“How Deep Is The Ocean?” – By Irving Berlin.

Irving Berlin was born in Russia in 1888 and lived to the age of 101. Though he was one of the most popular songwriters of all time, he never learned to read music. He once said “I get an idea, either a title phrase or a melody, and hum it out to something definite. When I have a completed song and have memorized it, I dictate it to an arranger.” An intensely patriotic man, he wrote “God Bless America,” plus other all time favorites like “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and “White Christmas,” the most recorded song of all time.
“How Deep Is The Ocean” was originally recorded by Jack Fulton singing with Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra in 1932, which spawned three more hit versions that same year, by Guy Lombardo, Rudy Vallee and Ethel Merman. Up until that time, Irving was having some difficulty. After the crash of 1929, like many people, Irving was having self-doubts, even though he had huge success. He had gone to Hollywood, but had some flops there. Rudy Vallee reenergized his career with “Say It Isn’t So,” so Irving looked through his old catalog and took some lines from “To My Mammy,” including the title “How Deep Is The Ocean?” to create a new song. He created a song of all questions, except for the second line, “I’ll tell you no lie.”
Coleman Hawkins recorded the first jazz version in 1943, and then in 1945 Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee had a hit with their swing version. It has since become a top jazz standard.