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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 1151-1175 of 1635 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
OKeh S-70451 10-in. February 1922 Say it with music Virginia Burt ; Elliott Shaw Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist, composer  
OKeh S-70594 10-in. Apr. 1922 Some sunny day Vaughn De Leath Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist, composer  
OKeh S-70640 10-in. Apr. 1922 Some sunny day Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra ; Vincent Lopez Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-70828 10-in. Sept. 1922 Homesick Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra ; Vincent Lopez Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-71061 10-in. Nov. 1922 Homesick Crescent Trio Male vocal trio, with orchestra lyricist, composer  
OKeh S-71075 10-in. Dec. 1922 Lady of the evening Herbert Berger ; St. Louis Club Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-71109 10-in. Dec. 1922 Crinoline days Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra ; Vincent Lopez Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-71110 10-in. Dec. 1922 Pack up your sins and go to the devil Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra ; Vincent Lopez Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-71667 10-in. July 1923 When you walked out someone else walked right in Rega Dance Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-71895 10-in. Sept. 1923 Tell all the folks in Kentucky (I'm comin' home) Vernon Dalhart Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist, composer  
OKeh S-71926 10-in. October 1923 Little butterfly Eddie Elkins' Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-71927 10-in. October 1923 The waltz of long ago Eddie Elkins' Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-72035 10-in. November 1923 An orange grove in California Vincent Lopez and his Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-72036 10-in. November 1923 Learn to do the strut Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra ; Vincent Lopez Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-72406 10-in. Mar. 1924 What'll I do? Helen Clark ; Bruce Wallace Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra lyricist, composer  
OKeh S-72418 10-in. Apr. 1924 Lazy Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra ; Vincent Lopez Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-72419 10-in. Apr. 1924 What'll I do Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra ; Vincent Lopez Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-72882 10-in. Oct. 1924 All alone Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra ; Vincent Lopez Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-73105 10-in. 1/15/1925 Tell her in the springtime Melody Sheiks Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-73106 10-in. 1/15/1925 Tokio blues Melody Sheiks Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-73123 10-in. Jan. 1925 In the shade of a sheltering tree Hotel Sylvania Orchestra of Philadelphia ; Vincent Rizzo Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh 73568 10-in. Aug. 1925 You forgot to remember Bruce Wallace Male vocal solo, with instrumental trio composer, lyricist  
OKeh 73593 10-in. Sept. 1925 Remember Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra ; Vincent Lopez Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh 73702 10-in. 10/12/1925 Don't wait too long Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra ; Vincent Lopez Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh 73897 10-in. 1/5/1926 The monkey doodle-doo! Jazz Pilots Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist, composer  
(Results 1151-1175 of 1635 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Berlin, Irving," accessed November 7, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101971.

Berlin, Irving. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 7, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101971.

"Berlin, Irving." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 7 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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