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Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; Yiddish: ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was an American composer and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.

Born in Imperial Russia, Berlin arrived in the United States at the age of five. He published his first song, "Marie from Sunny Italy", in 1907, receiving 33 cents for the publishing rights, and became known for international hits, such as 1911's "Alexander's Ragtime Band". He also was an owner of the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. 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.

"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". 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". 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".

He wrote hundreds of songs, many becoming major hits, which made him famous before he turned thirty. 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. 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". His Broadway musical and 1943 film This Is the Army, with Ronald Reagan, had Kate Smith singing Berlin's "God Bless America", first performed in 1938.

Berlin's songs have reached the top of the charts 25 times and have been extensively re-recorded by numerous singers, including The Andrews Sisters, Perry Como, Eddie Fisher, Al Jolson, Fred Astaire, Ethel Merman, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Elvis Presley, Judy Garland, Tiny Tim, Barbra Streisand, Linda Ronstadt, Rosemary Clooney, Cher, Diana Ross, Bing Crosby, Sarah Vaughan, Ruth Etting, Fanny Brice, Marilyn Miller, Rudy Vallée, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Doris Day, Harry Nilsson, Jerry Garcia, Taco, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Buble, Lady Gaga, and Christina Aguilera.

Berlin died in 1989 at the age of 101. Composer Douglas Moore sets 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",: 117  and composer Jerome Kern concluded that "Irving Berlin has no place in American music—he is American music."

Birth and Death Data: Born May 11, 1888 (Tyumen), Died September 22, 1989 (New York City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1909 - 1954

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist, songwriter, vocalist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1026-1050 of 1635 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia W149470 10-in. 11/4/1929 To be forgotten Blue Grass Boys ; Lee Morse Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band lyricist, composer  
Columbia W149779 10-in. 1/17/1930 With you Carmen Lombardo ; Guy Lombardo ; Royal Canadians Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist, composer  
Columbia W149912 10-in. 1/24/1930 Puttin' on the Ritz Jan Garber and his Greater Columbia Recording Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist, composer  
Columbia [W]149995 10-in. 2/19/1930 Puttin' on the Ritz The Danford Sisters ; Hotel Pennsylvania Music [Lloyd Keating and his Music] Jazz/dance band, with female vocal duet lyricist, composer  
Columbia [W]149998 10-in. 2/19/1930 With you Hotel Pennsylvania Music [Lloyd Keating and his Music] ; Jack Lord Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist, composer  
Columbia W150003 10-in. 2/20/1930 (Across the breakfast table) Looking at you Irving Kaufman Male vocal solo lyricist, composer  
Columbia W150004 10-in. 2/20/1930 To my mammy Irving Kaufman Male vocal solo lyricist, composer  
Columbia [W]150046 10-in. 3/1/1930 With you Jack Miller ; The New Englanders Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia W150054 10-in. 3/3/1930 (Across the breakfast table) Looking at you Selvin’s Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Columbia W150055 10-in. 3/3/1930 Let me sing and I'm happy Selvin’s Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist, composer  
Columbia W150099 10-in. 3/19/1930 With you Oscar Grogan Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist, composer  
Columbia [W]150109 10-in. 3/21/1930 To my mammy Sid Garry Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist, composer  
Columbia [W]150110 10-in. 3/21/1930 Let me sing—and I'm happy Sid Garry Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist, composer  
Columbia W150118 10-in. 3/25/1930 Let me sing—and I'm happy Ruth Etting Female vocal solo lyricist, composer  
Columbia W150345 10-in. 4/22/1930 When I lost you Roy Harper ; Earl Shirkey Male vocal solo, with guitar and yodeling lyricist, composer  
Columbia [W]150813 10-in. 9/17/1930 Just a little while Fred Rich Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist, composer  
Columbia W150842 10-in. 9/26/1930 Just a little while Blue Grass Boys ; Lee Morse Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band lyricist, composer  
Columbia W150860 10-in. 10/4/1930 Just a little while Ben Selvin and his Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist, composer  
Columbia W150930 10-in. 11/3/1930 The little things in life Campus Boys ; Ted Wallace Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio lyricist, composer  
Columbia W151156 10-in. 12/17/1930 Reaching for the moon Campus Boys ; Ted Wallace Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio lyricist, composer  
Columbia W151173 10-in. 12/23/1930 The little things in life Blue Grass Boys ; Lee Morse Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band lyricist, composer  
Columbia W151202 10-in. 1/13/1931 Reaching for the moon Ruth Etting Female vocal solo lyricist, composer  
Columbia [W]151248 10-in. 1/29/1931 Reaching for the moon Kate Smith Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble lyricist, composer  
Columbia W151305 10-in. 2/13/1931 I want you for myself Campus Boys ; Ted Wallace Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio lyricist, composer  
Columbia W151685 10-in. 7/15/1931 Woodman, spare that tree Jack Mahoney Male vocal solo, with guitar and celeste songwriter  
(Results 1026-1050 of 1635 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Berlin, Irving," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101971.

Berlin, Irving. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101971.

"Berlin, Irving." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101971

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