Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin once said that "a patriotic song is an emotion and you must not embarrass an audience with it, or they'll hate your guts." This philosophy helped make him America's most outstanding writer of patriotic songs from World War I through World War II.

Berlin was born Israel Baline in Eastern Russia on May 11, 1888. His family moved to New York in 1893 to escape the pogroms in Russia. In the early 1900's he worked as a singing waiter and started composing songs. His first published hit was "Marie from Sunny Italy." In World War I, he wrote the musical Yip, Yip, Yaphank, which was produced by the men of Camp Upton. In this musical, the big hit song was "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning," which reflected Berlin's aversion to rising early. This musical raised more than $150,000 to build a service center at Camp Upton. On Armistice Day, 1939, he introduced "God Bless America," which was sung by Kate Smith. This song threatened to replace the national anthem because of its patriotism and popularity.

During World War II, he wrote the musical This is the Army, which raised $10 million for the Army Emergency Relief. He also wrote other patriotic songs such as "Any Bonds Today," "Arms for the Love of America," and "Angels of Mercy" for the American Red Cross. Berlin was prolific: He wrote more than 900 songs, 19 musicals and the scores of 18 movies. Some of his songs that have become classics include, "There's No Business Like Show Business," "Easter Parade," and "White Christmas." He is no doubt the top moneymaker among songwriters in America. In 1924, songwriter Jerome Kern observed, "Irving Berlin has no place in American music. He is American music." Berlin died on September 22, 1989 at the age of 101.