Who was Irving Berlin?

Irving Berlin (1888-1989) was a highly influential American composer and songwriter, whose career spanned the ragtime, jazz, and golden age of musicals. Born Israel Baline in Russia, his family immigrated to New York City in 1893. Berlin began his career as a street singer and singing waiter. Although he had little formal education and could not read or write musical notation, he began writing song lyrics, publishing his first song, "Marie from Sunny Italy," in 1907. In 1911, he gained recognition for "Alexander’s Ragtime Band". Over his career, Berlin wrote more than 800 songs, including "God Bless America" and "White Christmas," and composed scores for 19 Broadway shows and 18 motion pictures.

What kind of music did Irving Berlin compose?

Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist known for his versatility in writing popular songs for both stage and screen. Berlin's catalog contains over 800 songs, many of which have become American standards, such as "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning," "A Pretty Girl Is like a Melody," "Always," and "Blue Skies". Berlin wrote the scores for 19 Broadway shows and 18 motion pictures, including Annie Get Your Gun , Top Hat , Follow the Fleet , Easter Parade , Call Me Madam , and White Christmas . His 1911 song, “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” became a hit during the ragtime era. In 1942, he wrote the popular ballad, “White Christmas”.

What are some of Irving Berlin’s most famous songs?

Irving Berlin, a prominent figure in American music, composed over 800 songs, many of which became Great American Songbook standards. His early hit, " Alexander’s Ragtime Band ," gained immense popularity during the ragtime era. Berlin's contributions include " Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning ," " A Pretty Girl Is like a Melody ," " Always ," " Blue Skies ," " Puttin’ on the Ritz ," and the patriotic " God Bless America ." His ballad " White Christmas ," from the film Holiday Inn , remains one of the most recorded songs of all time.

How did Irving Berlin influence American music?

Irving Berlin significantly shaped American music, writing over 800 songs, many of which became standards in the Great American Songbook. His remarkable ability to write various song styles for stage and screen distinguished him as one of America's most influential and enduring songwriters. Berlin's hit, " Alexander’s Ragtime Band ," became a prominent hit during Tin Pan Alley’s ragtime era. Berlin composed scores for 19 Broadway shows and 18 motion pictures, including Annie Get Your Gun , Top Hat , and White Christmas . His ballad " White Christmas " remains one of the most popular songs ever. In 1919, he founded the Irving Berlin Music Corporation to publish his music.

What challenges did Irving Berlin face in his career?

Irving Berlin, born Israel Baline, faced several challenges throughout his career. His family immigrated to New York City in 1893, and his father died when Berlin was only eight years old. With only two years of formal education, he worked as a street singer and singing waiter. Berlin could not read or write musical notation and learned music by ear. Despite these obstacles, he became a successful songwriter and composer, mastering a wide range of song styles. His hit song, " Alexander’s Ragtime Band ," became a preeminent hit, and he contributed to numerous Broadway revues. In 1919, he founded the Irving Berlin Music Corporation to publish his own music.

How is Irving Berlin remembered today in the world of music?

Irving Berlin, born Israel Baline (1888-1989), remains a celebrated figure in music history for his significant role in shaping American popular song. Berlin's remarkable ability to master diverse musical styles for both stage and film solidified his position as one of America's most enduring songwriters. Berlin wrote over 800 songs, many of which have become standards in the Great American Songbook, such as "God Bless America" and "White Christmas". He composed scores for 19 Broadway shows and 18 motion pictures, including Annie Get Your Gun , Top Hat , and White Christmas . Despite limited formal education and inability to read music, Berlin's talent flourished, with his first hit, "Alexander’s Ragtime Band," in 1911.

Irving Berlin

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Irving Berlin with his hands on a piano's keyboard.

Quick Facts

Original name:: Israel Baline

Born:: May 11, 1888, Tyumen, Russia

Died:: September 22, 1989, New York, New York, U.S. (aged 101)

Awards And Honors:: Grammy Award; Academy Award (1943)

Notable Works:: “Annie Get Your Gun”; “Annie Get Your Gun”; “Call Me Madam”; “Easter Parade”; “Follies”; “God Bless America”; “Marie from Sunny Italy”; “White Christmas”

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Irving Berlin

American composer

Also known as: Israel Baline

Written and fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Sep. 18, 2026 •History

Early life and first songs

Irving Berlin was born Israel Baline, most likely in Tyumen, a city in Siberia. (In a memoir, his daughter explains that Mogilyov, which is today in Belarus, appears as Berlin’s birthplace on several government documents, though later in life he learned he was from Siberia.) His family immigrated to New York City in 1893. His father, a Jewish cantor, died when the boy was eight years old.

Having obtained only two years of formal education, he worked as a street singer and a singing waiter in New York’s Lower East Side. He began writing song lyrics, and his first published song, “Marie from Sunny Italy,” appeared in 1907; a printer’s error on this song named him Irving Berlin, a surname that he subsequently kept.

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Berlin continued his writing and within a few years was a successful “song plugger,” demonstrating new tunes. He was unable to read or write musical notation and learned music by ear instead. He began writing his own music as well as lyrics, and in 1911 he wrote what quickly became the preeminent hit of Tin Pan Alley’s ragtime vogue, “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.”

His first ballad, “When I Lost You,” was written in 1912. Then he began contributing to numerous Broadway revues and musical entertainments, including Florenz Ziegfeld’s Follies. In 1919 he founded the Irving Berlin Music Corporation to publish his own music.

Scores for stage and screen

Through the following decades Berlin wrote the scores for several musicals, one of his most popular being Annie Get Your Gun (1946); it was released as a film, directed by George Sidney, in 1950. Berlin wrote more than 800 songs, many of which became standards of the Great American Songbook, including “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning,” “A Pretty Girl Is like a Melody,” “Always” (written in 1925 as a wedding present for his second wife), “Remember,” “ Cheek to Cheek,” “How Deep Is the Ocean,” “Blue Skies,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” the patriotic standard “God Bless America,” “Heat Wave,” and “There’s No Business like Show Business.”

In the era of big motion-picture musicals, Berlin was able to transfer his stage success to the screen, writing the scores for many successful films, including Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), Easter Parade (1948), Call Me Madam (1953), and White Christmas (1954). His score for the film Holiday Inn (1942) introduced the touching ballad “White Christmas,” which became one of the most popular songs ever recorded.