Irving Berlin

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Lore & Background

Irving Berlin was born Israel Isidore Beilin on May 11, 1888, in the Russian Empire to a Jewish family. Although his family came from the shtetl of Tolochin, Berlin later learned that he was probably born in Tyumen, Siberia, where his father, an itinerant cantor, had taken his family. He arrived in the United States at age five, his family leaving Russia to escape pogroms. He published his first song, 'Marie from Sunny Italy', in 1907, receiving 33 cents for the publishing rights. For much of his career, Berlin could not read sheet music, and was such a limited piano player that he could only play in the key of F-sharp; he used his custom piano equipped with a transposing lever when he needed to play in keys other than F-sharp. He was known for writing music and lyrics in the American vernacular: uncomplicated, simple and direct, with his stated aim being to 'reach the heart of the average American', whom he saw as the 'real soul of the country'. After his father died when Berlin was thirteen, he left school and began helping to support his family as a newspaper boy. He later worked as a singing waiter in cafes and restaurants, and taught himself to play the piano after hours. His first lyric, written with a café pianist, earned him a royalty of thirty-seven cents. He became known as the composer of numerous international hits, starting with 1911's 'Alexander's Ragtime Band'. His songs include 'God Bless America', 'Blue Skies', 'Easter Parade', 'Puttin' on the Ritz', 'Cheek to Cheek', 'White Christmas', 'Happy Holiday', 'Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)', and 'There's No Business Like Show Business'. His Broadway musical 'This Is the Army' (1942) was adapted into the 1943 film of the same name.

Reader's Guide

Irving Berlin's significance lies in his vast and enduring contribution to American popular music. His songs have reached the top of the US charts 25 times and have been extensively re-recorded by numerous singers. He received an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and a Tony Award, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Gerald R. Ford in 1977. Broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite stated he 'helped write the story of this country, capturing the best of who we are and the dreams that shape our lives.' Composer Douglas Moore set Berlin apart from all other contemporary songwriters, and includes him instead with Stephen Foster, Walt Whitman, and Carl Sandburg, as a 'great American minstrel'—someone who has 'caught and immortalized in his songs what we say, what we think about, and what we believe.' Composer George Gershwin called him 'the greatest songwriter that has ever lived', and composer Jerome Kern concluded that 'Irving Berlin has no place in American music—he is American music.' Berlin died in 1989 at the age of 101.

Did You Know?

• Berlin could not read sheet music for much of his career and could only play the piano in the key of F-sharp, using a custom piano with a transposing lever for other keys.
• He published his first song, 'Marie from Sunny Italy', in 1907 and received only 33 cents for the publishing rights.
• Berlin's father, an itinerant cantor, died when Berlin was thirteen years old.
• He wrote an estimated 1,500 songs during his 60-year career, including scores for 20 original Broadway shows and 15 original Hollywood films.
• Composer Jerome Kern said, 'Irving Berlin has no place in American music—he is American music.'

From Siberia to the Bowery

Born Israel Isidore Beilin in the Russian Empire in 1888, Berlin's earliest memory was of his family's home burning to ash while he lay on a blanket by the roadside. His father, a wandering cantor, had taken the family to Tyumen in Siberia before they returned to the shtetl of Tolochin. Fleeing the pogroms that threatened their Jewish community, the family made the arduous journey through Antwerp and aboard the SS Rhynland, stepping off at Ellis Island on September 14, 1893. Young Israel was corralled in a pen with his siblings until immigration officials cleared them. The family name shifted from Beilin to Baline after naturalization. In New York, his father found work at a kosher meat market and taught Hebrew lessons, but he died when Berlin was just thirteen. By eight, the boy was already hawking The Evening Journal through the Bowery, where the music drifting from saloons and restaurants first captivated him. He would sing what he heard, collect tossed coins, and eventually confess to his mother that he dreamed of becoming a singing waiter. That small ambition became the launchpad for a career that would span six decades.

A Composer Who Couldn't Read Music

One of the most remarkable aspects of Berlin's creative life is that, for the vast majority of his career, he could not read a single line of sheet music. His piano technique was so limited that he could only play comfortably in the key of F-sharp. When a song demanded a different key, he relied on a specially modified instrument fitted with a transposing lever to shift the pitch. Despite these technical constraints, his output was staggering and his melodic instincts were extraordinary. His stated artistic mission was never to dazzle the concert hall but to speak directly to what he called the "real soul of the country"—the average American. He wrote in plain, unadorned vernacular, favoring simplicity and directness over ornate composition. This philosophy, combined with his inability to overthink a melody through notation, may have been precisely what gave his tunes their infectious, immediate quality. The first song he published, "Marie from Sunny Italy," in 1907, brought him a mere thirty-three cents in publishing rights. By 1911, "Alexander's Ragtime Band" had launched him onto the international stage.

Six Decades of Hits

Over a career stretching roughly sixty years, Berlin is estimated to have written around fifteen hundred songs, a volume that places him among the most prolific figures in American popular music. His catalog includes the complete scores for twenty original Broadway productions and fifteen original Hollywood films, and his compositions earned eight separate Academy Award nominations. Twenty-five of his songs climbed to the top of the US charts, and his tunes have been re-recorded by countless performers across generations. The list of anthems he contributed to the national repertoire is extraordinary: "God Bless America," "White Christmas," "Blue Skies," "Easter Parade," "Puttin' on the Ritz," "Cheek to Cheek," "Happy Holiday," "Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)," and "There's No Business Like Show Business" all bear his name. He also owned the Music Box Theatre on Broadway, giving him a direct stage for new material. His 1942 Broadway musical This Is the Army was so well received that it was adapted into a 1943 film under the same title. Berlin had become a household name before he was thirty, and for the rest of his life he continued to fill the airwaves and the stages.

What Peers and the Nation Said

The respect Berlin commanded among fellow musicians and the broader American public is almost unprecedented. George Gershwin, a towering figure in his own right, called him "the greatest songwriter that has ever lived." Jerome Kern went further, declaring that Berlin "has no place in American music—he is American music." Composer Douglas Moore grouped Berlin not with other contemporary songwriters but alongside Stephen Foster, Walt Whitman, and Carl Sandburg as a "great American minstrel" who captured what a nation says, thinks, and believes. Broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite observed that Berlin "helped write the story of this country, capturing the best of who we are and the dreams that shape our lives." Official recognition followed: an Academy Award, a Grammy, a Tony, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented by Gerald Ford in 1977. Berlin passed away in 1989 at the age of one hundred and one, leaving behind a body of work that remains a defining pillar of the Great American Songbook.

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