Can you name this face?
I’ll give you three hints …
- He wrote hundreds of songs over his lifetime
- He lived from 1888 to 1989 (101 years!)
- His real name was Israel Isidore Baline
That’s right, we’re talking about Irving Berlin. As a songwriter, he was one of the best … composing classics like “White Christmas,” “God Bless America,” “Easter Parade,” Happy Holidays,” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” The guy was truly talented. And some would even say he was inspired.
But Berlin himself said that he didn’t believe in “inspiration.” Instead, he said his best songs were the “result of work.” In fact, it was a ritual for Berlin to write a complete song (both words and music) every day. He took music seriously … and he came up with some good stuff.
What’s really amazing about Irving Berlin’s songwriting is that he played everything in the key of F#. Because that was the only key he learned to play, his fingers were always set to that position. F# was his tonic note and he stuck with it.
He even bought a “transposing piano” that let him change the key of his songs using special levers and gears. He called it his “trick piano,” and he took it with him everywhere he went—including on vacation cruises with his family.
Of course, with Color Music, it’s easy for us to play in any key we’d like. (After all, each key works in the exact same way.) But hey … even with his limited skills at actually playing an instrument, Irving Berlin was brilliant. For example, check out this video of Fred Astaire performing Berlin’s classic number, “Puttin’ On The Ritz.”