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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 1276-1300 of 1635 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Brunswick 12851-12853 10-in. 4/11/1924 What’ll I do? Keller Sisters and Lynch Mixed vocal trio, with orchestra composer  
Brunswick 13762-13765 10-in. 9/10/1924 All alone Abe Lyman’s California Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Brunswick 13850-13852 10-in. 9/26/1924 All alone Carl Fenton’s Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Brunswick 13864-13867 10-in. 10/2/1924 All alone Al Jolson ; Ray Miller Orchestra Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band composer  
Brunswick 14546-14549 10-in. 12/29/1924 Tell her in the springtime Carl Fenton’s Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Brunswick E7316 10-in. 4/19/1928 I can’t do without you Sylvia Marion Hirsch Female vocal solo, with violin, guitar, and piano composer, lyricist  
Brunswick E18172 10-in. 3/3/1926 Always Grace Moore Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist, composer  
Brunswick E27392 10-in. 4/23/1928 I can’t do without you Nick Lucas ; William Wirges Male vocal solo, with guitar and piano lyricist, composer  
Brunswick E27442 10-in. 4/27/1928 Russisches Wiegenlied Irving Grossman Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist, composer  
Brunswick XE27536 12-in. 5/11/1928 Alexander’s ragtime band Casa Lopez Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet composer  
Brunswick E27769 10-in. 6/25/1928 Where is the song of songs Solita Palmer Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer, lyricist  
Brunswick E28223 10-in. 9/14/1928 Roses of yesterday Ben Bernie ; Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet; without vocal (take G) composer, lyricist  
Brunswick E28326 10-in. 10/2/1928 A pretty girl is like a melody Five Pennies ; Red Nichols Jazz/dance band composer  
Brunswick E28337 10-in. 10/8/1928 Roses of yesterday Glen Wick Male vocal solo, with instrumental trio composer, lyricist  
Brunswick E28437 10-in. 10/1/1928 Roses of yesterday Lew White Organ solo composer  
Brunswick E28438 10-in. 10/1/1928 Jeannine, I dream of lilac time Lew White Organ solo composer  
Brunswick E28444 10-in. 10/3/1928 To be forgotten Dave Rubinoff Violin solo, with string orchestra composer  
Brunswick E28486 10-in. 10/20/1928 Marie Glen Wick Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer, lyricist  
Brunswick E28564 10-in. 10/25/1928 Coquette Irving Berlin Male vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, composer, lyricist  
Brunswick E28646 10-in. approximately Nov. 1928 Yascha Michaeloffsky’s melody The Parkway Inn Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist, composer  
Brunswick XE28687 12-in. 11/15/1928 Blue skies Eddie Peabody Banjo solo composer  
Brunswick E28689 10-in. 11/16/1928 How about me? Ben Bernie ; Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo; without vocal (take G) composer, lyricist  
Brunswick E28753 10-in. 11/14/1928 Coquette The Home Towners Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Brunswick E29001 10-in. 12/19/1928 How about me? Nick Lucas Male vocal solo, with guitar composer, lyricist  
Brunswick E29292 10-in. February 1929 Where is the song of songs for me? (Canción de amor) Frank Munn ; Regent Club Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo; without vocal (take G) composer, lyricist  
(Results 1276-1300 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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