Irving Berlin

Born Israel Isidore Baline in Russia, Irving Berlin became one of the most successful songwriters in the 20th century. His father was a Jewish cantor who moved his family to New York to escape religious persecution in 1893. After his father died in 1901, Berlin left home and began earning money as a street singer. His big break came in 1906 when he was hired as a singing waiter at the Pelham Café in New York's Chinatown. It was here that he caught the eye of Harry Von Tilzer, who hired him to sing his songs at Tony Pastor's Music Hall, considered by many to be the birthplace of vaudeville.

Early in his music career, Berlin showed his prowess as a lyricist in Tin Pan Alley, the heart of the music publishing industry in the early 20th century. He never did learn to read or write music, but taught himself to play just enough piano to create a tune. He could play only in the key of F-sharp – the black keys - which was not entirely unusual in his era. Sticking with the black keys made it less likely to play the wrong note, or as Berlin put it, "The black keys are right there, under your fingers. The key of C is for people who study music." After he had worked out the details to a song, he would explain it to a musical transcriber, who wrote the notes. Primarily using this method, Berlin wrote over 1,500 songs in his career.

Berlin's first hit song was "Alexander's Ragtime Band" in 1911, which has been covered by artists ranging from Ray Charles to the Bee Gees. He would go on to write numerous musical scores, including Top Hat and Annie Get Your Gun, which featured the song "There's No Business Like Show Business." The music he wrote for the 1942 film Holiday Inn included "Easter Parade" and the classic "White Christmas," which remains one of the best selling songs of all time. While it might seem odd that a Jewish man would write one of the most recognizable Christmas songs ever to be heard, Berlin viewed it more as a cultural holiday than a religious one. He was also very protective of the song, as he was with all of his music, and launched a failed campaign to ban Elvis Presley's cover, which Berlin considered "sacrilege," from the radio waves in 1957.