Today marks the 124nd anniversary of the birth of the great Irving Berlin. One of history’s great tunesmiths, Berlin wrote more than hundreds of songs, 19 musicals and the scores of 18 movies over the course of his lengthy career.
“[Berlin is] the greatest songwriter that has ever lived.”—George Gershwin
“Irving Berlin has no place in American music—he is American music.”—Jerome Kern
Here are some of our favorite Irving Berlin songs:
“What’ll I Do?”—The Nat “King” Cole Trio
“Say It Isn’t So”—Annette Hanshaw
“Marie”—Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra
“Puttin’ on the Ritz”—Leo Reisman and His Orchestra
