He was born Israel Baline but when he and his family moved from Russia to his new home in the United Sates he accidentally became Irving Berlin. He was born in 1888 and lived an amazing 101 years dying in 1989. During those long years he worked mainly as a writer of songs, so many songs and such touching songs in their amazing balance of words and music, that collectively they earned him recognition as the top American songwriter of all time.
Early Success Irving Berlin and his family came to America full of hopes and dreams like most immigrants. In a few short years after arriving in the U. S. , Berlin’s world was tipped upside down by the premature death of his father. This loss left his family emotionally and financially drained. Life became a constant struggle for survival and at a young age Irving Berlin found himself at work as a singing waiter.
It was in this capacity that Irving Berlin produced his first song for which he earned 37cents. Berlin’s song writing career continued almost uninterrupted for the greater part of his life.
At only twenty three years of age Irving Berlin caught lightening in a bottle by writing “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”. The song caught on all over the country and its popularity experienced periodic rebirths for the next five decades. “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” was performed in a dozen different versions all of which went to the top twenty on the national hit parade. It is likely that on the basis of this one song alone Berlin might have found his way into American song writing history. What it did do was establish Berlin as a man on the road to becoming the top American songwriter of all time.
A second major Berlin hit was also written early on in his career though it never reached its full popularity until World War II. That song was “God Bless America”. The words and music so moved some Americans that they lobbied to have “God Bless America” replace the” Star Spangled Banner” as the national anthem. In the 1940’s the powerful song was sung by the equally powerful voice of Kate Smith and the combination lifted the fame of both.
God Bless America has stood the test of time. It is sung at ball parks, in churches and at many public gatherings. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, members of Congress stood on the steps of the capitol building and together turned to the words and music of the top American songwriter of all time as they expressed their emotions through the singing of “God Bless America”. Each time “God Bless America” is sung it is a display of the pride American’s feel towards their coutnry and a clear indication that Irving Berlin is the top American songwriter of all time.
More Than a Two Hit Wonder. Even though Irving Berlin wrote two of his very best musical pieces early in his career, they proved to be only the tip of a very large musical ice berg. In his extended career, Berlin produced 3,000 songs many of which did very well on popularity charts, and an incredible number of which remain part of America’s active musical heritage.
Nor was Irving Berlin’s talent for song confined to writing simple sheet music for vocalists to perform. His talent was also arrayed on Broadway. There he produced many musical revues which featured,naturally, the latest Berlin tunes. Full scores for Broadway shows were also in his portfolio. His single greatest Broadway Show was “Annie Get Your Gun” . The show included a number of tunes that would also become popular singles and in it Berlin unveiled his latest triumph “There’s No Business Like Show Business” which would become an American classic and help to establish Berlin’s reputation as the top American songwroter of all time.
Irving Berlin’s talent allowed him even to make the transition to Hollywood. There undoubtedly his most memorable musical creation was delivered by crooner Bing Crosby in a film called “Holiday Inn”. The song forever linked with the voice of Bing Crosby was the simple but hauntingly nostalgic tune “White Christmas”. The popularity of “White Christmas” surpassed even Berlin’s wildest imagination. It remains today one of the most recorded and requested of his works and adds to his recognition as the top American songwriter of all time.
In Praise of Irving Berlin Like a number of other outstanding American musical geniuses, Irving Berlin was to know the joy of receiving public acclaim. Among his most notable accolades was the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Given the longevity of Irving Berlin it expressed a great deal of achievement.
Among his peers Berlin stood as a giant. Well known composer and contemporary Jerome Kern was asked to evaluate how Irving Berlin fit into America’s musical history. He simply replied , “Irving Berlin is American music.” But for Irving Berlin perhaps the greatest single reward for his prodigious composition might be the fact that today and in years to come Americans will never celebrate Christmas or Easter without the words and music of “White Christmas” and “Easter Parade” in their minds and hearts. Without doubt this is the gold standard for selecting the top American songwriter of all time. His name is Irving Berlin.
