Irving Berlin was born on May 11th, 1888 in Temun, Siberia. Born Israel Baline, his family fled to America in 1893 escaping Russian persecution of Jews while settling in Manhattan’s Lower East side. Without schooling or formal training, Berlin’s career began as a youngster singing on street corners and later as a singing waiter at a Chinese restaurant, was a self-taught pianist, a songwriter, and song plugger on Tin Pan Alley who eventually became a household name the world over with such classics as “White Christmas,” Easter Parade,” “God Bless America,” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business.”
Reminiscing in his 1928 autobiography regarding the annual gathering of The Lambs and their musical revue, Mr. Sousa writes of Berlin:
“Berlin had a special song for that night – about Mexico – and he did it most cleverly. I found him a charming fellow, modest, entertaining and a mighty satisfactory companion. Our friendship is still very much alive.”
Jerome Kern said, “Irving Berlin has no place in American music – he is American music” and I believe Mr. Sousa would agree.
Happy birthday, Mr. Berlin!
It was only a matter of time that Irving Berlin’s musical path would cross with John Philip Sousa and on Christmas Day 1915, Sousa and his famous band made a surprise guest appearance in the finale of Berlin’s brand new, three-act musical, “Stop! Look! Listen! on Broadway’s Globe Theatre.
- In the collection of the U.S. Marine Band, a scrapbook containing a letter from Irving Berlin to John Philip Sousa sums up his appreciation and admiration for The March King.
- Nine years later in April, 1924, Berlin, Sousa, Victor Herbert, and a host other ASCAP members met in Washington, DC to voice their opposition to the Radio Control Bill before the senate. This afforded numerous photo ops including this ASCAP gathering.
- (3 & 4) Additional images of the ‘big three;’ Herbert, Berlin, and Sousa resulted from this meeting showing both cordiality and camaraderie. Sadly, Herbert died just weeks following this meeting while Berlin lived on to be 101, passing in 1989!
A letter from Irving Berlin to John Philip Sousa thanking him and his band for their surprise guest appearance in Berlin’s new musical
A 1924 gathering of ASCAP members in Washington, DC to fight the “Freedom of The Air” Radio Control Bill
Victor Herbert, Irving Berlin, and John Philip Sousa, April 17th, 1924 similar to the image appearing in Mr. Sousa’s autobiography
Victor Herbert, Irving Berlin, John Philip Sousa. 17 Apr 1924
The three “masters of melody”
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