Top American Songwriter of All Time: Irving Berlin

He was born Israel Baline but when he and his family moved from Russia to his new home in the United Sates he accidentally became Irving Berlin. He was born in 1888 and lived an amazing 101 years dying in 1989. During those long years he worked mainly as a writer of songs, so many songs and such touching songs in their amazing balance of words and music, that collectively they earned him recognition as the top American songwriter of all time.

Early Success Irving Berlin and his family came to America full of hopes and dreams like most immigrants. In a few short years after arriving in the U. S. , Berlin's world was tipped upside down by the premature death of his father. This loss left his family emotionally and financially drained. Life became a constant struggle for survival and at a young age Irving Berlin found himself at work as a singing waiter.

It was in this capacity that Irving Berlin produced his first song for which he earned 37cents. Berlin's song writing career continued almost uninterrupted for the greater part of his life.

At only twenty three years of age Irving Berlin caught lightening in a bottle by writing "Alexander's Ragtime Band". The song caught on all over the country and its popularity experienced periodic rebirths for the next five decades. "Alexander's Ragtime Band" was performed in a dozen different versions all of which went to the top twenty on the national hit parade. It is likely that on the basis of this one song alone Berlin might have found his way into American song writing history. What it did do was establish Berlin as a man on the road to becoming the top American songwriter of all time.

A second major Berlin hit was also written early on in his career though it never reached its full popularity until World War II. That song was "God Bless America". The words and music so moved some Americans that they lobbied to have "God Bless America" replace the" Star Spangled Banner" as the national anthem. In the 1940's the powerful song was sung by the equally powerful voice of Kate Smith and the combination lifted the fame of both.