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Irving Berlin composed this beloved love ballad in 1925 as a wedding gift for his bride-to-be, Ellin Mackay, to whom he assigned the song's royalties. Berlin, one of the greatest American songwriters with over 1,000 compositions including "White Christmas" and "Cheek to Cheek," created a timeless declaration of devotion.

Written in waltz time (3/4), "Always" features a remarkably simple yet unforgettable melody. Notably, the song can be played using only the black keys on the piano. The recurring "Always" motif reinforces the lyric's pledge of eternal love, while the gentle harmonic framework gives jazz musicians ample room for reharmonization and creative reinterpretation across tempos and styles.

In 1926, both Vincent Lopez and George Olsen took the song to #1 on the pop charts. Among jazz recordings, Ella Fitzgerald's rendition on her Grammy-winning Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook (1958) stands as the definitive version. Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday also recorded memorable interpretations.