Irving Berlin Songs: Music to America’s Ears

From the Great White Way to Hollywood, his tunes delighted audiences.

(L-R) Berlin with film stars Alice Faye, Tyrone Power, and Don Ameche singing chorus from "Alexander's Ragtime Band" (1938). Public Domain

Israel Beilin wrote more popular music than any other composer in the 20th century, but he was a songwriting paradox.

He had no music training and never learned to read music. Beilin only played the piano in one key, F-sharp, though he had a special piano made that allowed him to make key changes with a special transposing lever underneath the keyboard. Still, he had a keen ear for popular songs and wrote an estimated 1,500 songs during a career spanning decades.