May 11: Birthday of Irving Berlin (1888)
Prayer Idea
Pray for immigrants who are seeking to build new lives in a new country.
History Note
Israel Beilin was born in the Russian Empire in 1888, the eighth child in his family. His father was a cantor, a singer in Jewish synagogues. At this time, Jews in Russia often faced pogroms, organized violence that resulted in death and destruction. When Israel was five, his father decided that the family would emigrate to the United States.
After his father’s death in 1901, Israel went out on his own to earn a living so that he could make things easier for his mother. He took up a line of work that followed in his father’s footsteps: singing. But Israel did most of his singing as a singing waiter and for tips in saloons.
Even though he could not read or write music, Israel began to create his own songs. He learned to play the piano, and as he performed a song someone else would take down the musical notation. In 1907, when he was 19, Israel published his first song. When he saw the sheet music, he noticed that it said, “Words by I. Berlin.” He thought this name sounded more American, so Israel Beilin became Irving Berlin.
Berlin was married in 1912, but his wife died five months later from typhoid fever she contracted on their honeymoon to Cuba. Berlin and his second wife, Ellin, had three daughters and were married for 62 years.
Irving Berlin composed over 1,000 songs during his career and had 35 number one hits. He wrote Broadway musicals, wrote songs for movies, built his own theater, and started his own music publishing company.
One of Berlin’s enduring songs is “God Bless America.” He originally wrote it while serving in the U.S. Army during World War I, but decided not to use it at the time. He shared it with popular singer Kate Smith in the 1930s, and it became her signature song. Berlin once said of it, “Of all the songs I’ve written, this is the closest to my heart.”
Irving Berlin passed away on September 22, 1989, at the age of 101.
Irving Berlin at the Piano (1948)
Learn More
This video shows Irving Berlin singing “God Bless America” on the Ed Sullivan television show in May of 1968, just a month after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Find other resources at Homeschool History.
