WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.980 Welcome to the Deep Dive, the place where we 00:00:01.980 --> 00:00:04.559 take a massive stack of articles, biographies, 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:06.919 and research and turn them into the most essential, 00:00:07.139 --> 00:00:09.599 fascinating, and thoroughly engaging conversation 00:00:09.599 --> 00:00:12.039 you'll have this week. That's right. If you want 00:00:12.039 --> 00:00:15.019 a shortcut to being truly well -informed, you've 00:00:15.019 --> 00:00:17.390 come to the right place. Today, we are undertaking 00:00:17.390 --> 00:00:21.109 a deep dive into a man who arguably provided 00:00:21.109 --> 00:00:23.390 the soundtrack for the entire American century. 00:00:23.489 --> 00:00:26.530 A man whose personal journey is, I mean, it's 00:00:26.530 --> 00:00:29.429 the definitive rags to riches story, yet whose 00:00:29.429 --> 00:00:32.729 methods were, well, wildly unconventional. We 00:00:32.729 --> 00:00:34.950 are talking about Irving Berlin. And when we 00:00:34.950 --> 00:00:37.649 say define the 20th century, that's not hyperbole. 00:00:37.710 --> 00:00:40.710 Not at all. Berlin, born Israel Isidore Bilen, 00:00:40.890 --> 00:00:43.509 had an active career spanning an astounding 60 00:00:43.509 --> 00:00:47.420 years. And in that time, he composed an estimated 00:00:47.420 --> 00:00:51.840 1 ,500 songs. Just think about that volume, the 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:53.579 sheer reach of it. He penned everything from, 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:56.500 you know, the high society dances of the 1920s 00:00:56.500 --> 00:01:00.000 to the somber military anthems of two world wars. 00:01:00.179 --> 00:01:01.640 All the way through to your favorite holiday 00:01:01.640 --> 00:01:04.120 soundtrack. It's inescapable. And it's not just 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:06.379 the quantity. It's the consensus among his peers. 00:01:06.859 --> 00:01:09.280 Before we even get into his journey, you have 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:11.780 to grasp. the sheer magnitude of his influence. 00:01:12.019 --> 00:01:14.560 The sources are full of testimonials from other 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:16.980 musical types. Exactly. Like Jerome Kern, the 00:01:16.980 --> 00:01:19.319 composer of Show Boat. He didn't hedge his praise 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:22.480 at all. He famously said, Irving Berlin has no 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:24.959 place in American music. He is American music. 00:01:25.219 --> 00:01:29.019 Whoa. That elevates him from just a talent to, 00:01:29.099 --> 00:01:31.700 what, a national necessity? That's a perfect 00:01:31.700 --> 00:01:33.640 way to put it. Yeah. It suggests that if you 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:36.480 remove Berlin's work, a fundamental piece of 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:39.819 the American cultural identity is just... And 00:01:39.819 --> 00:01:42.180 George Gershwin, another revolutionary figure, 00:01:42.340 --> 00:01:44.519 felt the same way. He called him the greatest 00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:47.299 songwriter that has ever lived. And he even went 00:01:47.299 --> 00:01:50.140 so far as to dub him America's Schubert. That 00:01:50.140 --> 00:01:52.480 Gershwin comparison is fascinating, especially 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:55.540 because of how Berlin created his songs. Schubert 00:01:55.540 --> 00:01:57.939 was a master of classical structure. Right. While 00:01:57.939 --> 00:02:00.500 Berlin achieved his immortality through methods 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:03.299 that were, frankly, closer to ingenious accident 00:02:03.299 --> 00:02:05.799 than any formal training, he really embodied 00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:08.680 that American spirit of ingenuity and adaptation. 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:11.680 So what does this all mean for us today? Our 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:14.819 mission in this deep dive is to trace that incredible 00:02:14.819 --> 00:02:17.650 trajectory. We're going to follow the Byland 00:02:17.650 --> 00:02:20.330 family from fleeing Russian persecution to the 00:02:20.330 --> 00:02:22.610 crowded, chaotic streets of the Lower East Side. 00:02:22.710 --> 00:02:25.129 We'll spend a lot of time dissecting that bizarre 00:02:25.129 --> 00:02:27.789 yet essential mechanical advantage he developed, 00:02:27.949 --> 00:02:31.669 that custom transposing piano and his his complete 00:02:31.669 --> 00:02:34.189 reliance on the key of F -sharp. And we'll also 00:02:34.189 --> 00:02:36.409 analyze how his unique life experience, that 00:02:36.409 --> 00:02:38.669 of an outsider who loved his adopted country 00:02:38.669 --> 00:02:41.169 so fiercely, allowed him to create these enduring 00:02:41.169 --> 00:02:44.120 patriotic statements like. God bless America. 00:02:44.439 --> 00:02:46.599 And the single best -selling song of all time, 00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:49.099 White Christmas. We want to show you exactly 00:02:49.099 --> 00:02:51.240 how this Russian immigrant became the definitive 00:02:51.240 --> 00:02:53.639 voice of the American dream. And just to set 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:56.159 the stage for this long career, here's a pretty 00:02:56.159 --> 00:02:58.699 intriguing fact to start with. Berlin lived an 00:02:58.699 --> 00:03:01.840 incredibly long life. He died in 1989 at 101 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:04.020 years old. And his career wasn't just long, it 00:03:04.020 --> 00:03:06.599 was universally celebrated. He is one of the 00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:09.120 very few artists to collect all the major honors. 00:03:09.379 --> 00:03:13.120 An Academy Award, a Grammy, a Tony. and the Presidential 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:15.259 Medal of Freedom, which he received in 1977. 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:19.800 That kind of longevity and universal acclaim 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:24.180 is just, it's truly unmatched. So to really understand 00:03:24.180 --> 00:03:26.060 the architect of the Great American Songbook, 00:03:26.139 --> 00:03:28.780 we have to start not on Broadway, but in the 00:03:28.780 --> 00:03:32.039 turmoil of the Russian Empire. He was born Israel 00:03:32.039 --> 00:03:35.479 Bilen on May 11th, 1888. The sources indicate 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:38.139 his family was Jewish, and they came from a shtetl 00:03:38.139 --> 00:03:40.699 called Tolokin, which is in modern -day Belarus. 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:44.500 His father, Moses, was an itinerant cantor, so 00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:46.300 he traveled around leading religious services. 00:03:46.659 --> 00:03:49.259 And that tradition of oral music and performance 00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:51.479 was, you know, it was certainly the first exposure 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:54.560 young Israel had to melody and rhythm. But although 00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:56.439 the family was associated with Tolokin, some 00:03:56.439 --> 00:03:58.620 biographers suggest Berlin was actually born 00:03:58.620 --> 00:04:01.099 further east in time in Siberia. Right, where 00:04:01.099 --> 00:04:03.360 his father had taken the family for a time. But 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:05.580 regardless of the exact birthplace, the fundamental 00:04:05.580 --> 00:04:07.159 reality was that life for Jews in the Russian 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:10.400 Empire was precarious and often brutal. They 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:12.699 were fleeing the constant threat of pogroms, 00:04:12.699 --> 00:04:15.280 of systemic discrimination. It was a desperate, 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:18.759 urgent decision to leave everything behind. The 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:21.040 Baleen family arrived at Ellis Island in New 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:25.339 York Harbor on September 14, 1893. Israel was 00:04:25.339 --> 00:04:27.360 just five years old. And when he looked back 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:29.819 on those first five years in Russia later in 00:04:29.819 --> 00:04:32.860 life, he had very few distinct memories. But 00:04:32.860 --> 00:04:35.060 the one memory that stuck, the one that really 00:04:35.060 --> 00:04:37.879 captured the trauma that drove them west, it 00:04:37.879 --> 00:04:40.720 was intensely vivid. It's such a striking, painful 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:43.259 detail. Biographer Lawrence Burgreen records 00:04:43.259 --> 00:04:45.439 Berlin recalling just lying on a blanket next 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:48.100 to a road, watching his family's house burn to 00:04:48.100 --> 00:04:50.660 the ground. That single terrifying image, the 00:04:50.660 --> 00:04:53.720 loss of home, the violence, that was the defining 00:04:53.720 --> 00:04:56.220 context for his family's entire move to America. 00:04:56.420 --> 00:04:58.639 It really underscores the immense gratitude he 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:01.079 felt later in life for the country that sheltered 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:03.120 them. But the sanctuary they found in New York 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:05.759 was steeped in poverty. The Bailey family first 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:08.339 settled in this cramped basement flat on Monroe 00:05:08.339 --> 00:05:10.720 Street. Before moving to a three -room tenement 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:13.279 at 330 Cherry Street, right in the heart of the 00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:16.540 bustling and often squalid Lower East Side. It 00:05:16.540 --> 00:05:18.620 was life at the very bottom of the economic ladder. 00:05:18.980 --> 00:05:22.019 His father, Moses, couldn't find steady work 00:05:22.019 --> 00:05:24.279 as a cantor in New York. So he did what he could. 00:05:24.750 --> 00:05:26.629 He worked in a kosher meat market. He taught 00:05:26.629 --> 00:05:29.370 Hebrew lessons. Berlin later said he didn't even 00:05:29.370 --> 00:05:31.850 realize they were poor because everyone around 00:05:31.850 --> 00:05:34.790 him was living the same way. But the struggle 00:05:34.790 --> 00:05:38.269 was immense. And that difficult support structure 00:05:38.269 --> 00:05:41.370 just crumbled when Moses died suddenly. Israel 00:05:41.370 --> 00:05:44.050 was only 13. At that point, the responsibility 00:05:44.050 --> 00:05:46.860 of providing fell heavily on the children. It's 00:05:46.860 --> 00:05:48.800 just a heartbreaking story. His mother worked 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:51.199 as a midwife. His sisters had these grueling 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:53.420 jobs wrapping cigars. While his older brother 00:05:53.420 --> 00:05:56.480 toiled in a garment sweatshop. And young Israel, 00:05:56.740 --> 00:05:59.639 he started working as a newspaper boy, hawking 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:01.980 the evening journal on the streets. Biographers 00:06:01.980 --> 00:06:04.540 highlight this really crucial detail about why 00:06:04.540 --> 00:06:07.079 he left home before he was even 14. Because his 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:09.259 meager earnings from selling papers contributed 00:06:09.259 --> 00:06:11.899 less to the family budget than his sister's income. 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:15.519 So he felt worthless, a burden. He decided to 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:17.819 strike out on his own, joining the city's vast 00:06:17.819 --> 00:06:20.579 population of homeless immigrant youth. He was 00:06:20.579 --> 00:06:22.939 living in what you can only describe as Dickensian 00:06:22.939 --> 00:06:26.720 lodging houses in the Bowery. These cheap, brutal, 00:06:26.899 --> 00:06:29.519 crowded sleeping rooms. And the sources emphasize 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:32.000 his determination even then. There's that incredible 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:34.180 story about him falling into the East River. 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:37.220 Yes, while delivering papers, he paused. just 00:06:37.220 --> 00:06:40.920 mesmerized watching a ship depart for china probably 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:43.519 daydreaming of an escape and a swinging crane 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:46.000 just knocked him into the water when they finally 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:48.000 fished him out after he'd gone down three times 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:51.060 he was still fiercely clutching the five pennies 00:06:51.060 --> 00:06:53.240 he had earned that day in his clenched fist that 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:56.000 image is so potent it's the sheer will to survive 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:59.519 the absolute value of every single coin that 00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:02.459 defined his early existence fortunately he quickly 00:07:02.459 --> 00:07:04.819 realized that his best asset wasn't delivering 00:07:04.819 --> 00:07:08.300 papers It was his voice, a gift he inherited 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:10.579 from his cantor father. He started singing popular 00:07:10.579 --> 00:07:13.240 songs in the saloons and dive bars at the Bowery. 00:07:13.339 --> 00:07:15.939 And this wasn't just entertainment, it was market 00:07:15.939 --> 00:07:19.360 research. Exactly. He was learning in real time 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:22.180 which simple sentiments appealed to audiences. 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:24.360 Because the quicker they tossed a penny, the 00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:27.420 better the song was. He became incredibly streetwise, 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:30.000 just absorbing the American vernacular and culture. 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:32.720 This led him up the ladder to becoming a song 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:36.230 plugger and a singing waiter. By 1906 at 18, 00:07:36.509 --> 00:07:39.189 he got a better job at the Pelham Cafe in Chinatown. 00:07:39.250 --> 00:07:41.810 Besides pouring drinks, he specialized in singing 00:07:41.810 --> 00:07:44.290 these made -up, sometimes blue or suggestive 00:07:44.290 --> 00:07:47.389 parodies of hit songs. It was a huge draw for 00:07:47.389 --> 00:07:49.589 the patrons. And this is where the journey to 00:07:49.589 --> 00:07:52.149 composing really begins. His first published 00:07:52.149 --> 00:07:55.529 song, Marie from Sunny Italy, came out in 1907. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:58.139 He wrote it with the Pelham's pianist, Mike Nicholson. 00:07:58.339 --> 00:08:01.019 The sources quibble over whether he got 33 or 00:08:01.019 --> 00:08:03.500 37 cents for the publishing rights. A literal 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:06.019 pittance either way. But he did get that important 00:08:06.019 --> 00:08:09.420 credit. Aye, Berlin. His talents quickly outgrew 00:08:09.420 --> 00:08:12.120 the Chinatown Cafe. Max Winslow from the Harry 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:14.800 Von Tilzer Company spotted his talent. Right. 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:17.439 He recognized his knack for simple, catchy rhyme 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:19.939 and got him a job as a staff lyricist for the 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:22.879 Ted Snyder Company in 1909. For a couple of years, 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:25.250 he was known just as a top wordsmith. But his 00:08:25.250 --> 00:08:27.709 pivot into composition was, well, it was entirely 00:08:27.709 --> 00:08:29.930 accidental. He had submitted a set of lyrics 00:08:29.930 --> 00:08:32.509 to a publisher, and the publisher just mistakenly 00:08:32.509 --> 00:08:34.850 assumed the submission was complete music and 00:08:34.850 --> 00:08:37.309 all. Not wanting to lose the sale, Berlin scrambled 00:08:37.309 --> 00:08:39.850 and quickly wrote a simple melody right there 00:08:39.850 --> 00:08:42.769 on the spot. And that initial quick success just... 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:45.679 cracked open his career as a full -fledged composer 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:49.899 despite his, let's say, severe technical limitations. 00:08:50.279 --> 00:08:52.500 And that leads us directly into the most unique 00:08:52.500 --> 00:08:55.259 and almost mythical aspect of Irving Berlin's 00:08:55.259 --> 00:08:57.740 career. The fact that the man George Gershwin 00:08:57.740 --> 00:09:00.179 called the greatest songwriter that has ever 00:09:00.179 --> 00:09:03.200 lived operated for much of his life with these 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:06.179 incredible musical limitations. It's truly mind 00:09:06.179 --> 00:09:08.460 -boggling. For decades, he couldn't read or write 00:09:08.460 --> 00:09:11.379 sheet music. He relied entirely on his ear and 00:09:11.379 --> 00:09:13.889 a musical secretary. But the most famous limitation 00:09:13.889 --> 00:09:16.950 was the piano. He was a restricted player, able 00:09:16.950 --> 00:09:18.950 to play comfortably and naturally in only one 00:09:18.950 --> 00:09:22.950 key, F sharp. F sharp major, the key of the black 00:09:22.950 --> 00:09:25.549 notes. For anyone who doesn't play piano, this 00:09:25.549 --> 00:09:27.250 means your hands are primarily on the raised 00:09:27.250 --> 00:09:29.590 black keys. Exactly. They're grouped in twos 00:09:29.590 --> 00:09:31.649 and threes, and it feels very different, sort 00:09:31.649 --> 00:09:34.730 of restrictive, compared to the white keys. Once 00:09:34.730 --> 00:09:37.320 he learned that pattern, That was his home base. 00:09:37.559 --> 00:09:40.460 So I'm imagining a world where a genius musician 00:09:40.460 --> 00:09:43.759 has access to every sound, but can only physically 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:46.799 operate within this one narrow corridor of the 00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:49.740 keyboard. So how did he write these sophisticated, 00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:53.860 varied songs that span dozens of keys? This is 00:09:53.860 --> 00:09:56.740 where the ingenuity kicks in. He circumvented 00:09:56.740 --> 00:09:59.659 this massive technical barrier by using a specialized 00:09:59.659 --> 00:10:03.299 custom piano. The famous transposing piano. Exactly. 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:05.470 It was equipped with a transposing lever. He 00:10:05.470 --> 00:10:07.450 owned three of them over his lifetime, and they 00:10:07.450 --> 00:10:09.549 were his essential instruments. Okay, let's unpack 00:10:09.549 --> 00:10:11.769 this mechanism. I'm picturing a lever on the 00:10:11.769 --> 00:10:13.730 side of the piano. How did it actually work? 00:10:14.049 --> 00:10:16.549 It was a mechanical marvel. When he pulled the 00:10:16.549 --> 00:10:19.190 lever, the piano's entire internal action would 00:10:19.190 --> 00:10:22.730 physically shift. So if he played a melody using 00:10:22.730 --> 00:10:25.009 his familiar F -sharp fingering on the black 00:10:25.009 --> 00:10:27.309 keys... The lever would instantly translate that 00:10:27.309 --> 00:10:30.710 physical input into, say, the key of C or B -flat 00:10:30.710 --> 00:10:34.100 or whatever he needed. Precisely. The sound the 00:10:34.100 --> 00:10:37.299 audience heard was transposed, but his hands 00:10:37.299 --> 00:10:40.179 never had to leave their comfort zone. It was 00:10:40.179 --> 00:10:43.019 an instant mechanical cheat that let him explore 00:10:43.019 --> 00:10:45.840 the entire harmonic spectrum. It's essentially 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:49.019 the ultimate musical shortcut. It allowed a creative 00:10:49.019 --> 00:10:51.779 mind, unburdened by technical difficulty, to 00:10:51.779 --> 00:10:55.139 focus entirely on melody and lyric. And even 00:10:55.139 --> 00:10:57.139 though he did eventually learn to produce written 00:10:57.139 --> 00:11:00.519 music later in life, he famously stuck with his 00:11:00.519 --> 00:11:03.360 method, always dictating the final melody to 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:06.039 a musical secretary. What's maybe most fascinating 00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:07.879 is that he actually sought advice about this. 00:11:08.019 --> 00:11:10.720 He went to Victor Herbert, the famous light opera 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:13.259 composer, and asked if he should get formal training. 00:11:13.480 --> 00:11:16.019 And Herbert looked at Berlin, this raw, intuitive 00:11:16.019 --> 00:11:18.539 genius, and advised him against studying composition. 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:21.340 He warned that theory might cramp your style. 00:11:21.580 --> 00:11:24.080 That advice proved to be prophetic. By avoiding 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:26.120 complex theory, Berlin was forced to keep his 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:28.899 sound pure, direct, and focused on instant emotional 00:11:28.899 --> 00:11:31.580 resonance. His philosophy was completely audience 00:11:31.580 --> 00:11:34.299 -centric. He said his aim was to reach the heart 00:11:34.299 --> 00:11:36.419 of the average American, that vast middle of 00:11:36.419 --> 00:11:39.659 the population. Who he saw as the real soul of 00:11:39.659 --> 00:11:41.799 the country, not the highbrow or the lowbrow. 00:11:41.940 --> 00:11:44.519 And to reach them, his style had to be simple, 00:11:44.659 --> 00:11:48.120 uncomplicated, and direct, written entirely in 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:50.720 the American vernacular. He saw complexity as 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:52.919 a barrier. He was also really clear about the 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:55.419 hierarchy of a hit song. He said, it's the lyrics 00:11:55.419 --> 00:11:57.419 that makes a song a hit, although the tune, of 00:11:57.419 --> 00:11:59.820 course, is what makes it last. The words had 00:11:59.820 --> 00:12:02.080 to connect first. And this commitment to simplicity 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:04.620 is what launched his career into the stratosphere 00:12:04.620 --> 00:12:08.039 with his first worldwide phenomenon, Alexander's 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:11.779 Ragtime Band in 1911. Berlin, barely out of his 00:12:11.779 --> 00:12:14.600 20s, became an instant global celebrity. But 00:12:14.600 --> 00:12:17.159 the journey of this song is a masterclass in 00:12:17.159 --> 00:12:19.620 the importance of lyrics. It was first introduced 00:12:19.620 --> 00:12:22.360 by the singer Emma Chorus. A Broadway producer, 00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:25.139 Jesse Lasky, picked it up, but only used it as 00:12:25.139 --> 00:12:27.960 an instrumental. And it bombed. Completely. Audiences 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:30.019 were unimpressed, and it was quickly dropped. 00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:32.539 Berlin considered it a failure until he added 00:12:32.539 --> 00:12:34.539 the famous lyrics. Once the words were there 00:12:34.539 --> 00:12:36.320 and the song was performed again in a different 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:38.860 review, the reaction was immediate and explosive. 00:12:39.340 --> 00:12:41.679 Variety called it the musical sensation of the 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:43.639 decade. It's interesting, though, because music 00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:45.460 critics were quick to point out that musically, 00:12:45.659 --> 00:12:48.799 Alexander's ragtime band wasn't actually a true 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:50.980 ragtime piece, right? That's a key distinction. 00:12:51.529 --> 00:12:54.590 True ragtime, like Scott Joplin's work, relied 00:12:54.590 --> 00:12:57.350 on very strict, almost classical structures. 00:12:57.669 --> 00:13:00.129 Berlin's song was musically much closer to a 00:13:00.129 --> 00:13:02.669 march. Right. It even quotes the bugle call Reveille 00:13:02.669 --> 00:13:06.149 in the old folk song, Swanee River. So why the 00:13:06.149 --> 00:13:09.269 title then, if it wasn't true ragtime? Because 00:13:09.269 --> 00:13:11.669 Berlin borrowed the feeling and the rhythm of 00:13:11.669 --> 00:13:14.909 ragtime syncopation without sticking to the genre's 00:13:14.909 --> 00:13:18.370 rigid structure. It was looser, catchier, and 00:13:18.370 --> 00:13:20.330 infinitely more accessible to the average ear. 00:13:20.590 --> 00:13:23.009 It essentially popularized the idea of ragtime 00:13:23.009 --> 00:13:25.990 for a mainstream audience. It revived the genre 00:13:25.990 --> 00:13:28.909 and sparked this international dance craze. The 00:13:28.909 --> 00:13:31.350 craze was so pervasive that, predictably, it 00:13:31.350 --> 00:13:33.710 drew some pretty harsh criticism. The sources 00:13:33.710 --> 00:13:35.850 include this hilarious quote from a German newspaper 00:13:35.850 --> 00:13:39.529 calling ragtime a form of insanity and a public 00:13:39.529 --> 00:13:41.769 menace. They worried the hysteria it produced 00:13:41.769 --> 00:13:44.850 could lead to idiocy. The irony wasn't lost on 00:13:44.850 --> 00:13:47.269 Berlin. That the country his family had fled 00:13:47.269 --> 00:13:50.620 was now captivated by his music. He admitted 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:53.480 he was flabbergasted by the global success. And 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:55.879 George Gershwin, recognizing its innovative spirit, 00:13:56.179 --> 00:13:59.139 called it the first real American musical work, 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:01.820 praising Berlin for showing the way forward. 00:14:02.179 --> 00:14:04.779 Building on this incredible momentum, Berlin 00:14:04.779 --> 00:14:08.379 quickly diversified. In 1914, he wrote his first 00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:10.720 complete score for a major ragtime review called 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:13.480 Watch Your Step. Which starred the decade's most 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:16.100 famous dance couple, Vernon and Irene Castle. 00:14:16.779 --> 00:14:19.629 Variety hailed it as the... first syncopated 00:14:19.629 --> 00:14:21.950 musical. And this show gave us the foundational 00:14:21.950 --> 00:14:25.250 Berlin hit, Play a Simple Melody. What's important 00:14:25.250 --> 00:14:27.230 about this song is that it was the very first 00:14:27.230 --> 00:14:29.929 of his famous double songs. Where he wrote two 00:14:29.929 --> 00:14:31.929 distinct melodies and lyrics that could be sung 00:14:31.929 --> 00:14:35.429 at the same time, in counterpoint. Exactly. This 00:14:35.429 --> 00:14:37.610 showed a real and sudden jump in his musical 00:14:37.610 --> 00:14:40.110 sophistication, proving he could handle complex 00:14:40.110 --> 00:14:42.929 structures through purely intuitive means. But 00:14:42.929 --> 00:14:45.269 just as his career was taking off, he faced this 00:14:45.269 --> 00:14:49.039 immense personal tragedy. In 1912, only six months 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:51.159 after marrying his first wife, Dorothy Goetz, 00:14:51.299 --> 00:14:54.220 she died suddenly of typhoid fever. Which she 00:14:54.220 --> 00:14:56.139 contracted during their honeymoon in Havana. 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:00.259 This deep, acute grief produced his first serious 00:15:00.259 --> 00:15:04.440 ballad hit, When I Lost You. It was an immediate 00:15:04.440 --> 00:15:07.179 sensation, selling over a million copies almost 00:15:07.179 --> 00:15:10.009 instantly. And the success of this song caused 00:15:10.009 --> 00:15:13.429 a fundamental creative shift in Berlin. He realized 00:15:13.429 --> 00:15:16.549 that the upbeat rag rhyme style was totally unsuitable 00:15:16.549 --> 00:15:19.549 for expressing serious romantic feeling. It forced 00:15:19.549 --> 00:15:21.809 him to adapt and start writing the profound, 00:15:21.950 --> 00:15:24.590 heartfelt love songs that would define his later 00:15:24.590 --> 00:15:27.590 career. By the time we get to 1919, he showed 00:15:27.590 --> 00:15:30.220 just how far he'd developed. A Pretty Girl is 00:15:30.220 --> 00:15:32.259 Like a Melody from the Ziegfeld Follies became 00:15:32.259 --> 00:15:34.539 one of his first big guns in the sophisticated 00:15:34.539 --> 00:15:36.860 theater world. It was so immediately popular 00:15:36.860 --> 00:15:38.879 that it became the lead song for the musical 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:41.399 and was then adopted as the permanent theme for 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:44.000 all of Florence Ziegfeld's iconic reviews. The 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:46.519 composer Alec Wilder, looking back, commented 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:48.879 that the leap in style and sophistication between 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:51.480 this song and his earlier work was just extraordinary 00:15:51.480 --> 00:15:53.700 to have happened in such a short time. Berlin 00:15:53.700 --> 00:15:56.080 was moving rapidly from a tin pan alley novelty 00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:59.320 writer to a true theatrical master. Entering 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:01.759 the roaring 20s, Berlin wasn't satisfied just 00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:04.659 writing music. He was becoming a full -fledged 00:16:04.659 --> 00:16:08.039 business mogul. Right. In 1921, he made a landmark 00:16:08.039 --> 00:16:10.940 move, partnering with producer Sam Harris to 00:16:10.940 --> 00:16:12.799 construct the Music Box Theater on Broadway. 00:16:13.059 --> 00:16:16.600 Located at 239 West 45th Street. This move really 00:16:16.600 --> 00:16:19.299 spoke volumes about his ambition and his need 00:16:19.299 --> 00:16:22.340 for control. One of his biographers, David Leipold, 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:25.600 notes it was the only Broadway house built specifically 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:28.080 to accommodate the works of a single songwriter. 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:30.519 The theater acted as his personal laboratory. 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:33.860 It housed his hugely successful music box review 00:16:33.860 --> 00:16:37.679 for four straight seasons, from 1921 to 1925. 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:40.019 By controlling the venue, he controlled the entire 00:16:40.019 --> 00:16:42.440 ecosystem. He was the owner, the producer, the 00:16:42.440 --> 00:16:44.620 composer, and he was intensely hands -on with 00:16:44.620 --> 00:16:47.159 every detail of the show. From casting and costumes 00:16:47.159 --> 00:16:49.759 to the complex musical arrangements, he wasn't 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:51.559 just selling songs, he was building a brand. 00:16:51.840 --> 00:16:54.159 And meanwhile, the 1920s brought the personal 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:56.500 drama that became a national media sensation. 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:02.330 his second marriage. a Russian Jewish immigrant 00:17:02.330 --> 00:17:05.430 who had started life in a tenement, fell passionately 00:17:05.430 --> 00:17:07.650 in love with Ellen McKay. And Ellen was a young 00:17:07.650 --> 00:17:10.529 author and, critically, a Catholic heiress from 00:17:10.529 --> 00:17:12.589 one of the most socially prominent and fiercely 00:17:12.589 --> 00:17:15.009 traditional families in America. Her father was 00:17:15.009 --> 00:17:18.069 Clarence McKay, the head of the powerful Postal 00:17:18.069 --> 00:17:21.049 Telegraph cable company, and he was, to put it 00:17:21.049 --> 00:17:24.150 mildly, absolutely furious about the match. The 00:17:24.150 --> 00:17:26.809 press, of course, just ate this up. The Lower 00:17:26.809 --> 00:17:29.470 East Side boy versus the high society aristocrat. 00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:33.339 was front page news. Clarence McKay vehemently 00:17:33.339 --> 00:17:35.660 opposed the marriage, famously vowing it would 00:17:35.660 --> 00:17:37.960 only happen over my dead body. He tried everything 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:39.980 to separate them, including sending Ellen off 00:17:39.980 --> 00:17:41.859 to Europe to get her away from Berlin's influence. 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:44.799 But Berlin pursued her across the Atlantic, not 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:46.980 just with daily letters, but with musical devotion. 00:17:47.299 --> 00:17:50.259 He wooed her with songs like Remember and All 00:17:50.259 --> 00:17:52.700 Alone, sent over the airwaves. And she wrote 00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:55.119 him daily letters in return, proving the parental 00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:57.640 opposition was futile. Ultimately, the romantic 00:17:57.640 --> 00:17:59.859 connection proved stronger than the social barriers. 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:04.160 They eloped in 1926, choosing a simple, discreet 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:06.940 civil ceremony at the municipal building. Just 00:18:06.940 --> 00:18:09.779 to escape the relentless media circus. And as 00:18:09.779 --> 00:18:12.599 a wedding present, Berlin demonstrated both deep 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:16.059 love and immense practicality. He gifted Ellen 00:18:16.059 --> 00:18:18.519 the full publishing rights to his classic song, 00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:21.460 Always. Which was an immediate, guaranteed financial 00:18:21.460 --> 00:18:24.180 safety net for her, ensuring she had a steady 00:18:24.180 --> 00:18:26.259 income no matter what happened with her family 00:18:26.259 --> 00:18:29.039 or his career. The initial rift with Clarence 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:31.440 Mackay only began to mend after a devastating 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:34.099 tragedy struck the young couple. The death of 00:18:34.099 --> 00:18:36.720 their infant son, Irving Berlin Jr., on Christmas 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:39.700 Day 1928, less than a month after his birth. 00:18:40.200 --> 00:18:43.059 The shared sorrow finally allowed for a tentative 00:18:43.059 --> 00:18:45.539 reconciliation. And despite the tumultuous start, 00:18:45.660 --> 00:18:47.579 Irving and Ellen's marriage was one for the ages. 00:18:47.819 --> 00:18:50.119 They remained married for 63 years until her 00:18:50.119 --> 00:18:53.039 death in 1988. And throughout all this personal 00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:55.680 drama, Berlin was just relentlessly defining 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:58.509 the American songbook. The period from the 20s 00:18:58.509 --> 00:19:00.809 to the mid -30s saw him generate standards that 00:19:00.809 --> 00:19:03.130 are still ubiquitous today. Let's talk about 00:19:03.130 --> 00:19:07.049 some of those hits. Take What'll I Do from 1924. 00:19:07.529 --> 00:19:11.089 This was a classic ballad of longing and loneliness. 00:19:11.289 --> 00:19:13.869 A massive hit for Paul Whiteman's orchestra and 00:19:13.869 --> 00:19:16.769 later became standard repertoire for vocal giants 00:19:16.769 --> 00:19:20.170 like Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. It perfectly 00:19:20.170 --> 00:19:22.329 captured the sophisticated sadness of the jazz 00:19:22.329 --> 00:19:26.309 age. Then we have Blue Skies from 1926. This 00:19:26.309 --> 00:19:29.309 song was born of pure, unadulterated joy. He 00:19:29.309 --> 00:19:31.369 wrote it immediately after the birth of his first 00:19:31.369 --> 00:19:34.029 daughter, Mary Ellen Barrett. That feeling of 00:19:34.029 --> 00:19:36.750 optimism is crystallized in the lyric. Blue days, 00:19:36.849 --> 00:19:39.329 all of them gone. Nothing but blue skies from 00:19:39.329 --> 00:19:41.599 now on. And it's interesting to note the cultural 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:43.759 connection of this song, its inherent musical 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:46.160 sensibility, that mix of simple optimism with 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:49.079 a complex underlying emotion. It resonated deeply 00:19:49.079 --> 00:19:51.359 with Jewish American culture. It signaled hope 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:53.519 after dark times, a theme that really speaks 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:55.859 to the immigrant experience. And its debut was 00:19:55.859 --> 00:19:59.059 utterly iconic. In 1927, Al Jolson performed 00:19:59.059 --> 00:20:01.359 Blue Skies and the Jazz Singer. Not just any 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:03.160 film, it was the very first feature sound film. 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:05.819 The song was instantly catapulted into cinema 00:20:05.819 --> 00:20:08.880 history. And to show its timeless quality, Willie 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:10.660 Nelson took it to number one on the country chart 00:20:10.660 --> 00:20:14.640 52 years later in 1978. Then there's the sophisticated, 00:20:14.900 --> 00:20:17.400 intricate syncopation of Puttin' on the Ritz 00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:21.019 from 1928. This song required real musical precision. 00:20:21.359 --> 00:20:23.660 It's permanently associated with glamour and 00:20:23.660 --> 00:20:26.799 escapism. Fred Astaire famously sang and danced 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:30.140 to it in the 1946 film Blue Skies. It was later 00:20:30.140 --> 00:20:32.640 featured in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein in 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:36.410 1974. But the longevity statistic that truly 00:20:36.410 --> 00:20:38.869 defines Berlin's reach is that Puttin' on the 00:20:38.869 --> 00:20:41.230 Ritz was a number four hit for the synth pop 00:20:41.230 --> 00:20:44.269 artist Taco in 1982. When Berlin himself was 00:20:44.269 --> 00:20:47.009 95 years old, the material simply never aged. 00:20:47.250 --> 00:20:49.710 That ability to transcend genres and decades 00:20:49.710 --> 00:20:53.069 is a recurring theme. Jumping to 1932, we find 00:20:53.069 --> 00:20:55.700 Say It Isn't So. This song was introduced by 00:20:55.700 --> 00:20:57.859 Rudy Vallée on his popular radio show. And the 00:20:57.859 --> 00:20:59.740 romantic lyrics were so potent that they were 00:20:59.740 --> 00:21:01.960 actually credited with saving Vallée's own marriage. 00:21:02.259 --> 00:21:04.660 The early 1930s also saw Berlin return to the 00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:07.519 stage with powerful themed work. As Thousands 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:10.299 Cheer from 1933 was a hugely successful review. 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:13.200 Where, conceptually, each musical number was 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:16.359 framed as a newspaper item or headline. This 00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:18.759 gave us hits like the perennial Easter Parade 00:21:18.759 --> 00:21:22.170 and the jazz staple Heat Wave. But the show also 00:21:22.170 --> 00:21:25.069 contained a moment of profound, startling social 00:21:25.069 --> 00:21:28.869 commentary that often gets overlooked. I'm talking 00:21:28.869 --> 00:21:31.910 about the powerful song, Supper Time. This was 00:21:31.910 --> 00:21:34.490 not standard Broadway fare. Supper Time was an 00:21:34.490 --> 00:21:37.569 extremely serious, stark song about racial violence, 00:21:37.789 --> 00:21:40.789 directly inspired by a newspaper headline about 00:21:40.789 --> 00:21:43.569 a lynching. And the power of the piece was undeniable, 00:21:43.690 --> 00:21:46.250 especially when performed by the legendary Ethel 00:21:46.250 --> 00:21:49.039 Waters. The lyrics tell the story of a black 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:51.380 woman waiting for her husband, only to be told 00:21:51.380 --> 00:21:53.480 he's been lynched. Waters herself emphasized 00:21:53.480 --> 00:21:56.000 the gravity of the piece, stating that the song 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:59.049 told the whole tragic history of a race. That's 00:21:59.049 --> 00:22:01.130 incredibly powerful and a statement that must 00:22:01.130 --> 00:22:03.950 have been highly charged in 1933 America. It 00:22:03.950 --> 00:22:06.450 speaks volumes about Berlin's longstanding advocacy 00:22:06.450 --> 00:22:08.750 for civil rights. And his willingness to use 00:22:08.750 --> 00:22:11.349 his platform, even in a comedy review, to force 00:22:11.349 --> 00:22:14.089 audiences to confront ugly realities. It showed 00:22:14.089 --> 00:22:16.230 that his simple style could convey profound, 00:22:16.269 --> 00:22:19.190 complex emotions. As the decade progressed, the 00:22:19.190 --> 00:22:23.150 focus shifted to Hollywood. Top Hat in 1935 marked 00:22:23.150 --> 00:22:25.630 the beginning of a fantastic series of Berlin 00:22:25.630 --> 00:22:28.150 film musicals, often starring the perfect pair. 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:31.539 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Berlin provided 00:22:31.539 --> 00:22:34.380 an entirely new score for Top Hat, with iconic 00:22:34.380 --> 00:22:37.259 hits like Cheek to Cheek. These films didn't 00:22:37.259 --> 00:22:39.359 just use old songs. They relied on his ability 00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:41.839 to craft music that was inextricably linked to 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:43.920 the visual rhythm of the dancers. We mentioned 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:46.119 earlier that Berlin was an intensely grateful 00:22:46.119 --> 00:22:49.039 and patriotic citizen, and this was evident from 00:22:49.039 --> 00:22:51.700 the very start of his career. It began bubbling 00:22:51.700 --> 00:22:54.660 up during World War I. Absolutely. When the U 00:22:54.660 --> 00:22:57.500 .S. declared war in 1917, he felt a genuine sense 00:22:57.500 --> 00:23:00.420 of civic duty. He immediately wrote For Your 00:23:00.420 --> 00:23:02.859 Country and My Country in a song aimed at unifying 00:23:02.859 --> 00:23:05.160 immigrant groups titled Let's All Be Americans 00:23:05.160 --> 00:23:07.700 Now. And when he was drafted into the U .S. Army 00:23:07.700 --> 00:23:10.779 at age 30, it was major news. The headlines screaming 00:23:10.779 --> 00:23:13.799 Army Takes Berlin were not lost on anyone. But 00:23:13.799 --> 00:23:16.099 the Army quickly recognized the value of their 00:23:16.099 --> 00:23:18.619 famous new private. He was assigned the task 00:23:18.619 --> 00:23:21.299 of boosting troop morale at Camp Upton. So he 00:23:21.299 --> 00:23:24.059 composed and starred in an all -soldier musical 00:23:24.059 --> 00:23:27.960 review called Yip Yip Yefank in 1918. The show 00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:30.160 was a massive success. It played on Broadway 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:33.480 and raised $150 ,000 for a service center, a 00:23:33.480 --> 00:23:35.759 huge sum at the time. It featured lasting hits 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:39.000 like Mandy and Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:41.019 Morning, which Berlin often performed himself, 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:43.119 even though he disliked being in the spotlight. 00:23:43.420 --> 00:23:45.920 But here is the fascinating twist of fate, the 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:50.460 crucial link between WWI and WWII. Berlin wrote 00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:53.539 another song for that 1918 review, a patriotic 00:23:53.539 --> 00:23:56.400 piece called God Bless America. But he didn't 00:23:56.400 --> 00:23:59.400 use it. No. He felt the tone, which was more 00:23:59.400 --> 00:24:02.240 solemn and hymn -like, didn't quite fit the lighthearted, 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:05.700 upbeat tone of the show. So he simply filed the 00:24:05.700 --> 00:24:08.039 sheet music away in a trunk. So for two decades, 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:10.640 God Bless America just sat there, dormant. That's 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:12.759 a powerful lesson in timing, isn't it? The song 00:24:12.759 --> 00:24:15.779 was ahead of its time. It wasn't until 1938 that 00:24:15.779 --> 00:24:18.000 the moment for that song finally arrived. Exactly. 00:24:18.299 --> 00:24:21.259 The famous singer Kate Smith needed a new patriotic 00:24:21.259 --> 00:24:23.380 song to perform on her radio show to mark the 00:24:23.380 --> 00:24:26.559 20th anniversary of Armistice Day. Berlin, searching 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:29.000 through his archives, rediscovered the old tune. 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:31.920 He slightly revised the lyrics and introduced... 00:24:32.119 --> 00:24:34.339 God bless America to the world. And the reaction 00:24:34.339 --> 00:24:37.240 was immediate. This was 1938, a time when global 00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:39.859 tensions were rising dramatically. Americans 00:24:39.859 --> 00:24:41.859 were looking for a statement of national unity. 00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:44.579 His daughter, Mary Ellen Barrett, stressed that 00:24:44.579 --> 00:24:47.960 for her father, the song was very personal, a 00:24:47.960 --> 00:24:50.400 deep expression of gratitude. I mean, think about 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:53.339 his journey, fleeing persecution, growing up 00:24:53.339 --> 00:24:56.440 poor, achieving massive success. Berlin himself 00:24:56.440 --> 00:25:00.000 said he owed what I have and what I am to the 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:02.579 country. The song was a thank you note. Because 00:25:02.579 --> 00:25:04.640 of that deep personal connection, it quickly 00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:06.859 transcended mere popularity and became known 00:25:06.859 --> 00:25:09.420 as the second national anthem, especially once 00:25:09.420 --> 00:25:11.640 America officially entered World War II. And 00:25:11.640 --> 00:25:14.000 his financial decision regarding the song perfectly 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:16.880 mirrored his patriotism. Famously, he assigned 00:25:16.880 --> 00:25:19.119 all royalties from God Bless America to the Boy 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:21.759 Scouts and Girl Scouts. This single selfless 00:25:21.759 --> 00:25:24.539 act has earned those organizations millions over 00:25:24.539 --> 00:25:27.759 the decades, over $10 million by 2005 alone. 00:25:28.140 --> 00:25:30.900 That's a staggering charitable legacy tied to 00:25:30.900 --> 00:25:33.740 a single song. And in recognition, he was awarded 00:25:33.740 --> 00:25:36.000 a special congressional gold medal by President 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:39.019 Eisenhower in 1954. And we see the song's enduring 00:25:39.019 --> 00:25:42.039 relevance even today. Its popularity resurged 00:25:42.039 --> 00:25:44.240 powerfully after 9 -11. It was sung by members 00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:46.400 of Congress on the Capitol steps. And it's used 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:48.680 by sports teams, most famously the Philadelphia 00:25:48.680 --> 00:25:51.640 Flyers, and was spontaneously sung by the 1980 00:25:51.640 --> 00:25:55.119 Miracle on Ice U .S. Olympic hockey team. When 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:57.039 Pearl Harbor brought the U .S. into World War 00:25:57.039 --> 00:26:01.079 II, Berlin, now in his 50s, immediately sprang 00:26:01.079 --> 00:26:03.660 back into action, focusing his entire energy 00:26:03.660 --> 00:26:06.000 on the war effort. He continued his pattern of 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:08.519 assigning royalties to government agencies. He 00:26:08.519 --> 00:26:10.640 wrote Any Bonds Today for the Treasury Department, 00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:13.960 Angels of Mercy for the Red Cross. Even a cleverly 00:26:13.960 --> 00:26:16.380 rhymed song encouraging fiscal compliance, I 00:26:16.380 --> 00:26:18.680 Paid My Income Tax Day, also for the Treasury. 00:26:18.859 --> 00:26:21.400 But his greatest contribution was the stage show 00:26:21.400 --> 00:26:24.680 and later film This Is the Army. This was a colossal 00:26:24.680 --> 00:26:26.960 undertaking, a morale boosting review with an 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:29.740 all -soldier cast of 300 men, for which Berlin 00:26:29.740 --> 00:26:32.720 wrote nearly three dozen new songs. But his involvement 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:35.630 went way beyond composing. He personally supervised 00:26:35.630 --> 00:26:38.430 the entire production and, despite his age and 00:26:38.430 --> 00:26:41.130 status, he toured extensively with the cast for 00:26:41.130 --> 00:26:43.849 three and a half grueling years. They traveled 00:26:43.849 --> 00:26:46.690 globally, often near battle zones in North Africa, 00:26:46.849 --> 00:26:49.269 Italy, and the Pacific. And here's the critical 00:26:49.269 --> 00:26:52.779 detail. He refused to take a salary. or even 00:26:52.779 --> 00:26:55.400 claim expenses for his work during that entire 00:26:55.400 --> 00:26:58.740 period. That sacrifice amplified the show's charitable 00:26:58.740 --> 00:27:02.160 impact. It was adapted into a 1943 film starring 00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:04.940 a recognizable young Army lieutenant who would 00:27:04.940 --> 00:27:07.079 later occupy the White House, Ronald Reagan. 00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:09.720 Between the stage show and the movie, they raised 00:27:09.720 --> 00:27:12.420 over $10 million for the Army Emergency Relief 00:27:12.420 --> 00:27:14.930 Fund. And on a social note, this production was 00:27:14.930 --> 00:27:17.390 pioneering. This is the army featured the first 00:27:17.390 --> 00:27:20.109 integrated division army unit in the United States, 00:27:20.190 --> 00:27:22.109 which allowed black and white soldiers to perform 00:27:22.109 --> 00:27:24.690 together on the same stage at a time when the 00:27:24.690 --> 00:27:27.009 entire U .S. military remains strictly segregated. 00:27:27.450 --> 00:27:30.150 This cemented his reputation as an advocate for 00:27:30.150 --> 00:27:32.690 civil rights. For this unparalleled contribution, 00:27:33.130 --> 00:27:35.369 he was awarded the Medal for Merit by President 00:27:35.369 --> 00:27:38.150 Truman. He was genuinely viewed as a national 00:27:38.150 --> 00:27:41.720 asset. Even after the intense multi -year commitment 00:27:41.720 --> 00:27:44.660 to This is the Army, Berlin was pulled back into 00:27:44.660 --> 00:27:47.079 the spotlight for what many consider his ultimate 00:27:47.079 --> 00:27:50.799 masterpiece, Annie Get Your Gun in 1946. And 00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:52.559 the story of Annie Get Your Gun is incredible 00:27:52.559 --> 00:27:55.099 because he wasn't the original choice. Not at 00:27:55.099 --> 00:27:57.920 all. The job became available tragically when 00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:01.599 the composer Jerome Kern died suddenly. Producers 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:03.779 Rodgers and Hammerstein were desperate to save 00:28:03.779 --> 00:28:06.220 the show, and they persuaded Berlin to take over 00:28:06.220 --> 00:28:08.680 the score. That seems like a massive risk. Berlin 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:11.200 was famous for writing uptown, jazzy New York 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:13.480 hits. How did they convince him? He initially 00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:16.019 refused, right? He did. He claimed he knew nothing 00:28:16.019 --> 00:28:18.660 about hillbilly music and felt unqualified to 00:28:18.660 --> 00:28:20.859 write for a rustic sharpshooter like Annie Oakley. 00:28:20.960 --> 00:28:23.259 But Rodgers and Hammerstein were persistent. 00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:25.720 They showed him the core of the story was about 00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:28.519 a universal conflict love versus career that 00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:31.579 Berlin knew intimately. He finally agreed, and 00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:34.059 clearly he was wrong about his limitations because 00:28:34.059 --> 00:28:37.839 the show was an undeniable triumph. It ran for 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:41.920 an astonishing 11 ,147 performances. It became 00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:44.119 his most successful score and his biggest box 00:28:44.119 --> 00:28:46.980 office success. It cemented Ethel Merman's career 00:28:46.980 --> 00:28:50.960 as a star. And the show gave us, perhaps, the 00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:54.059 ultimate up -tempo show tune. There's no business 00:28:54.059 --> 00:28:56.400 like show business. And there's a fascinating 00:28:56.400 --> 00:28:59.180 anecdote about this song. Berlin actually almost 00:28:59.180 --> 00:29:02.480 left it out of the score. He did. You mistakenly 00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:04.259 thought the producers weren't enthusiastic about 00:29:04.259 --> 00:29:06.839 it. Can you imagine removing that song from the 00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:09.500 American lexicon? Of course, it became Merman's 00:29:09.500 --> 00:29:12.279 signature piece. And another iconic piece was 00:29:12.279 --> 00:29:15.480 born almost spontaneously. The crucial duet, 00:29:15.640 --> 00:29:18.359 anything you can do, I can do better. That's 00:29:18.359 --> 00:29:21.200 pure Berlin ingenuity. The director and Hammerstein 00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:23.799 were discussing how they urgently needed a competitive 00:29:23.799 --> 00:29:26.950 duet. Berlin simply overhearing them. walked 00:29:26.950 --> 00:29:28.809 off and wrote the song just a few hours later. 00:29:28.950 --> 00:29:31.509 The quality of the score was undeniable. Even 00:29:31.509 --> 00:29:34.230 the famously rigorous Stephen Sondheim praised 00:29:34.230 --> 00:29:36.650 the show's sophistication calling. You can't 00:29:36.650 --> 00:29:39.190 get a man with a gun as good a comic song as 00:29:39.190 --> 00:29:41.349 has ever been written by anybody. The show marked 00:29:41.349 --> 00:29:43.980 a profound development. The music didn't just 00:29:43.980 --> 00:29:46.579 entertain, it successfully combined character 00:29:46.579 --> 00:29:49.579 and plot, advancing the narrative, a critical 00:29:49.579 --> 00:29:51.619 step in the evolution of the American musical. 00:29:51.859 --> 00:29:54.440 Speaking of ultimate hits, we cannot discuss 00:29:54.440 --> 00:29:56.759 his peak career without the song that is the 00:29:56.759 --> 00:29:59.240 very definition of the American holiday season, 00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:04.099 White Christmas from 1942. Introduced by Bing 00:30:04.099 --> 00:30:07.240 Crosby in the film Holiday Inn, this track achieved 00:30:07.240 --> 00:30:09.420 a level of commercial success that is almost 00:30:09.420 --> 00:30:12.140 impossible to replicate today. Crosby's version 00:30:12.140 --> 00:30:14.740 holds the undisputed record as the best -selling 00:30:14.740 --> 00:30:17.220 single of all time, selling over 50 million copies, 00:30:17.500 --> 00:30:21.720 5 -0 million. Why did this song, above all others, 00:30:21.880 --> 00:30:24.940 strike such a powerful chord? It was timing and 00:30:24.940 --> 00:30:27.640 simplicity combined with emotional depth. Music 00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:30.259 critic Stephen Holden said it evokes a primal 00:30:30.259 --> 00:30:33.259 nostalgia, a pure childlike looking for roots, 00:30:33.380 --> 00:30:36.519 home, and childhood. And the context of its 1942 00:30:36.519 --> 00:30:39.099 release is critical. World War II had just pulled 00:30:39.099 --> 00:30:41.619 millions of young men overseas. Richard Corliss 00:30:41.619 --> 00:30:43.680 noted that the song connected profoundly with 00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:46.059 GIs who were away from home for that first winter 00:30:46.059 --> 00:30:48.859 of the war. It gave voice to the specific ache 00:30:48.859 --> 00:30:51.500 of separation. The poet Carl Sandburg famously 00:30:51.500 --> 00:30:53.380 observed that the song captured the feeling of 00:30:53.380 --> 00:30:55.640 being a little sad and a little lonesome without 00:30:55.640 --> 00:30:57.960 being sickly about it. It was perfectly pitched. 00:30:58.359 --> 00:31:00.640 And the song earned Berlin the Academy Award 00:31:00.640 --> 00:31:03.140 for Best Original Song, which leads us to a truly 00:31:03.140 --> 00:31:05.960 bizarre piece of Hollywood lore. The infamous 00:31:05.960 --> 00:31:09.240 Oscar moment. Yes. Berlin is the only person 00:31:09.240 --> 00:31:11.299 in the history of the Academy Awards to open 00:31:11.299 --> 00:31:13.900 the envelope and read his or her own name as 00:31:13.900 --> 00:31:15.920 the winner. I have to stop you there. Can you 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:18.660 imagine the internal panic? He literally handed 00:31:18.660 --> 00:31:21.059 the highest honor in the film industry to himself. 00:31:21.500 --> 00:31:24.400 The ultimate awkward moment. It was so awkward, 00:31:24.440 --> 00:31:26.720 in fact, that the Academy changed the rules the 00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:29.220 very next year to prevent it from ever happening 00:31:29.220 --> 00:31:31.640 again. It's a hilarious, slightly embarrassing 00:31:31.640 --> 00:31:33.980 footnote attached to the biggest hit in recording 00:31:33.980 --> 00:31:37.160 history. And if you analyze the lyrics, you see 00:31:37.160 --> 00:31:40.039 his philosophy of simplicity executed perfectly. 00:31:40.460 --> 00:31:43.059 White Christmas contains only eight sentences 00:31:43.059 --> 00:31:46.259 in the entire song. It's direct, concise, and 00:31:46.259 --> 00:31:48.859 emotionally devastating. Berlin maintained his 00:31:48.859 --> 00:31:51.640 successful run through the early 1950s with Call 00:31:51.640 --> 00:31:54.519 Me Madam, again starring Ethel Merman. That was 00:31:54.519 --> 00:31:57.039 his second greatest box office success and earned 00:31:57.039 --> 00:32:00.059 him a Tony. However, the magic didn't last forever. 00:32:00.440 --> 00:32:04.200 Mr. President in 1962, his final stage musical 00:32:04.200 --> 00:32:07.220 was less successful. That prompted his official 00:32:07.220 --> 00:32:10.710 retirement from composing at age 74. His final 00:32:10.710 --> 00:32:13.109 published composition was An Old Fashioned Wedding 00:32:13.109 --> 00:32:17.210 for the 1966 revival of Annie Get Your Gun. After 00:32:17.210 --> 00:32:20.269 that, he maintained a very low public profile. 00:32:20.549 --> 00:32:23.130 He spent his final decades in his New York townhouse, 00:32:23.269 --> 00:32:25.589 although he diligently maintained control of 00:32:25.589 --> 00:32:28.089 his massive music publishing company until the 00:32:28.089 --> 00:32:30.710 very end. When we synthesize the totality of 00:32:30.710 --> 00:32:33.170 Berlin's life and work, the word that continually 00:32:33.170 --> 00:32:36.450 surfaces is institution. He became a genuine 00:32:36.450 --> 00:32:38.490 fixture of the American identity. Well, Tark 00:32:38.490 --> 00:32:40.809 Cronkite articulated this perfectly. He said 00:32:40.809 --> 00:32:42.470 other nations are defined by their classical 00:32:42.470 --> 00:32:44.930 composers, but America is appropriately defined 00:32:44.930 --> 00:32:47.329 musically by this Russian immigrant. America 00:32:47.329 --> 00:32:50.369 has Irving Berlin. He sits alongside the greatest 00:32:50.369 --> 00:32:52.869 chroniclers of American culture. Composer Douglas 00:32:52.869 --> 00:32:55.369 Moore included him with Stephen Foster, Walt 00:32:55.369 --> 00:32:57.490 Whitman, and Carl Sandburg as a great American 00:32:57.490 --> 00:32:59.609 minstrel. A figure who caught, distilled, and 00:32:59.609 --> 00:33:02.130 immortalized in his songs what Americans say, 00:33:02.269 --> 00:33:04.450 what we think about, and what we believe. And 00:33:04.450 --> 00:33:07.329 consider the volume again. An estimated 1 ,500 00:33:07.329 --> 00:33:11.529 songs, 20 Broadway shows, 15 Hollywood films. 00:33:11.750 --> 00:33:14.109 Songwriter Sammy Cann provided that fantastic 00:33:14.109 --> 00:33:18.019 metric. If a man can point to six songs that 00:33:18.019 --> 00:33:20.319 are immediately identifiable, he has achieved 00:33:20.319 --> 00:33:23.059 something. Irving Berlin can sing 60 that are 00:33:23.059 --> 00:33:25.839 immediately identifiable. That is an unbelievable 00:33:25.839 --> 00:33:29.619 density of enduring, recognizable hits. And his 00:33:29.619 --> 00:33:32.460 unique style also solidified his place as a pioneer. 00:33:32.839 --> 00:33:35.180 He's broadly credited with helping to develop 00:33:35.180 --> 00:33:38.240 jazz music and for his early effective incorporation 00:33:38.240 --> 00:33:40.720 of Afro -American musical references into mainstream 00:33:40.720 --> 00:33:43.349 popular song. George Gershwin provided great 00:33:43.349 --> 00:33:45.890 context, arguing that Berlin was the first to 00:33:45.890 --> 00:33:48.730 free the American song from the nauseating sentimentality 00:33:48.730 --> 00:33:50.509 that preceded him. By perfecting an accessible 00:33:50.509 --> 00:33:53.049 form of ragtime, Berlin gave the US its first 00:33:53.049 --> 00:33:55.589 germ of an American musical idiom. He professionalized 00:33:55.589 --> 00:33:57.849 American pop music. And his influence extended 00:33:57.849 --> 00:34:00.410 far beyond the stage door. He was an intense 00:34:00.410 --> 00:34:03.269 civic actor, a staunch advocate of civil rights, 00:34:03.410 --> 00:34:05.529 recognized with honors from the National Conference 00:34:05.529 --> 00:34:08.250 of Christians and Jews. His commitment to civil 00:34:08.250 --> 00:34:11.059 rights. visible in his integrated This is the 00:34:11.059 --> 00:34:14.139 Army unit. And his willingness to address lynching 00:34:14.139 --> 00:34:17.659 in suppertime was so visible, in fact, that he 00:34:17.659 --> 00:34:20.820 became a target of the FBI. J. Edgar Hoover continuously 00:34:20.820 --> 00:34:23.360 investigated him for years, trying to find some 00:34:23.360 --> 00:34:25.920 grounds for suspicion, but never succeeding. 00:34:26.199 --> 00:34:29.659 And his famous patriotism was utterly unquestionable. 00:34:29.780 --> 00:34:33.139 He rejected tax shelters, famously saying, I 00:34:33.139 --> 00:34:35.940 want to pay taxes. I love this country. His habit 00:34:35.940 --> 00:34:38.300 of assigning profits from patriotic songs to 00:34:38.300 --> 00:34:40.219 charity or the government was unprecedented. 00:34:40.500 --> 00:34:42.400 And he was devoted to the American political 00:34:42.400 --> 00:34:45.139 process, voting for both Democratic and Republican 00:34:45.139 --> 00:34:48.119 candidates. He even wrote the campaign song I 00:34:48.119 --> 00:34:50.559 Like Ike for Dwight D. Eisenhower. One of the 00:34:50.559 --> 00:34:54.139 most unexpected yet legally profound parts of 00:34:54.139 --> 00:34:56.639 his legacy is in the area of copyright and free 00:34:56.639 --> 00:34:59.820 speech. This involves a landmark case from 1961. 00:35:00.059 --> 00:35:03.059 That's right. Berlin's publishing group, fiercely 00:35:03.059 --> 00:35:05.619 protective of their catalog, sued Mad Magazine 00:35:05.619 --> 00:35:07.840 for copyright infringement. Mad had published 00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:10.539 parody lyrics, taking his famous tunes and changing 00:35:10.539 --> 00:35:13.340 the words to be satirical. The case, Irving Berlin 00:35:13.340 --> 00:35:16.920 et al. VEC Publications, Inc., was a crucial 00:35:16.920 --> 00:35:19.929 test of artistic freedom. against property rights. 00:35:20.130 --> 00:35:23.289 And he lost at every level. The courts ultimately 00:35:23.289 --> 00:35:25.429 established a strong precedent for the rights 00:35:25.429 --> 00:35:27.909 of parodists and satirists to mimic the meter 00:35:27.909 --> 00:35:31.010 and style of popular songs. The quote from Judge 00:35:31.010 --> 00:35:33.289 Irving Kaufman is legendary, cutting straight 00:35:33.289 --> 00:35:35.780 to the heart of the issue. We doubt that even 00:35:35.780 --> 00:35:38.179 so eminent a composer as plaintiff Irving Berlin 00:35:38.179 --> 00:35:40.679 should be permitted to claim a property interest 00:35:40.679 --> 00:35:43.059 in iambic pentameter. Essentially, you can't 00:35:43.059 --> 00:35:45.320 copyright common musical rhythm. It was a key 00:35:45.320 --> 00:35:47.679 victory for free speech and artistic expression. 00:35:47.980 --> 00:35:50.219 In the final analysis, we have to return to that 00:35:50.219 --> 00:35:53.139 consensus. Berlin took the vibrations emanating 00:35:53.139 --> 00:35:55.519 from the people, as Jerome Kern put it, and then 00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:58.820 gave him back simplified, clarified, and glorified. 00:35:59.289 --> 00:36:01.550 Irving Berlin died peacefully in his sleep in 00:36:01.550 --> 00:36:04.610 his Manhattan home on September 22, 1989. He 00:36:04.610 --> 00:36:07.750 was 101 years old. Broadway lights were dimmed 00:36:07.750 --> 00:36:10.409 in his memory, and his three daughters solidified 00:36:10.409 --> 00:36:12.989 his historical significance by donating his massive 00:36:12.989 --> 00:36:16.429 collection of 750 ,000 items, including his transposing 00:36:16.429 --> 00:36:19.590 pianos, to the Library of Congress. What an astonishing, 00:36:19.789 --> 00:36:22.619 improbable journey. From Israel Bilen fleeing 00:36:22.619 --> 00:36:25.460 violent persecution in Russia, arriving at Ellis 00:36:25.460 --> 00:36:28.559 Island with nothing. To Irving Berlin, sitting 00:36:28.559 --> 00:36:30.800 at his mechanical transcosing piano, limited 00:36:30.800 --> 00:36:32.820 to the key of F sharp, yet writing the score 00:36:32.820 --> 00:36:35.880 for America's greatest romances, wars, and deepest 00:36:35.880 --> 00:36:38.300 holiday nostalgia. His career is the ultimate 00:36:38.300 --> 00:36:41.019 expression of gratitude, a testament to the power 00:36:41.019 --> 00:36:43.900 of his chosen home. His songs transcended his 00:36:43.900 --> 00:36:46.519 own immigrant identity and became the musical 00:36:46.519 --> 00:36:49.079 shorthand for the nation itself. He achieved 00:36:49.079 --> 00:36:51.829 his stated ambition. he reached the real soul 00:36:51.829 --> 00:36:54.070 of the country, capturing the simple sentiments 00:36:54.070 --> 00:36:56.090 that unite us. It makes you wonder, doesn't it? 00:36:56.369 --> 00:36:58.909 Berlin was forced to leave Russia, he was restricted 00:36:58.909 --> 00:37:01.150 almost entirely to the key of F sharp, and he 00:37:01.150 --> 00:37:04.230 famously rejected formal training. If his musical 00:37:04.230 --> 00:37:06.750 talent had been conventionally developed, if 00:37:06.750 --> 00:37:08.730 he'd been taught to read and write complex music 00:37:08.730 --> 00:37:11.869 in every key, would that purity, that simplicity, 00:37:12.130 --> 00:37:14.510 that directness that spoke so universally to 00:37:14.510 --> 00:37:17.250 the average American, would it have been lost? 00:37:17.800 --> 00:37:20.300 Was his profound technical limitation actually 00:37:20.300 --> 00:37:22.760 the very foundation of his inimitable simple 00:37:22.760 --> 00:37:25.940 genius? The immigrant who had to leave his home 00:37:25.940 --> 00:37:28.480 yet proved that America was truly the place where 00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:30.739 an outsider's deepest feelings could become the 00:37:30.739 --> 00:37:33.639 nation's permanent and simplest soundtrack. Something 00:37:33.639 --> 00:37:35.380 to mull over until our next deep dive.