His Broadway musical and 1943 film This Is the Army, with Ronald Reagan, had Kate Smith singing Berlin's " God Bless America" which was first performed in 1938. Many songs became popular themes and anthems, including " Alexander's Ragtime Band", " 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". During his 60-year career he wrote an estimated 1,500 songs, including the scores for 20 original Broadway shows and 15 original Hollywood films, with his songs nominated eight times for Academy Awards. He wrote hundreds of songs, many becoming major hits, which made him famous before he turned thirty.
In doing so, said Walter Cronkite, at Berlin's 100th birthday tribute, he "helped write the story of this country, capturing the best of who we are and the dreams that shape our lives". Over the years 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". "Alexander's Ragtime Band" sparked an international dance craze in places as far away as Berlin's native Russia, which also "flung itself into the ragtime beat with an abandon bordering on mania". "Alexander's Ragtime Band", performed by Billy Murray, Edison Amberol cylinder, 1911 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 also was an owner of the Music Box Theatre on Broadway.
He published his first song, "Marie from Sunny Italy", in 1907, receiving 33 cents for the publishing rights, and had his first major international hit, " Alexander's Ragtime Band", in 1911. His music forms a great part of the Great American Songbook.īorn in Imperial Russia, Berlin arrived in the United States at the age of five. Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin Yiddish: ישראל ביילין – September 22, 1989) was a American composer, songwriter and lyricist.
4, including Mary Ellin Barrett (née Berlin)
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