Big Broadcast of 1938". "Change Partners" reached Number One on the "Billboard" Recording Guide (long before the "Billboard" Hot 100 list existed).
Solo versions of "Change Partners" have been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Connick Jr., and Andy Williams. In 1967 Francis Albert Sinatra teamed up with Brazilian singer-composer Antonio Carlos Jobim in a duet. Jobim is the composer of "The Girl From Ipanema" (1965), which won a Grammy for Record of the Year.

Interesting fact: Hattie McDaniel had a cameo in "Carefree" which came out a year earlier than the blockbuster in which she played "Mammy" the following year. The name of that picture was "Gone With the Wind".

Answer: I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

The 1937 musical starred Dick Powell as Gary Blake and Alice Faye as Mona Merrick. The film also featured The Ritz Brothers (Harry, Jimmy and Al).
In 1949, an instrumental rendition by Les Brown landed on the top ten "Billboard" list and went on to enjoy sales of over a million copies.
"I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" is one of Irving Berlin's most covered songs. Recordings have been released by among many others, Della Reese, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Tony Bennett, Bette Middler, Dean Martin and The Mills Brothers.

Answer: Cheek to Cheek

"Cheek to Cheek" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song, but lost to "The Lullaby of Broadway", from "The Gold Diggers of 1935". "Isn't This a Lovely Day", and "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" are also heard in "Top Hat", in which a young red-headed actress named Lucille Ball makes an uncredited cameo appearance. Over 90 recordings of "Cheek to Cheek" have been made by soloists, groups and orchestras alike. Some of the artists who have covered it include Julie Andrews, Count Basie, Peggy Lee, Rod Stewart, Rosemary Clooney and Louis Prima.

This is such a pretty song, that I believe the only folks who wouldn't enjoy it are those who suffer from chorophobia, which is the fear of dancing. :-)

Answer: White Christmas

Irving Berlin has called "White Christmas" the best song he ever wrote. It was first broadcast on, of all days, Christmas, 1941, when Bing Crosby crooned it on his radio program, "The Kraft Music Hall". According to the good folks at the Guinness Book of World Records, "White Christmas" is the biggest selling single in music history, having sold (as of 2009) over 100 million copies, with Bing Crosby's version accounting for more than 50 million alone.

It was sung in the musical film "Holiday Inn" (1942), which starred Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire as an ex-vaudeville duo. You can probably guess which one did the dancing in their act.

In 1942, it had an 11 week stay at the top of the "Billboard" Best Seller list. "White Christmas" which as been recorded by just about every singer who ever lived (post 1941), won that year's Academy Award for Best Song.

Answer: Jones

After traipsing all over the country, the show raised more than $2 million, (in 2012 money that would be over $25 million). In 1943, a movie of the same name featured Ronald Reagan as Corporal Johnny Jones. The great heavyweight champ, Joe Louis appears as himself in the film, and Kate Smith does as well, belting out what would become her signature song, "God Bless America (which Irving Berlin wrote in 1918). Berlin proved to one and all that you didn't have to have a great voice to be a great songwriter, when he sang his own "Oh, How I Hate To Get Up In the Morning". "This Is The Army" won the Academy Award for 1942's Best Musical Score.

Answer: How Deep is the Ocean?

"How Deep is the Ocean" was written by Irving Berlin in 1932. It made its maiden appearance on the radio, played by the Paul Whitman orchestra, with Jack Fulton handling the vocals. Several dozen covers have been recorded, including those by Eric Clapton, Sheena Easton, Marvin Gaye, Etta James, The Isley Brothers, and the Benny Goodman Orchestra, with Peggy Lee's lyrical accompaniment.

Answer: The Girl That I Marry

Like most of Irving Berlin's songs, there have been many artists who have recorded "The Girl That I Marry". Among them are John Raitt,
Robert Goulet and perhaps the most successful rendition by "Old Blue Eyes", Frank Sinatra, which reached number eleven on the "Billboard Best seller list in 1946. Howard Keel, who sang it in the show, also released a single.

Ten questions plus a little more space do not even begin to enable me to put into perspective the body of work of Irving Berlin. Here are some of this iconic composer's best known and best remembered songs:
"Alexander's Ragtime Band", "All by Myself", "Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)", "Blue Skies", "Easter Parade", "Heat Wave", "Let's Face the Music and Dance", "Puttin' on the Ritz", "They Say it's Wonderful", and "What'll I Do?".