Irving Berlin: A Life in Song

An excellent short bio of the wondrously talented songwriter who had little musical education yet produced hundreds of great popular songs between 1908 and the end of the century (He died at 101.) As a non-musician, I didn't always understand the author's explanations of why a particular standard broke new lyrical or musical ground, but I found the information riveting anyway. Berlin, the immigrant, became a symbol of the American Dream and deservedly so. Anyone who cherishes American music should read this.

While this book doen't cover as much of Berlin's personal life as does Laurence Bergreen's biography entitled As Thousands Cheer, Furia's biography does cover in great detail the background involved in a number of Berlin's songs. "What'll I Do" was written just after the loss of his mother. However, Berlin said people read too much personal stuff whenever he writes a ballad. I like the fact that the author includes the lyrics of a number of Berlin's songs. Despite being a prolific song writer, Berlin often felt insecure about his ability to continue to write songs. Following his first big hit, "Alexander's Ragtime Band" he always felt he had to continue to follow up with another big hit. He was able to continue to adjust to the music tastes of the country until rock and roll came in the mid-fifties. He became a very private man in his later years and felt people no longer cared about his music. Despite these thoughts, his contributions to American music remain timeless and will remain with us long after the latest fad of music passes by. To think that so many great songs came from this one man simply boggles the mind.

The creativity of Irving Berlin was amazing. This is a story of an interesting life, but also points out that, eventually, time erases foundations just like eroding soil or dripping water. Now, I would like to find a source to hear all of his songs as his number one concern was always quality. At times he would create a song in minutes, but it could also take years. As with most artists, he was continually looking for verification that his output was good. The appendix lists ALL of his tunes as well as other interesting data. A fine read.