Ernie Ford and Rosemary Clooney Sing a Simple Melody
Channel: Past Entertainment
Date: 2022-08-17

American songwriter, Irving Berlin began his stage show career in 1914 with his production of “Watch Your Step.” The enduring hit from that early effort by Berlin was, “Play as Simple Melody.” Recordings of the song became a #2 Billboard Hit for Bing Crosby, and the song was featured in the 1954 movie, “there’s No business Like Show business.”  

“Play a Simple Melody” relies on musical counterpoint. Counterpoint is a musical form where two or more voices blend harmonically, while working independently in terms of melody, lyrics and rhythm. A strong history of this technique exists in Western Classical Music, however Irving Berlin is one of the rare pop-music composers to incorporate the technique into his art. 

In this clip, Rosemary Clooney and “Tennessee” Ernie Ford show their outstanding singing skills in this Irving Berlin hit.