|  Irving Berlin wrote more songs than any other American songwriter. White Christmas, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, and God Bless America. He produced over 500 hit songs, 282 were, “top ten hits”, and 35 became the number one song of their day.
Irving Berlin was writing songs in the age before radio, motion pictures or phonographs. His songs became popular through musical stage productions and the sales of his sheet music back in the early 1900's. But his career also extended into the modern age and his music became immensely popular through movies and record sales during the 1930's, 40's and 50's. His career flourished from 1908 up until the 1960's, perhaps the longest of all the songwriters' of the 20th century. He preceded composers such as Cole Porter, the Gershwin's, and Rodgers and Hart, and was still prolific after their careers had ended. The fact that he lived to be 101 years old was, of course, to his advantage. Even in his mid 70's he was still churning out wonderful hit songs. Between the years of 1910 and 1934 he produced at least one hit song a year, that's 25 years of consecutive hits, an accomplishment never equaled by another song writer.
Berlin's life was more colorful than most Hollywood fantasies, but while he was alive he would never allow a movie to be made about him. He dug his way out of total, utter poverty as a young man to become vastly successful artistically and financially. He created a music publishing dynasty with his own publishing house that consisted of mostly his own songs. He built his own lavish Broadway play house "The Music Box Theater," that was the envy of all Broadway. He Also married a woman who was the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in America, Ellin MacKay.
He was a small man, introverted and quiet, a mediocre pianist with an only adequate voice. He could neither read nor write music. He dictated all of his compositions to his musical secretary. By his own description he said that perhaps his lack of musical education helped him write tunes that the common man could relate to.
What ever the formula or secret was he left us with a legacy of songs that will be with us for many generations to come if not forever. | | |
