Irving Berlin (Israel Isidore Baline) (May 11, 1888 to September 22, 1989)
Compositions
1907 Marie from Sunny Italy [w/Nick Nicholson] 1908 The Best of Friends Must Part Queenie, My Own [w/Maurice Abrahams] 1909 Dorando I Just Come Back To Say Good-Bye Just Like The Rose Oh, What I Know About You Yiddle, on Your Fiddle, Play Some Ragtime That Mesmerizing Mendelssohn Tune I Didn't Go Home At All [5] Someone's Waiting For Me {We'll Wait Wait     Wait} [5] Sadie Salome Go Home! [5] Wild Cherries Rag (Song) [4] Christmas-Time Seems Years and Years     Away [4] She Was A Dear Little Girl [4] If I Thought You Wouldn't Tell [4] Some Little Something About You [4] I Wish That You Was My Gal, Molly [4] No One Could Do It Like My Father [4] Oh! Where is My Wife Tonight? [4,6] Next to Your Mother, Who Do You Love? [4] Stop That Rag (Keep On Playing, Honey) [4] Do Your Duty Doctor (Oh! Oh! Oh! Doctor) [4] Sweet Marie, Make-a Rag-a-time Dance     Wid Me [4] My Wife's Gone to the Country! [4,6] Someone Just Like You, Dear [4] Good-Bye Girlie (and Remember Me) [4] 1910 Sweet Italian Love Before I Go and Marry I Will Have a Talk     With You Yiddisha Eyes Run Home and Tell Your Mother Wishing Stop! Stop! Stop! Come Over, and Love Me     Some More Try it on Your Piano That Kazzatsky Dance Dat Draggy Rag Innocent Bessie Brown It Can't Be Did [unpublished] Alexander and His Clarinet [4] Colored Romeo [4] Call Me Up Some Rainy Afternoon [4] Telling Lies [w/Henrietta Blanke Belcher] Thank You, Kind Sir! Said She [4] Kiss Me, My Honey, Kiss Me [4] How Can You Love Such a Man? [4] Dreams, Just Dreams [4] Herman, Let's Dance That Beautiful Waltz [4] Oh, How That German Could Love [4] Sweet Italian Love [4] Bring Back My Lena to Me [4] If the Managers Only Thought the Same as     Mother [4] I'm A Happy Married Man [4] I'm Going on a Long Vacation [4] Oh, That Beautiful Rag [4] Piano Man [4] Is there Anything Else I Can Do For You? [4] Wishing [4] Dear Mayme, I Love You! [4] When I Hear You Play That Piano, Bill! [4] I Love You More Each Day [4] That Opera Rag [4] The Dance of the Grizzly Bear [w/George     Botsford] 1911 When You're In Town In My Home Town One O'Clock in the Morning I Get Lonesome How Do You Do It Mabel On Twenty Dollars     A Week My Melody Dream: A Song Poem Whistling Rag Don't Put Out The Light [5] He Promised Me Business is Business Rosey Cohen Alexander's Ragtime Band I Beg Your Pardon Dear Old Broadway Dat's-A My Gal Don't Take Your Beau to the Seashore Yiddisha Nightingale Molly-O Oh-Molly Bring Me a Ring in the Spring That Monkey Tune Bring Back My Lovin' Man Meet Me Tonight Woodman, Woodman, Spare That Tree! Everybody's Doin' It Now Cuddle Up When You Kiss An Italian Girl When I'm Alone I'm Lonesome You've Got Me Hypnotized The Ragtime Violin You've Built a Fire Down in My Heart That Mysterious Rag [4] Spanish Love [4,7] Sombrero Land [4,8] After the Honeymoon [4] Down to the "Folies Bergere" [4] Ephraham Played Upon the Piano [7] Dog Gone That Chilly Man [7] Yankee Love [8] Virginia Lou [w/Earl Taylor] The Dying Rag [w/Bernie Adler] 1912 The Yiddish Professor The Ragtime Mockingbird Goody, Goody, Goody, Goody, Good A True Born Soldier Man I'm Going Back To Dixie When I Lost You That's How I Love You Follow Me Around Becky Joined a Musical Show Spring and Fall: A Tone Poem That Society Bear Don't Leave Your Wife Alone If All the Girls I Knew Were Like You Antonio You'd Better Come Home The Rag-time Jockey Man Down in My Heart Wait Until Your Daddy Comes Home The Ragtime Soldier Man My Sweet Italian Man When I'm Thinking Of You When That Midnight Choo, Choo, Leaves     For Alabam' Take a Little Tip From Father Call Again Pick, Pick, Pick, Pick on the Mandolin Antonio A Little Bit of Everything Do It Again Keep Away From the Fellow Who Owns an     Automobile I'm Afraid Pretty Maid I'm Afraid I've Got To Have Some Lovin' Now Lead Me To That Beautiful Band The Elevator Man (Going Up! Going Up!     Going Up!) Come Back to Me, My Melody [4] Take a Little Tip From Father [4] I Want To Be In Dixie [4] When Johnson's Quartet Harmonize The Million Dollar Ball [8] He Played it on His Fid, Fid, Fiddle     Dee-Dee [8] Hiram's Band [8,9] Alexander's Bag-Pipe Band [8,9] 1913 San Francisco Bound Somebody's Coming To My House You Picked a Bad Day Out to Say Good-Bye Happy Little Country Girl Snooky Ookums Keep On Walking Down in Chattanooga Take Me Back Daddy Come Home If You Don't Want Me, Why Do You Hang     Around? At the Devil's Ball Tra-la, La, La! He's So Good To Me The Monkey Doodle Doo The Old Maid's Ball The Apple Tree and the Bumble Bee In My Harem Welcome Home Pullman Porters Parade [1] That International Rag Anna Liza's Wedding Day We Have Much to be Thankful For Kiss Your Sailor Boy Goodbye You've Got Your Mother's Big Blue Eyes They've Got Me Doin' It Now: Medley I Was Aviating Around [1,7] There's a Girl in Arizona [10,5] The Ki-I-Youdleing Dog [w/Jean Schwartz] Jake, Jake, (The Yiddish Ball Player) [11] 1914 This is the Life That's My Idea of Paradise I Want to Go Back to Michigan (Down on     the Farm) They're On Their Way To Mexico Come to the Land of the Argentine When It's Night Time Down in Dixieland If You Don't Want My Peaches (You Better     Stop Shaking the Tree) Furnishing a Home For Two If I Had You God Gave You To Me He's a Rag Picker The Haunted House Always Treat Her Like a Baby If That's Your Idea of a Wonderful Time - Take     Me Home I Love to Quarrel With You Along Came Ruth It Isn't What He Said (But the Way He Said It) Follow the Crowd Stay Down Here Where You Belong Morning Exercises Fox Trot He's a Devil in His Own Home Town [10] Watch Your Step: Musical    Office Hours    What is Love?    The Dancing Teacher    The Minstrel Parade    Let's Go Around the Town    They (Always) Follow Me Around    Show Us How To Do The Fox Trot    When I Discovered You [8]    The Syncopated Walk    Metropolitan Nights    I Love to Have the Boys Around Me    Settle Down in a One-Horse Town    Chatter Chatter    Ragtime Opera Medley (Old Operas in a       New Way)    Move Over    (Won't You Play a) Simple Melody    Look At Them Doing It    Lock Me in Your Harem and Throw the       Key Away    Homeward Bound (added 1915)    I Hate You (added 1915)    Lead Me to Love (added 1915)    I've Got a Go Back to Texas (printed 1916) 1915 When You're Down in Louisville (Call On Me) When I Leave the World Behind My Bird of Paradise The Voice of Belgium Cohen Owes Me Ninety Seven Dollars Homeward Bound Sailor Song I'm Going Back to the Farm I Love To Stay At Home Let's Go Around The Town While the Band Played An American Rag Araby Si's Been Drinking Cider Stop! Look! Listen!: Musical    Blow Your Horn    Give Us a Chance    I Love to Dance    And Father Wanted Me to Learn a Trade    The Girl on the Magazine    I Love a Piano    That Hula Hula    A Pair of Ordinary Coons    Take Off a Little Bit    Teach Me How To Love    The Law Must Be Obeyed    Ragtime Melodrama    When I Get Back to the U.S.A.    Stop! Look! Listen!    I'll Be Coming Home with a Skate On    Everything in America is Ragtime 1916 When the Black Sheep Returns to the Fold I've Got a Sweet Tooth Bothering Me (Pull It      Out, Pull It Out, Pull It Out) The Friars Parade He's Getting Too Darn Big For A Small Town I'm Down in Honolulu (Looking Them Over) Hurry Back to My Bamboo Shack In Florida Among the Palms I'm Not Prepared The Chicken Walk When I'm Out With You Until I Fell in Love With You 1917 Smile and Show Your Dimple How Can I Forget (When There's So Much to     Remember) There Are Two Eyes in Dixie It Takes An Irishman To Make Love For Your Country and My Country Mr. Jazz Himself Wasn't It Yesterday? Poor Little Rich Girl's Dog I'll Take You Back To Italy The Road That Leads To Love Whose Little Heart Are You Breaking Now? Someone Else May Be There While I'm Gone My Sweetie From Here to Shanghai Dance and Grow Thin: Musical    Way Down South (There's Something Nice     About the South) [11]    Birdie [11]    Cinderella Lost Her Slipper [11]    Mary Brown [11]    The Kirchner Girls [11]    Don't Look at Me [11]    Letter Boxes (Just Placed in New York) [11]    Dance and Grow Thin [12]    Let's All Be Americans Now [5,12] 1918 The Cohan Revue of 1918: Musical [13]    Polly Pretty Polly (Polly With A Past)    Show Me the Way    When Ziegfeld's Follies Hit the Town    Our Acrobatic Melodramatic Home    Spanish    The Eyes of Youth (See the Truth)    All Dressed Up in a Tailor-Made    The Potash and Perlmutter Ball    A Man is Only a Man    King of Broadway    The Wedding of Words and Music    The Gathering of the Slaves    The Slave Dance    A Bad Chinaman from Shanghai    Down Where the Jack O'Lanterns Glow    The Old Maid Blues    Who Do You Love?    Their Hearts are Over Here When the Curtain Falls Over the Sea Boys I'm Gonna Pin a Medal on the Girl I Left Behind The Devil Has Bought Up All The Coal The Blue Devils of France [2] I Have Just One Heart For Just One Boy [3] You're So Beautiful [3] Come Along to Toy Town [3] I Wouldn't Give That For The Man Who     Couldn't Dance [3] The Circus is Coming to Town [3] It's the Little Bit of Irish [3] Good-Bye France (You'll Never Be Forgotten)     [3] Yip Yip Yaphank: Army Musical [3]    Hello, Hello, Hello    Bevo    What a Difference a Uniform Will Make    Mandy    The Ragtime Razor Brigade    Ding Dong    Come Along, Come Along, Come Along    Love Interest    Jazz Land    (Dream on Little) Soldier Boy    Send a Lot of Jazz Bands Over There    Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning    Kitchen Police (Poor Little Me)    (I Can Always Find a Little Sunshine) in the     Y.M.C.A.    We're on Our Way To France 1919 The Canary. Fox Trot [3] [W.B. Kernell] Was There Ever a Pal Like You? Everything is Rosie Now for Rosie [10] Sweeter Than Sugar (Is My Sweetie) I Lost My Heart in Dixie Land When My Baby Smiles Revolutionary Rag I Wonder Nobody Knows (and Nobody Seems to Care) The New Moon I Left My Door Open and My Daddy     Walked Out Eyes of Youth The Hand That Rocked My Cradle Rules     My Heart I Never Knew [w/Elsie Janis] Ziegfeld Follies of 1919: Musical    You'd Be Surprised    I've Got My Captain Working For Me Now    I'd Rather See A Minstrel Show    The Follies Minstrels    Mandy (from Yip Yip Yaphank)    Harem Life    I'm the Guy Who Guards the Harem (And My       Heart's in My Work)    A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody    Prohibition    You Cannot Make Your Shimmy Shake On       Tea [w/Rennold Wolf]    The Near Future    A Syncopated Cocktail    My Tambourine Girl    Look Out For The Bolsheviki Man    We Made the Doughnuts Over There 1920 Beautiful Faces (Need Beautiful Clothes) But! (She's Just a Little Bit Crazy About Her     Husband - That's All) Lindy I'll See You in C-U-B-A After You Get What You Want You Don't     Want It Home Again Blues [w/Harry Akst] Ziegfeld Follies of 1920: Musical    Come Along    I'm a Vamp from East Broadway [w/Harry       Ruby & Bert Kalmar]    The Girl of My Dreams    Leg of Nations    Come Along: Ziegfeld Sextette    Poor Floradora Girl    Chinese Fantasy: Chinese Firecrackers    Tell Me Little Gypsy    Bells    The Syncopated Vamp 1921 There's a Corner Up in Heaven Drowsy Head [w/Vaughn De Leath] I Like It All By Myself The Passion Flower At the Court Around the Corner Music Box Revue of 1921: Musical    What's in the Queer-Looking Bundle?    Where Am I?    We Work While You Sleep    We'll Take the Pilot to Ziegfeld    Dancing the Seasons Away    Behind the Fan    In a Cozy Kitchenette Apartment    My Ben Ali Haggin Girl    My Little Book of Poetry    A Play Without a Bedroom    Say It With Music    Everybody Step    I Am a Dumbell    The School House Blues    They Call It Dancing    The Legend of the Pearls    An Interview with Irving Berlin 1922 Some Sunny Day Homesick Music Box Revue of 1922: Musical    Lady of the Evening    Pack Up Your Sins and Go to the Devil    Crinoline Days    Porcelain Maid	1922 (Cont)    Will She Come from the East?    Mont Martre    The Little Red Lacquer Cage    Bring on the Pepper    Diamond Horseshoe    Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue    I'm Looking For a Daddy Long Legs    Take a Little Wife 1923 Tell All the Folks in Kentucky (I'm     Comin' Home) Too Many Sweethearts Tell Me with a Melody When You Walked Out Someone Else Walked     Right In Music Box Revue of 1923: Musical    An Orange Grove in California    Love to Do the Strut    Little Butterfly    Climbing Up The Scale    Learn to Do the Strut    The Waltz of Long Ago    One Girl    Tell Me a Bedtime Story    Maid of Mesh 1924 The Happy New Year Blues All Alone Lazy What'll I Do Music Box Revue of 1925: Musical    Tell Her in the Springtime    Listening    In the Shade of a Sheltering Tree    Where is My Little Old New York    Alice in Wonderland    Don't Send Me Back to Petrograd    Unlucky in Love    The Call of the South    Rockabye Baby    Who    Tokio Blues 1925 Venetian Isles Remember Don't Wait Too Long Blue Skies Always The Cocoanuts: Musical    The Guests    The Bellhops    Why Do You Want to Know Why?       (added 1927)    Family Reputation    Ting-a-Ling, the Bells 'll Ring       (revised 1926)    Lucky Boy    Why Am I a Hit with the Ladies?    A Little Bungalow    Florida By the Sea    The Monkey Doodle Doo    Five O'Clock Tea    They're Blaming the Charleston    We Should Care    Minstrel Days    Tango Melody    Gentlemen Prefer Blondes    When My Dreams Come True    The Tale of a Shirt 1926 We'll Never Know That's a Good Girl Just a Little Longer How Many Times? Everyone in the World is Doing the Charleston At Peace With The World Because I Love You I'm On My Way Home 1927 The Song is Ended but the Melody Lingers On What Does it Matter? Russian Lullaby Together, We Two Ziegfeld Follies of 1927: Musical    We Want to be Glorified    Ribbons and Bows    Shaking the Blues Away    Ooh, Maybe It's You    Rainbow of Girls    It All Belongs To Me    It's Up to the Band    Jimmy    Learn to Sing a Love Song    Tickling the Ivories    What Makes Me Love You?    The Jungle-Jingle    You Gotta Have "IT" [w/Eddie Cantor]    Now We are Glorified    Why Must We Always Be Dreaming/    Learn to Sing a Love Song    My New York 1928 Roses of Yesterday Coquette Sunshine How About Me? Marie Where is the Song of Songs For Me To Be Forgotten (Good Times With Hoover) Better Times     With Al Yascha Michaeloffsky's Melody I Can't Do Without You 1929 Mammy: Movie    To My Mammy    Here We Are    Looking At You (Across the Breakfast Table)    Let Me Sing and I'm Happy    In the Morning Hallelujah: Movie    Swanee Shuffle    Waiting at the End of the Road Puttin' On the Ritz: Movie    Puttin' on the Ritz    With You 1930 Just a Little While The Little Things in Life Reaching For The Moon 1931 Me! Beggin For Love I Want You for Myself 1932 I'm Playing With Fire I'll Miss You in the Evening How Deep is the Ocean (How High is the Sky?) Say It Isn't So Face the Music: Musical    Lunching at the Automat    Let's Have Another Cup O' Coffee (And Let's       Have Another Piece of Pie)    Torch Song    You Must be Born with It    On a Roof in Manhattan (Castles in Spain)    My Beautiful Rhinestone Girl    Soft Lights and Sweet Music    I Say It's Spinach    Drinking Song    Dear Old Crinoline Days    I Don't Want to be Marries    Manhattan Madness 1933 I Can't Remember Maybe I Love You Too Much I Never Had a Chance As Thousands Cheer: Musical    How's Chances?    Heat Wave    Majestic Sails at Midnight    Lonely Heart    The Funnies    To Be or Not To Be    Easter Parade (Her Easter Bonnet)    Supper Time    Our Wedding day    (I've Got) Harlem on My Mind    Through a Key Hole    Not For All the Rice in China 1934 Moon Over Napoli So Help Me Butterfingers 1935 Top Hat: Movie    Top Hat, White Tie and Tails    No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)    Cheek to Cheek    The Piccolino    Isn't This a Lovely Day? 1936 Follow the Fleet: Movie    I'd Rather Lead a Band    Get Thee Behind Me Satan    We Saw the Sea    But Where Are You?    Let's Face the Music and Dance    I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket    Let Yourself Go 1937 On the Avenue: Movie    He Ain't Got Rhythm    On the Avenue    The Girl on the Police Gazette    Slumming on Park Avenue    On the Steps of Grant's Tomb    I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm    Swing Sister    This Year's Kisses    You're Laughing at Me 1938 God Bless America (1918/1938) Alexander's Ragtime Band: Movie    Now It Can Be Told    My Walking Stick    Marching Along with Time Carefree: Movie    Since They Turned Loch Lomond Into Swing    Carefree    Change Partners    The Night is Filled With Music    I Used To Be Color Blind    The Yam 1939 Second Fiddle: Movie    When Winter Comes    I Poured My Heart Into a Song    An Old-Fashined Tune Always is New    I'm Sorry For Myself    Back to Back    The Song of the Metronome 1940 If You Believe A Man Chases A Girl (Until She Catches Him) Louisiana Purchase: Musical    The Letter    Apologia    Sex Marches On    Louisiana Purchase    It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow    Outside of That I Love You    You're Lonely and I'm Lonely    Dance With Me (Tonight at the Mardi Gras)    Latins Know How    What Chance Have I With Love?    The Lord Done Fixed Up My Soul    Fools Fall in Love    Old Man's Darling - Young Man's Slave?    You Can't Brush Me Off    I'd Love to be Shot from a Cannon with You    Wild About You    It'll Come To You 1941 When This Crazy World is Sane Again When That Man is Dead and Gone A Little Old Church in England Arms For The Love of America Any Bonds Today? Angels of Mercy 1942 I Threw A Kiss In The Ocean The President's Birthday Ball Me and My Melinda This is the Army: Musical    This is the Army, Mister Jones    I'm Getting Tired So I Can Sleep    My Sergeant and I are Buddies    I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen    The Army's Made a Man Out of Me    Mandy (from Yip Yip Yaphank)    That Russian Winter    What the Well Dressed Man in Harlem       Will Wear    American Eagles    With My Head in the Clouds    Aryans Under the Sun    Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning       (1918)    How About a Cheer for the Navy    This Time    My British Buddy (added 1943)    Ve Don't Like It (added 1943) Holiday Inn: Movie    I'll Capture Her Heart Singing    You're Easy to Dance With    White Christmas (1942/1948)    Happy Holidays    Holiday Inn    Let's Start the New Year Right    Abraham    Be Careful, It's My Heart    Song of Freedom    Plenty to be Thankful For 1943 Take Me With You Soldier Boy 1944 What are We Gonna Do with All the Jeeps? There are No Wings on a Foxhole All of My Life 1945 I'll Dance Rings Around You Heaven Watch the Philippines Just a Blue Serge Suit Oh, To Be Home Again Everybody Knew But Me Blue Skies: Movie    Getting Nowhere (Running Around in Circles)    You Keep Coming Back Like a Song    A Serenade to an Old-Fashioned Girl    A Couple of Song and Dance Men 1946 Annie Get Your Gun: Musical    Colonel Buffalo Bill    I'm a Bad Bad Man    Doin' What Comes Natur'lly    The Girl That I Marry    You Can't Get a Man with a Gun    There's No Business Like Show Business    They Say it's Wonderful    Moonshine Lullaby    Ballyhoo    My Defenses are Down    Wild Horse Ceremonial Dance    I'm an Indian Too    Adoption Dance    Take it In Your Stride (cut)    I Got Lost in His Arms    Who Do You Love I Hope    I Got the Sun in the Morning    Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)    I'll Share it All With You    Let's Go West Again 1947 A Couple of Swells The Freedom Train Help Me to Help My Neighbor Kate (Have I Come Too Early, Too Late) Love and the Weather Easter Parade: Movie    Steppin' Out With My Baby    It Only Happens When I Dance With You    Better Luck Next Time    Drum Crazy    A Fella With an Umbrella 1948 What Can You Do With a General? 1949 I'm Beginning To Miss You The Honorable Profession of the Fourth Estate Miss Liberty: Musical    Extra! Extra!    I'd Like My Picture Took    The Most Expensive Statue in the World    Little Fish in a Big Pond    Let's Take an Old-Fashioned Walk (originally       The Race Horse and The Flea)    Homework    Paris Wakes Up and Smiles    Only for Americans    Just One Way To Say I Love You    Miss Liberty    The Train    You Can Have Him    The Policemen's Ball    Follow the Leader Jig    Me an' My Bundle    Falling Out of Love Can Be Fun    Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor    Mister Monotony (cut)    The Pulitzer Prize (cut) 1950 Free Call Me Madam: Musical    Mrs. Sally Adams    The Hostess with The Mostes' on the Ball    Washington Square Dance    Lichtenburg    Can You Use Any Money Today?    Marrying for Love    (Dance to the Music of) The Ocarina    It's a Lovely Day Today    The Best Thing For You (Would be Me)    Something to Dance About    Once Upon A Time Today    They Like Ike    You're Just in Love (I Wonder Why?) 1952 For The Very First Time I Like Ike 1953 Sittin' in the Sun Sayonara White Christmas: Movie    (We'll Follow) The Old Man    Sisters    The Best Things Happen While You're       Dancing    Snow    Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep    Choreography    Mandy (from Yip Yip Yaphank)    Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me    Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning       (1918)    Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army 1954 A Sailor's Not a Sailor ('Til a Sailor's Been     Tattooed) My House Was On Fire I'm Not Afraid 1956 IKE for Four More Years 1957 I Keep Running Away From You You Can't Lose the Blues with Colors 1962 Mr. President: Musical    Let's Go Back to the Waltz    In Our Hide-Away    The First Lady    Meat and Potatoes    I've Got To Be Around    The Secret Service    It Gets Lonely in the White House    Is He The Only Man In The World?    They Love Me    Pigtails and Freckles    Don't Be Afraid of Romance    Laugh it Up    Empty Pockets Filled With Love    Glad to be Home    You Need a Hobby    The Washington Twist    The Only Dance I Know    I'm Gonna Get Him    Once Every Four Years    Song for a Belly Dancer    This is a Great Country 1966 An Old-Fashioned Wedding     (added to Annie Get Your Gun)    1. as Ren. G. May    2. as Private Irving Berlin    3. as Sergeant Irving Berlin    4. w/Ted Snyder    5. w/Edgar Leslie    6. w/George Whiting    7. w/Vincent Bryan    8. w/E. Ray Goetz    9. w/A. Baldwin Sloane    10. w/Grant Clarke    11. w/Blanche Merrill    12. w/George W. Meyer    13. w/George M. Cohan

     Irving Berlin, perhaps more than any other composer of the first half of the 20th Century and beyond, represents America and American Music at its finest. Given his background it becomes even more extraordinary when one understands his contributions to this adopted country of his. Berlin also managed to stay right on the cusp of popular forms to which he was contributing, not mastering them, but certainly writing into them well. It is likely that he wrote AND published more songs than any other popular song writer in history, wrote hundreds of unpublished or unpublishable tunes as well, and likely created more pieces than anybody 20th century writer as both composer and lyricist. He was also quirky, but in spite of not being a movie star in stature, he was a true American favorite among the public and among the stars as well. From truly humble beginnings Berlin managed to build a musical empire and a legacy that is hard to match and remains with us in the 21st century.

     This great American was actually born in Mogilev (modern day Belarus) or Tehmen (according to his 1942 draft record, but at variance with other records), Russia in 1888 as Israel Isidore Baline, to Jewish parents Moses Baline and Leah (Yarchin) Baline. His father was a cantor who sometimes worked as a shochet (the person who kills animals in a kosher manner for sale and consumption) as well to support his wife and eight children. In the face of the increasing progroms and oppression of Jews in Russia, Baline moved his family to the United States when Israel, the youngest sibling, was around five. Perhaps the first hint of the coming name change, the family is shown on the arrival list of the Rhynland on September 14, 1893, as the Beilin family, but it is not clear whether they actually adopted the Berlin last name when they immigrated. Moses found work in New York certifying Kosher meat before it went to market, while his wife kept house. When Israel was around eight his father died, leaving the boy and his older brothers and sisters (one already working as a domestic) in the position of helping their mother survive in the New York ghetto. So he and his siblings went to work as news butchers, delivery boys, and whatever odd jobs they could find, usually at the sacrifice of sufficient schooling. He picked up some singing skills as well, although the boy never had formal training in piano, voice, or even harmony and theory. He was simply a natural.
     In 1902 Izzy, as he was sometimes referred to, left home to make try to find his own way in the world. The fourteen-year-old sang in bars, or on the streets, and continued to do whatever odd jobs he could find. The hardships he encountered would stick with him throughout his life, as even though he eventually had more money that he could imagine, he was still very cautious with it. This reality may have also formed his work ethic, feeling the need to always be productive. A side job for the boy was as a song plugger or demonstrator (as a vocalist) for Harry Von Tilzer, but this was not steady work. Still, it placed him in Tony Pastor's famed Vaudeville house, and got him some notice among musicians. By 1906, at 18, he had a job as a singing waiter at Callahan's, and then Pelham's Cafe in Chinatown. Since a rival pub had their own song published in 1907 (it was increasingly easy to get a song into print in Manhattan by this time), the owner asked Izzy if he help to write one for Pelham's. Baline fitted lyrics to a melody by the cafe's pianist, Nick Nicholson, and in short order, Marie from Sunny Italy became the first of his songs in print. This was quite a feat as he was still having some difficulty with English, as Russian had been spoken in his home, and Yiddish was the common language on the streets, but he showed a propensity for clever rhyming. Izzy made a whopping 37 cents in royalties, but he gained something more - his famous name. The cover artist and printer misread the name and put it down as "I. Berlin," but since it sounded much more Americanized, he adopted Irving Berlin as his legal name. (Note that this is the most common story, although the Ellis Island arrival list cannot be discounted as a possibility).
     The published effort managed to gain Berlin some small fame, and he next found himself singing at Jimmy Kelly's establishment, a bit closer to Tin Pan Alley than he had previously been. Encouraged by the minor sucess of Marie, and in spite of what was still an English handicap, Berlin set out to contribute lyrics to more tunes. In some cases, he would create a set of lyrics and be in search of an existing melody or a potential writer for that melody. In the year following Marie this translated into a total of two more pieces. However, 1909 would prove to be the year of his emergence as a great lyricist. Remember that Babe Ruth was initially known for his pitching prowess, so that the immigrant Berlin was utilized as a pitcher of lyrics makes for a better story, once his other true talent was revealed. Berlin had been experimenting with his own melodies, which had to be hummed to a pianist who would translate them. Through watching, he soon learned enough tricks to be able to pound out his own melodies, albeit usually transcribed by a copyist or arranger.
     The incident that spurred him on to be a music writer involved another early song, Dornado. Irving had his own definitive idea about how the melody for the piece should sound, but the collaborator who transcribed it came out with something quite different. So Berlin struck out to find someone who could literally translate the melody, and Dornado was born. It got him enough notice that Ted Snyder, who had recently come from Chicago and opened both Seminary Music and Ted Snyder Publishing in Manhattan, hired Berlin as a staff lyricist near the end of 1908. They quickly turned out She Was a Dear Little Girl, which was quickly interpolated into a show on Broadway, giving them some momentum. Snyder then tried Berlin with another newcomer, Edgar Leslie, and their song Sadie Salome, Go Home eventually helped Fannie Brice land her long-time job with the Ziegfeld Follies. While Berlin was fitted with the music of a few other Snyder composers, it soon became evident that he and Snyder were a good fit, and they started turning out a number of appreciably good tunes on a regular basis. Two rags that were turned into songs with Berlin's lyrics, George Botsford's Dance of the Grizzly Bear, and Snyder's own Wild Cherries, translated into good sales for the company. Snyder also let Irving work with transcribers to turn out his own songs, including two early lasting efforts, Yiddle, on Your Fiddle, Play Some Ragtime and That Mesmerizing Mendelssohn Tune, both from 1909. In 1910, the output from Berlin as well as his collaborations with Snyder exploded in quantity, although other than Grizzly Bear there were no enormous successes. He appears in the 1910 Census as Irving Berlin, head of household, living with his mother and his sister Augusta, his occupation that of Music Writer. The following year, 1911, would prove to be the turning point in Berlin's writing career, and his earliest major success was also touched with a bit of controversy.

     Having become more competent as a pianist, albeit in a limited fashion, but more valuable also as one who could recognize good work when it came across his desk, Berlin was also utilized to review the works of other composers for publication, and became Snyder's right hand man. One of these composers was Scott Joplin, who in 1911 was shopping his opera Treemonisha around Tin Pan Alley in hopes of getting it in print, and raising money to stage it. There is a good chance that the score came across Berlin's desk. Later in that year with the help of Snyder arranger Alfred Doyle he re-purposed an earlier unsuccessful song, Alexander and His Clarinet, with a new verse, a tune we all now know as Alexander's Ragtime Band. This new verse was highly similar to the original melody of Joplin's A Real Slow Drag which closed the opera. In fact, it was reported by his surviving wife that he may have altered the melody so it did not match the verse to Alexander's Ragtime Band. A newspaper notice of that time also noted that Joplin was looking for Mr. Berlin on a certain matter, which may have been concerning the potentially subconscious plagiarism. The issue was never fully resolved, but the facts seem plausible. The chorus of Alexander's Ragtime Band is similarly constructed from existing tunes, including the Reveille bugle call and Stephen Collins Foster's Old Folks at Home (Swanee River). While there is not a lick of actual ragtime syncopation in the piece, it quickly became and has stayed as an anthem of the ragtime era, and it permanently cemented Berlin's name in the songwriting world. The piece was immediately recorded by the Victor Military Band, and even played on the Titanic's maiden (and final) voyage the following year. It has been recorded endlessly by all stripes of music artists, including Ray Charles in a unique arrangement. In the late 1930s a movie was made based on the song. Even in its original printings at least 40 different entertainers were featured on the various covers of the piece. A piano solo version was also available for a while, likely arranged by Doyle. All of this success from one publication, and yet Irving was just beginning his contributions to the Great American Song Book.
     With Alexander's Ragtime Band, Berlin readily found the pulse of the American music consumer, and did all he could to feed it. It would be some time before he started turning out his famed romantic ballads, but for now he simply became a song machine, with many songs centered around dance or ragtime. He turned enough ragtime-centric songs to be deemed "King of Ragtime Songs," (which should not be confused with syncopated piano ragtime). In 1911 and 1912 he and Snyder continued to turn out a tidal wave of tunes, and all told there was a new Berlin song every four to five days, an astonishing feat. His output in 1911 and 1912 alone eclipsed that of the lifetime output of most successful ragtime writers and many popular writers as well. The popularity that Berlin songs were gaining were also very evident to his employer, who had concerns that he would have to either pay more than he could afford to keep Berlin around, or that his new star might jump ship for a better company. The best thing he could do was to offer Berlin a partnership. So on December 13, 1911, Snyder and his financial partner, Henry Waterson, renamed the firm Waterson, Berlin & Snyder, entitling Irving to a share of profits, including from his own substantial works. For many years their office was above the famed Strand Theater in Manhattan.
     It should be noted that because of his limitations as a pianist, which were extreme in 1911 and 1912, that Berlin never wrote ragtime, nor would he write true jazz or stride. He was and would remain a writer of popular songs. However, Irving was in some sense a proponent of ragtime, reporting on it and encouraging it through his songs. During the ragtime era the ratio of popular songs (verse and chorus tunes that were about any number of topics but not classically composed) to rags, or even rags and intermezzos combined, was at least 20 to 1, and maybe higher. So with Alexander's Ragtime Band, That Mysterious Rag, Oh, That Beautiful Rag and similar tunes, Berlin was simply voicing, or in some cases creating more interest in the music. The success of a song was clear even back then. It needs a good topic and a good musical hook that is easy to remember as well as hum. So for capturing the essence of the ragtime era and making it live far beyond its rumored end in the late 1910s, even with limited syncopation in some of his 1910s pieces, Berlin could very much be considered a viable composer of ragtime, even if not piano rags.
     Riding high on his successes, Irving gained confidence in himself and his stature as a musician. It should be noted that throughout his career this was never a solo effort, as he never completely gained the necessary skills to notate and arrange his own tunes. With his rudimentary piano skills, which as legend tells it centered around playing the black keys, usually in Gb major, he was able to play sufficient melody and chords to get the general notion of a piece across. But there was usually a ghost writer at his side who turned his ideas into a salable product. Usually in the music industry this person was cited as an arranger, and indeed a few Berlin pieces did have an arranging credit. But for the most part, whether it was initially his decision or that of the other firm's partners, Berlin's name usually stood alone. Among the assistants were composer Cliff Hess, who worked with Berlin from around 1912 to 1917, and later Arthur Johnston and then Helmy Kresa. In some cases a co-composer credit might have been fitting as they worked out some of the chord changes, but it became a Berlin tradition that if it was his melody it was his song. It also became increasingly clear during 1912 and 1913 that he was better able to fit his own lyrics to a proper melody, and collaborations with a handful of lyricists started diminishing, particularly as his solo efforts flew off the store shelves.
     His induction into ballads came about in a somewhat tragic way. Riding high on the success of his great ragtime hit, Berlin dated Dorothy Goetz, sister of one of his earlier lyricists, E. Ray Goetz, and they married a few weeks later in February of 1912. They took a honeymoon in Cuba where she contracted typhoid fever, finally succumbing to it in June. Berlin was devastated and unsure how to express his grief over the loss. Goetz suggested that he simply write a ballad about his feelings, and When I Lost You became the first of his many heart-wrenching ballads. He would show up as still single on his 1917 draft record, and remained a widower in the 1920 census. However, a tragedy of this proportion would not strike again in his otherwise charmed life. That same year he had another monster hit with When That Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam which quickly found its way to the vaudeville stage, and the following year would yield a number of fine tunes, including the comedy hit Snooky Ookums. On two tunes of that year, published with another firm, he was credited as Ren. G. May, an anagram for Germany, of which the principal city was, of course, Berlin. He also used this credit to record the tunes, still being a pretty fair singer. Yet there was another inevitability awaiting Irving, and it was literally just up the street from his office.

     Almost since his collaboration with Snyder began, Irving Berlin songs had found their way into shows on Broadway and 42nd Street through interpolation, and given his past dealings with Tony Pastor he was no stranger to the stage either. However in 1914, Berlin finally released one of the first ragtime-based (more in name than in style) musicals (by today's standards musicals of that time would be considered revues) on Broadway. Few stage musicals at that time, perhaps with George M. Cohan's (who wrote a song lauding Irving Berlin melodies a year later) being the exception, had songs by any one composer, but Berlin did provide the majority of them for Watch Your Step. His original stated intent was to write a "ragtime opera," although he ended up with a pretty decent revue featuring some syncopation and lots of dancing. For the debut Berlin and his producers already had an ace in the hole, utilizing the recent popularity of the famous dancing couple Vernon and Irene Castle as his stars. Taking some queues from the Ziegfeld Follies, there were even some extravagances displayed on the stage, including a sizable medley of popular opera themes with some syncopation added. The combination of talents in the show made it a great success, and it played initially for 175 performances, a good run at that time. Most of the songs also ended up in print and were sold in the lobby as well as in stores, an added bonus. For the purposes of publishing this show the composer formed his own company, Irving Berlin, Inc., but still remained with Waterson and Snyder who published his popular tunes. One of the tunes in this show quickly gained hit status and eventually became a standard, the finely double-layered Simple Melody (later renamed Play a Simple Melody). The following year he contributed the majority of pieces for Stop! Look! Listen!, which ran for a respectable 105 performances. The standout hit of that show, still with us today, was I Love a Piano, reportedly his favorite tune of all time.
     After a rather uneventful, and somewhat less prolific year in 1916, Berlin contributed to another show in 1917, Dance and Grow Thin, and tackled the latest musical craze - jazz - with some supposed jazz of his own. The word, which had proliferated into popular usage from late 1916 on, was new, but many song titles started featuring it, including Berlin's own Mister Jazz, Himself. He then did a rare collaboration with the other more established big fish in the Broadway pond, George M. Cohan, and their co-written The Cohan Revue of 1918 previewed on New Year's Eve and ran for 96 performances. Berlin also published the bulk of Cohan's pieces from this period. However some time before that, not yet a U.S. Citizen, Irving was drafted into the United States Army late in the year, and assigned to Camp Upton at Fort Yiphank. He very quickly took advantage of this situation by writing about it, one of the earliest pieces being a protest song (especially for the musician's lifestyle), Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning. In an effort to keep to his true talent, he persuaded the brass to let him stage an Army-based show utilizing enlisted men, and they agreed. Now not having to keep to regulation hours, Berlin completed Yip Yip Yiphank and staged 32 performances of it utilizing 350 troops. While there was no Over There embedded in the work, two of the songs went on to become big standards, one of them held back for two decades. Mandy, which many associate with the Ziegfeld Follies of 1919, was actually first heard in the Army show, but retooled a year later. However, a more somber tune which was prepared for the Army show ended up being pulled, perhaps even before the first performance. It would not be until 1938 that Berlin would pull out the everlasting God Bless America for its first public performance by singer Kate Smith on Armistice Day of that year. It has since become the most revered and most sung tune in America composed by a Russian Jew simply trying to survive the army. The publications of Yip Yip Yiphank were printed with his promotion clearly shown, composed by Sergeant Irving Berlin. On February 6, 1918, Irving Berlin became a naturalized citizen of his adopted country.
     Since Irving ended up not actually going into combat he was able to maintain a good songwriting pace, and soon after the war he increased the scope of his own firm, taking on works by other composers as well, finally leaving Waterson, Berlin & Snyder at the end of 1918. In 1919 Florenz Ziegfeld, no stranger to Berlin tunes, asked him to contribute as much as he could to that year's Follies. Along with a revamped version of Mandy he came up with what would become the signature Ziegfeld anthem, A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody. In 1920 he is shown as a widower living in Manhattan with a secretary and a housekeeper, his occupation as an author of songs. That same year, Berlin similarly contributed a bounty of tunes to Ziegfeld for the 1920 Follies, but he had something else in the works. Carefully using his considerable profits from his musical endeavors, Berlin decided to exercise more control over the environment that his musicals would be in, as well as the availability of a place to stage him, and along with his new partner Sam Harris financed the construction of his own 1025 seat Music Box Theater on 45th Street. The opening show there was his Music Box Revue of 1921 which ran for a rather astonishing (at that time) 440 performances. Three more similar revues were staged over the next four years, each with declining attendance and shorter runs, although still far from tepid. The last of these Music Box Revues in 1925 featured Fannie Brice, but ran for only 194 performances. The theater remained busy with other productions that leased it, and is still in business in the 21st century, and in 2007 ownership passed from the Berlin estate to the Shubert Theater Organization. The majority of Berlin's song output from this period was what was featured in the Revues, but there were some notable exceptions. He was also able to use his name as leverage on the covers, many of the titles starting with his name, such as "Irving Berlin's All Alone," something most publishers shied away from. But they weren't publishing such the most prolific songwriter of the age either.
     In 1924 Irving started to date socialite Ellin Mackay, 15 years younger than himself, who would become his second wife. But there seemed to be many obstacles in the way of his convincing her to marry him. Among them, his Jewish heritage and upbringing in poverty, contrasted with the fact that she was a devout Irish-American Catholic and heiress to the Comstock Lode mining fortune. Some of his more stirring ballads came as a direct result of songs he wrote for Ellin, including All Alone, Remember, and the wistful weeper What'll I Do. Finally he won her with singing (a theme repeated in the movie Holiday Inn several years later), and just before they were married in January of 1926 he wrote the simple and elegant Always for her as well, assigning all of the (considerable) income from the song to Ellin. She was immediately disinherited by her father, and for a time they were snubbed by many members of society for the inter-marriage. They had their daughter, Mary Ellin, within the year. Linda Emmett and Elizabeth Peters would follow, as would Irving Berlin Jr. who would sadly die in childbirth.
     Following the traveling patterns of Berlin throughout the 1920s, particularly after marrying Ellin, becomes quite an endeavor, since he is listed on dozens of ship manifests going to Europe, the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Hawaii, and other exotic ports of call. Berlin liked cruises, but when called upon to perform or accompany (as best he could) on these trips he was often stymied by his Gb playing. So he had either four or five special transposing pianos built for him which allowed the keys to slide back and forth underneath the action, facilitating his playing in a suitable key for any occasion. One of these usually accompanied him on a cruise ship, one in the theater, one at the office, one at home, and there may have been a spare. One of these unique pianos resides today in the American History collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
     Irving's cleverness would pay off for both him and a group of brothers looking for a vehicle that would exploit their singularly unique talents. So in 1925, based on a book by playwright Irving Kaufman, he came up with a nearly schizophrenic set of songs for The Cocoanuts starring the Marx Brothers in their recently redefined personas as Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Zeppo and Gummo. The first incarnation would run 276 performances, with the brothers constantly adjusting the material to the point where it worked flawlessly. It was revived in 1927 with an additional tune for another healthy run, cementing their inevitable success. Berlin's biggest song of 1926 would turn out to be Blue Skies, soon to become a standard through the voice of a new kid on the block, crooner Bing Crosby, who would be a great proponent of Berlin songs. His final contribution to the stage in the 1920s was for the 1927 Ziegfeld Follies, one of the most ambitious years of Ziegfeld's career in which the entrepreneur staged four shows at one time. That same year brought the beautiful instrumental Russian Lullaby. However, through Bing and the Max Brothers and other connections, a new medium was soon to call for the great Berlin.

     While Berlin songs sold well throughout the country, they were mostly performed live in New York through the 1920s. However, in 1927, as synchronized sound film became a possibility, a Vitaphone short came out called The Little Princess of Song starring 13-year-old Sylvia Froos, singing Blue Skies. There was enough interest in the piece that Al Jolson, no stranger to Berlin songs by this time, used it for his pivotal "live dialog" scene in The Jazz Singer shortly thereafter, reportedly with ragtime performer Paul Lingle at the offstage piano. The movie, that scene in particular, was a sensation, and Blue Skies certainly did not suffer. It went on to be heard on recordings and in movies a panoply of styles, including one 21st century rendition by singer/actor Brent Spiner as Data in the tenth Star Trek movie. But it also meant that Berlin songs could potentially be heard virtually anywhere as performed by stars of the screen. In the early days of sound when dialog was still difficult to capture, but music was much easier to record, many of the earliest sound films became musicals, and they drew on whatever they could find in order to both have new material and capitalize on the subsequent sales of sheet music or records. Berlin was happy to oblige this new trend, and stepped up to the plate.
     The Cocoanuts finally made it to film via Paramount in 1929, but more than half the tunes were cut from the movies, because without intermissions like live stage shows, people seemed less likely to sit through a full two hour production. However, MGM and other studios would eventually find a way to pack almost as much music into a film as a stage production, often focusing on a single composer for those films. One Berlin song composed in 1929 for a film released in 1930 would actually have four more resurgences over the next few decades, and is clearly an exciting standard today. Written just ahead of the depression, Puttin' On the Ritz (for the film of the same name) combined ragtime and jazz with danceability in a song about snooty rich people. It was retooled in 1946 for Fred Astaire in the movie Blue Skies, becoming much more popular with the newer lyrics. Mel Brooks made it a centerpiece of his 1974 film Young Frankenstein, and later in 2007 for the stage version of the story. And in the early 1980s an artist called Taco made it into a techno-pop retro-hit. Also in 1929 ragtime veteran Al Jolson asked for more material for his new film career, and ended up with five new Berlin songs in My Mammy, released 1930. One more film keeping Irving busy was Hallelujah with another pair of songs. While traveling to Hollywood to facilitate the incorporation of his tunes into film from time to time, Berlin still stayed firmly based in Manhattan while not off on a cruise ship. He is shown there in the 1930 Census with Ellin and Mary Ellin, a self-employed composer of music.
     Notable films over the next decade that would feature Berlin music include Top Hat (1935), featuring Cheek to Cheek; Follow the Fleet (1936), featuring Let's Face the Music and Dance; the all-Berlin film On the Avenue (1937); another Berlin song extravaganza filled with ragtime-era classics - Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938); and Carefree (1938). At least a dozen more films of the decade featured Berlin pieces, old and new, albeit in a less musical context. Yet Irving remained dedicated to the live stage as well. Broadway took quite a hit during the Great Depression as it was much less expensive to create and distribute a film than it was to employ fifty or more people every night for a stage production. So some of them were scaled back or less performances held. Just the same, there were enough people in Manhattan well enough off and in need of entertainment that the producers pressed on, including Berlin and Harris. In 1932 he came out with the political satire Face the Music, and the following year with a play lauding the new president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in As Thousands Cheer, a play in which cast members played several different roles, perhaps a cost-cutting measure. This show ran more than a year, achieving 400 performances in the first run. It also had an embedded tune called Heat Wave which found plenty of favor in the 1950s when sexy new star Marilyn Monroe infused new meaning into it. One other piece, Her Easter Bonnet, found success later retitled as Easter Parade. Berlin's publishing empire remained consistent and busy throughout the 1930s as well, and he had the good fortune to have been contracted by Walt Disney to put many of that studio's works into print, including all of the songs from the stellar hit, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and later Pinnochio and Dumbo.
     The face of Broadway would change in the wake of musicals such as Snow White and The Wizard of Oz where gradually the songs featured in these stories would actually be part of the story, forwarding the plot, rather than just assembled for the sake of putting a song at a certain point in the story. Many consider the dawn of the modern musical to be Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma in 1943, and it does contain the elements of character-based songs that have more context within the story than if sung alone. However, Berlin approached this concept fairly successfully in 1940, at age 52, with the satirical comedy Louisiana Purchase, a similar idea to that of Oklahoma. It ultimately ran a respectable 444 performances, and in 1941 was made into a less than successful Paramount film with Bob Hope in the lead. Given the tone of the musical and the story emphasis on the songs, it yielded no lasting hits. But there were other worries in the world at that time, and they came to a head in December of 1941 with the American entry into World War II. Again, Sergeant Irving Berlin would be there to rally for the cause.

     Patriotic was once again very much in vogue in 1942, and this time it was Uncle Sam that approached Berlin, asking him to repeat what he had done for morale in World War I with Yip Yip Yiphank. He quickly revived some of the old tunes, came up with new ones, and This Is the Army was born. It cleverly included the staging of Yip Yip Yiphank in the plot, spanning both of the wars. While the initial run was only 113 performances, as personnel were constantly being shipped off, but continued to tour the country and the world throughout the war. The unit formed to stage this and other shows for the military still exists into the 21st century. This Is the Army was made into a fairly successful movie in 1943 featuring future California politicians George Murphy and Ronald Reagan, with a cameo by Berlin himself singing Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning, which required some technical prowess by the sound crew to pull off since his voice recorded so softly. Berlin also toured extensively during the war, playing in the African, European and Pacific theaters, often shortly after a location had been liberated. After the war, President Harry Truman awarded him the American Medal of Merit for his contributions to troop morale.
     But his contributions to morale at home were also important, and again extended to film, with the big hit of 1942 yielding quite a surprise. Asked by Paramount to come up with pieces for a film based on American holidays, with a special song for most of them, Irving was sure that his Easter Parade would finally be the hit he had hoped for when featured in Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. What he didn't see coming was that Bing would turn a simple Christmas tune written by a Russian Jewish immigrant into the biggest song hit in history, White Christmas. Except for the initial surge of Elton John's special recording of Candle in the Wind honoring the late Princess Diana of Wales, White Christmas has consistently been the top selling song on records, CD, and digital media combined, the standard to end all standards. Written in the summer of 1940 while he was in Los Angeles, but not released, Berlin found it difficult to capture the religious spirit of Christmas, so called upon the feeling of the season instead. He used the contrast of heat in Beverly Hills in the verse with the desire to be back in the North or Northeast, and seemed to tap that desire in everybody in the country during the difficult war. White Christmas handily won the Oscar for best song at the 1943 Academy Awards as well. There were only a few song releases over the next couple of years, but he did make a handful of contributions in 1945 to the film Blue Skies, again with Astaire and Crosby, released in 1946. Just the same, Berlin, now approaching 60, had something up his sleeve, and the best was yet to come.
     Rodgers and Hammerstein, after successes with Oklahoma and Carousel, decided they wanted to produce as well, and hired the stalwart and similarly successful Jerome Kern to write a musical based on the life of Annie Oakley. However, he suddenly and literally dropped dead, leaving them with a project and no composer. They decided to take a chance on the aging Berlin, who even though he was getting on in years seemed to be able to turn out viable contemporary melodies. The end result was Annie Get Your Gune, which became a prime vehicle for an already seasoned Ethel Merman. Yet it could have been different, as Irving nearly pulled one of the songs from the production because he was under the impression that his musically-inclined producers did not like it. Fortunately, they kept it in and There's No Business Like Show Business proved to be the show stopper, and put another lasting Berlin hit into the American Songbook. Annie ultimately ran for an astonishing 1147 performances with the original cast, and was made into a similarly successful movie with a couple of new songs added in 1950.
     In 1948 Berlin contributed new songs to the film which finally made a hit of the title song, Easter Parade. He then put his efforts into another stage musical called Miss Liberty which proved to be somewhat of a disappointment in the shadow of Annie Get Your Gun. Based on events around the Statue of Liberty, and starring Eddie Albert St., it somehow managed 308 performances in the first run, but very few since that time. Determined to score again, Berlin cast Merman in Call Me Madam in 1950, this time with a greater measure of success at 644 performances, and a movie version in 1953. Even more fine hits and recycled favorites appeared in the now-perennial hit White Christmas in 1954, again giving Crosby, this time teamed with Danny Kaye, Vera Ellen, and newcomer Rosemary Clooney, a chance to croon what was by now his most famous tune.
     A conservative in his politics, Berlin took up the cause of General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the late 1940s, helping him in song as well during his two presidential campaigns with "I Like Ike" songs. In 1955 he was rewarded with a special gold medal for his efforts in contributing to American song. Except for some reprints of earlier material, 1955 appears to have been the first year in almost five decades in which no new Berlin songs materialized, an astonishing run. It appeared that the 67 year old composer was approaching retirement, and there was very little output over the next 6 years. However, at age 74, Berlin graced his Music Box Theater with one last production, Mr. President, starting Nanette Fabray and Robert Ryan. A fictional account of life in the White House, trying to capture the magic of the Camelot idyll of the Kennedy administration, it was not well received by critics or theater goers. After 265 performances it retired, and so did Irving Berlin. In 1966 he would add one final song to his extensive list, An Old-Fashioned Wedding for a revival of Annie Get Your Gun, then would be relegated to the status of an American Icon who appeared on talk shows and the occasional tribute. One of this was the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1968. By the mid 1970s Berlin had all but disappeared from view. His final public appearance was at the 1986 Centennial Celebration of the Statue of Liberty, but he was a no-show for his 100th birthday celebration held in 1988. Ellin Berlin died in 1987 at age 85. Irving Berlin finally was taken by a heart attack at the age of 101, and this humble Russian Jew who honored his adoptive home by giving it lasting musical voice was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York. He left behind his three daughters, nine grandchildren, six grandchildren, and a grateful public who still enjoy his creativity today.
     Famed composer Jerome Kern, when asked about Berlin's place in American music, said that Irving Berlin has no place in it. "Irving Berlin is American Music." God Bless America and the memory of Irving Berlin.

Michael Bernard (March 17, 1874? to June 27, 1936)
Compositions
1896 The Belle of Hogan's Alley Colored Elks 1897 The Lafayette 1899 The Rag-Time King 1900 In Chinatown 1901 Since Sally's In the Ballet     [w/Vincent P. Bryan] 1902 Phantom Dance 1908 The Stinging Bee My Mariutch, She Come Back to Me     [w/Harry L. Newton] 1909 Dear Old Frisco Town [w/Al White] 1910 Lemon Drops That Ticklin' Rag	1911 Panama Pacific Rag [1] Race Horse Rag 1912 The Battle of San Juan Hill 1913 Tantalizing Tingles [2] Apache [2] 1915 Kinky Neutrality March Neutrality March (song) [1] 1918 There's Another Angel Now in Old     Killarney [w/George A. Little] 1918 Blaze Away 1925 Good Gravy    1. w/Willie Weston    2. w/Sol Ginsberg as Violinsky
Known Columbia Recordings
12/02/1912-12/04/1912 Fantasy on Pilgrim's Chorus "Tannhauser" and Rubinstein's E-Flat Concerto Everybody Two Step Battle of San Juan Hill That Peculiar Rag Ted Snyder Hits Medley (actually Irving Berlin compositions) Fantasy on Mendelssohn's Spring Song and Rubinstein's Melody in F A Trip Across the Pond 05/08/1913 Tango Bonita Maori 06/27/1913 Medley of Irving Berlin Songs Aisha 1915 Rag Tantalizing Tingles 04/22/1918 Blaze Away Medley of Popular War Songs

     Mike Bernard was a considerable talent in many fields, including inventing some of his own biography, which made research frustrating at times. Hopefully this biography will cover enough of the facts and anomalies to present a somewhat accurate picture. While conventional sources show him as born in 1881 or 1884, his age in the 1900 and 1910 U.S. Census records indicate a probable 1874 birth year, and locating a draft record was difficult, so this is inconclusive. His birth name was possibly Bennett or, more likely, Barnett, which means he would have changed it to Mike by 1896 according to the Census and New York City records. There was also a Barnett (Barney) Bernard of a similar age who was an actor in many of the same theaters in New York in the 1900s and 1910s, so it may be a case of identity confusion on this point.
     Discovered to be precocious and talented at an early age, Michael received good musical training in his youth, eventually going to Germany around 1892 to study at the Berlin Conservatory of Music. He reportedly played a performance in front of Kaiser Wilhelm II during this time. Once back in New York City in 1896 he heard into white composer/performer Ben Harney (who claimed to have invented Ragtime in part) and decided he also wanted to play the music that Harney was doing; Ragtime. So he learned what he could from Harney, who was a few years his senior, while at the same time working up steam to challenge Harney's position in New York as well. Before long either Bernard or his quickly accumulating fans dubbed him as "Rag-Time King of the World." This could have been prompted by his 1899 composition, The Rag-Time King: A Symphony In Rag-Time. He also soon joined Harney as a resident pianist at Tony Pastor's theater, the most popular vaudeville spot in New York through the 1880s and 1890s, eventually becoming a musical director.
     After winning a well-promoted and much-hyped competition in 1900 Bernard became the talk of the town among pianists and ragtime fans. This win gave him great visibility, and soon his name was making headlines in the famous pink National Police Gazette weekly newspaper that reported on entertainment and sporting and anything salacious in the city and beyond, and who had run the 1900 competition. Occasionally the Gazette sponsored or promoted some of the many ragtime competitions in which Harney and Bernard participated, with Bernard usually coming out victorious. They gave out a fabulous diamond medal and a trophy for their competitions, and similar prizes were handed out for contests held at Tammany Hall during that period in which he mostly, but not always, fared very well. In particular, Bernard was known for concert-grade arrangements of tunes complete with sound effects produced by the piano, and for his ability to also syncopate the left hand and pass melodic lines between hands.
     During his rise to fame, and even after his death, Bernard was both regarded and reviled by many, not so much concerning his ego, which was backed up by his fine performances, but as a white pretender to a black music form. While this contention shows up in occasional articles mentioning Bernard or Harney in the early 1900s, as well as later interviews with some of his black peers, it appears in a much more prescient form in the 1950 book They All Played Ragtime by Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis. Blesh made his feelings clearly known about white musicians in ragtime and jazz in his 1943 series at the San Francisco Museum of Art, so this negative representation was not unexpected. However, historically, it should be noted in spite of the advantage of having access to more privileges as a white player in society that Bernard's recordings on Columbia records, which were possibly started as early as 1909, speak volumes about his skill. He did not necessarily play "authentic negro ragtime," but he did play and compose ragtime in a style that was hard to surpass. In fact, it has been reported that Bernard was paid as much as $10,000 for his early recording sessions, given the expected sales of those records based on his popularity. It has also been reported (hard to substantiate) that Eubie Blake once saw Bernard's name listed for a cutting contest, and Blake demurred from playing there in spite of his own considerable skill because he knew that Mike was clearly a public favorite. Even George Gershwin had mentioned Bernard as an early influence to which he was indebted for his playing style, particularly the left-hand passages.
     The 1900 Census shows Bernard living in New York City as a pianist, and married to May Bernard, 19 to his (reportedly) 26. In the 1910 Census she does not show up any longer, but he is listed as a 36 year old theater pianist in Manhattan and staying at the Hotel Cadillac. It is known that around this time, as he was beginning his brief recording career, that one of his most popular works was The Battle of San Juan Hill which evidently recalled the famed 1898 Cuban conflict with bugle calls, patriotic tunes, and various gunnery effects, which can also be heard on a recording of the piece. He made the bulk of his known records for Columbia in 1912, 1913 and 1918, having been one of the few ragtime pianists actually recorded during this period. It was in 1918 after Original Dixieland Jazz Band pianist Henry Ragas died that Bernard was afforded an opportunity to audition for that slot, although the job ultimately went to J. Russel Robinson.
     Bernard left New York soon after the war for a few years in Chicago on the Midwest Vaudeville circuit. There he met and married his second wife Katherine (or Catherine), who appears with him in the 1920 Census as 18 years old and married to Mike, who is listed as 36. This may be an error on the part of the Census taker, or a deliberate error of vanity on his part, being 46 and married to an 18-year-old. She also is listed as a vaudeville entertainer, possibly a singer. They had a son, Jules, in late 1921. By the mid 1920s Mike was back in New York City. The 1930 Census shows him still married to Katherine, although there is a curious question as to their status in 1920 since she was now 29 and stated she married at age 26. Son Jules also appears as 8 years old. Of further question is Bernard's own age, now listed as 50, which is inconsistent with previous census records and even with his generally accepted birth date of 1881. However, he is still shown as a professional musician, now living in Queens. He spent his final years playing at a nostalgic joint in New York called Bill's Gay Nineties, drawing a crowd even during the depression. Mike Bernard finally played his last performance in 1936, dying at the age of anywhere from 55 to 62.

Theron Catlan Bennett (July 9, 1879 to April 6, 1937)
Compositions
1902 Pickaninny Capers 1903 Satified: An Emotional Drag 1904 Eliza Simpkins St. Louis World's Fair Waltzes St. Louis Tickle [1] She Was From Missouri 1905 Carnival Times Gravy [w/Morris S. Silver] Oh, Listen Ruth [w/Will L. Hall] When Wilderness Was King 1906 Paddy: Characteristic Two Step She's My Gal [w/John D. Puderer] The Burning of Frisco Town     [w/Bob Adams] 1907 Sweet Pickles [2] 1908 Pudnin' Tame Stung: A Teddy Bear Two-Step 1909 Pork and Beans Lovelight: An Indian Intermezzo Lovelight: An Indian Serenade In G     [w/Hal Harrett]	1909 (Cont) Lovelight: An Indian Serenade In C     [w/C.P. McDonald] 1910 Sycamore Saplin' Rag 1911 I'm Lonely Since You Went Away     [w/William Frederick Peters] Tell Tale Eyes [w/Hal Harrett] 1912 Chills and Fever Rag Ain't It Funny [3] 1914 In Dreamy Panama [3] Sweetie Be Kind to Me [3] 1916 Some Blues For You All 1918 That's What makes a Wildcat Wild [3] At the Old Square Dances Down in     Arkansaw [3] 1924 My Love's A Radio 1925 Fireflies on Parade    1. as Barney & Seymore    2. as George E. Florence    3. w/George Norton

     Theron Catlan Bennett was born in Pierce City, Missouri, to druggist George Nelson Bennett and his wife Hattie. It appears he was an only child. After his schooling in Missouri, during which his mother died in the 1890s, Theron attended New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (now New Mexico State University) where he obtained a degree focused on music, but possibly with some business background. His first publication, Pickaninny Capers came in 1902, the year he graduated. It was followed by the successful and suggestive self-published Satisfied: An Emotional Drag in 1903. This got the attention of publisher Victor Kremer who hired him as a composer and arranger and bought Satisfied for reissue as well. It turned out to be a fortuitous move for both when in 1904 Bennett took the notorious "Buddy Bolden/Funky Butt" strain and incorporated into St. Louis Tickle, one of many pieces exploiting the Lewis and Clark Exposition (World's Fair) in St. Louis, Missouri. It was published under the name Barney & Seymour, in part to perhaps sound like a vaudeville act, and in part to perhaps protect the composer's identity if the use of the wicked strain backfired. Fortunately it did not, and St. Louis Tickle, clearly a hit at the fair and often recorded, ended up selling well for over two decades. Bennett also contributed a set of waltzes to the fair's musical mélange under his own name.
     Several years later, as the Kremer firm began to dissipate, starting with the defection of its namesake owner, Bennett formed his own music firm which published his own works plus notable pieces like All the Grapes, California Sunshine and Melancholy Baby. Within a couple of years, he had settled in Denver, Colorado, but still traveled regularly to the retailers he distributed his works to. One of the more notorious episodes of his publishing career has to do with W.C. Handy's Memphis Blues. As the story goes, Bennett was visiting his Memphis representative L.Z. Phillips at Bry's Department Store. Phillips had agreed to print Memphis Blues for Handy on speculation based on the clear potential of good sales, and was waiting for the first 1000 copies for distribution in Memphis. Based on Phillips recommendation, Bennett told Handy he would act as a distribution agent offering him national exposure, a deal hard to turn down. Phillips and Bennett were both present with Handy when the initial delivery of 1000 copies was made. When Handy came to check on sales a weeks after the delivery, Phillips and Bennett showed him a stack of nearly the full 1000 copies, noting that sales were slow, and encouraged him to simply sell the piece outright, which a confused Handy, who knew the piece had been popular, agreed to for a mere $50. What they did not tell Handy was that this was the second stack of 1000 as the first 1000 copies had sold out quickly. A few weeks later, another 10,000 copies were ordered with Bennett's imprint, and Zimmerman was offered a job as a wholesale manager. A few months later, Bennett sold the piece to publisher Joe Morris for a rather large amount. To make matters worse, Bennett's frequent lyricist George Norton was hired by Morris to add words to a song version of Memphis Blues which were only fair at best, and which Handy objected to. The whole episode compelled Handy to form his own music company, Handy and Pace, which was successful on its own merits for many years. Bennett did a similar number on Ernie Burnett's Melancholy, first getting Burnett to agree to have Norton replace the lyrics that Burnett's wife Maybelle Watson had penned, then altering the title to Melancholy Baby after having bought it outright. The piece did very well for the publisher throughout most of his remaining life. During this period Bennett also started a chain of music stores with his profits from the sales, primarily offering sheet music and records. He had outlets in Denver, New York City, Omaha, Chicago, St. Louis and Memphis.
     In Denver, Bennett is listed in the mid to late-1910s as not only a publisher but as the proprietor of the Dutch Mill Cafe (a descendant of which is still in operation today). It was evidently one of the great meeting places of Denver musicians and artists. His draft record also describes him as being short with medium build, and black hair with brown eyes. It is not known if Bennett ever married, but existing records indicate that he likely never did. After a decade or so in Denver, Bennett followed the crowds down to Southern California in the 1920s, and remained there for the rest of his life. It wasn't long before he formed a jazz band primarily composed of band students from the University of Southern California (USC). In 1930 Theron Bennett is listed as a music teacher with a house mate, Austen Peerly, who was a local gardener and landscaper. He died in 1937, leaving behind a fair body of pieces that he either composed or published, but some of them pieces that are still remembered well today as important works of the ragtime era.

John William "Blind" Boone (May 17, 1864 to October 4, 1927)
Compositions
c.1880 Marshfield Tornado 1886 Cleo 1891 Whippoorwill: Romance for Pianoforte 1892 When I Meet Dat Coon To-Night Whar Shill We Go When de Great Day Comes 1893 Grand Valse de Concert, Opus 13 Caprice de Concert, Number 1 Caprice de Concert, Number 2 Dinah's Barbecue You Can't Go to Gloria 1894 Melons Cool and Green Sparks That Little German Band 1899 Dat Mornin' in de Sky	1902 Caprice de Concert, Number 3     (Dance des Negres) 1907 Aurora Waltz 1908 Geo'gia Melon Blind Boone's Ragtime Medley #1     "Strains from the Alleys" 1909 Blind Boone's Ragtime Medley #2     "Strains from the Flat Branch" Last Dream: Waltzes c.1912 Gavotte Chromatic Woodland Murmurs 1913 Love Feast Unknown or Uncertain Josephine Polka The Hummingbird
Piano Rolls - October/November 1912
Gavotte Chromatic [QRS Autograph 80254] Woodland Murmurs [QRS Autograph 80268] Rag Medley No. 2 [QRS Autograph 200142] Camp Meeting Medley No. 1 [QRS Autograph 400034] Dixie (Dixie's Land) [QRS Autograph 400038] When You and I Were Young, Maggie [QRS Autograph 400044] Nearer My God to Thee [QRS Autograph 400048]

     The legendary ragtime pioneer John William Boone was born to mother Rachel Boone in 1864. Census records have indicated a range of birth years from 1862 to 1866, but 1864 is the most accurate date according to research. His mother was an escaped slave who found a position as a cook for the Union Army in Miami, Missouri. A mulatto, she claimed to be a descendant of famed American Daniel Boone and kept that name. John's father was reportedly a bugler with the Union Army, but little else is known of him. Shortly after his birth she moved to Warrensburg, Missouri. She is shown there in 1870 working in washing and ironing, and was working for many prominent families in the area. Curiously, John, now called Willie, is shown as only 4 years old in that Census, and he has another brother, Wyatt, father unknown, who is shown as 2 years old in 1870.
     When Willie was around 6 months old he contracted what the doctors called "brain fever," most likely some form of meningitis by later accounts, and their cure was to have his eyes surgically removed to relieve the pressure, his lids sewn shut. Working through this supposed handicap, Willie made it into a gift. His skills and listening and recreating were clear when he was just a toddler. He could mimic bird calls and accurately drum out rhythmic patterns on tables or pans as a toddler. Having access to pianos around the neighborhood, Willie learned how to create melodies on them, and by age five had formed a small band with some of his friends. Supported by many residents of his neighborhood, they encouraged him to grow his talents. At age 7 he received a French harp as a gift, quickly learning to tune and play it. This allowed him to earn some extra income, even before he was 8, playing it at various functions or in people's homes. When he was eight, Rachel ended her life as a single mother by marrying Harrison Hendrix, and eventually the couple added five more siblings to Willie's family. They moved to a one room cabin, but by all reports it was a loving household, and Willie remained close to his step-siblings throughout his life.
     In an effort to accommodate her son's needs, Rachel enrolled Willie at the Missouri School for the Blind in St. Louis, with the generous help of donations by neighbors and townspeople, both black and white. Some also funded the train trip, and made him clothes to take along. His blindness and pure joy in life helped make all of them color blind as well. He left Warrensburg in the fall of 1873. It was clear early on that Willie was not happy at the school, and instead of communing with his own classmates, he preferred to listen to older students practice in the music room. One of them, Enoch Donley, befriended Willie and taught him basics of technique, and also introduced him to a piano teacher at the school. After a year of work, Boone was able to play virtually anything he heard with commendable technique. The situation at the school changed within a couple of years, and a new supervisor was put in place, changing the way black students were treated. Willie was removed from most of his musical access and taught to make broom instead. In order to play he escaped the school at night (presumably with some assistance) and started hanging around the nearby tenderloin district where early forms of what would become ragtime were being performed. While he was able to pick up a lot from listening to the brothel and bar pianists, he was eventually caught enough times that he was expelled from the school. Forced to live on the streets, he played where he could, often in churches, and even sang to people in public places like train depots for money. Nearly starving, a conductor found him and managed to get him back to Warrensburg and his mother.
     Back home, Willie continued to play in homes, halls and churches. It was in a church where he was giving a small concert that John Lange, a local contractor and successful black businessman, first heard Boone play. He was substantially impressed, and after some time decided to expand his scope of business operations, becoming one of the first African American managers of a concert artist. In preparation for sending Willie out into the world, Lange sent him to Christian College in Columbia for advanced musical training with Anna Heuerman. It was here that he learned a great love for classical music, which he was quickly able to emulate, and even duplicate, sometimes on the first or second hearing. After sufficient training, Boone came home, and with Lange formed the Blind Boone Company, adopting the motto Merit, Not Sympathy, Wins. Based in Columbia, the pair set out to make Boone famous, with resounding results - albeit slowly resounding.
     Boone's first official public performance under Lange's management was on January 18th, 1880 at St. Paul's Methodist Church in Jefferson City, the capitol of Missouri, when he was only fifteen and a half years old. Among the pieces he played there and in future concerts was Franz Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody, Moonlight Sonata and other sonatas by Ludwig von Beethoven, and selections from famous operas. Later in the year he added his own Marshfield Tornado. This was Boone's own pianistic representation of an F4 tornado that tore through Marshfield, Missouri on April 18, 1880, killing 99 people and injuring at least another 100. Descriptions of Boone's performance conjure up a tour de force of effects that potentially had a detrimental effect on the instrument, and it became his signature piece. Marshfield Tornado was never recorded or printed as Boone wanted it to be entirely his, each performance to be unique. In truth, it is questionable whether a player piano could have fared well with the onslaught of notes from Boone's hands.
     The early years of the show were difficult, but necessary to build Boone's reputation. Lange, Boone, and perhaps a couple of other, traveled the Midwest in a wagon carrying a piano with them, allowing them to set up wherever they needed and avoid the reservations some white piano owners might have about the boy's taking over of their instrument. However, this was hard on the instrument physically, and part of the budget from the income was set aside for replacement pianos every few months. As Boone's reputation grew, it seems that a good piano was more readily available at their destinations, and eventually they did not have to travel with one. They also often stayed with a local sponsor to avoid hotel expenses, but the home base was in Columbia. In the June 1880 Census, Boone is shown as one of many residents in the home of Columbia farmer Alfred Woods and his large family, although no profession is listed. As Boone and Lange grew their show, Lange would hire somebody to set out a week or more ahead of the troupe for public relation purposes, advertising the coming of Boone with posters and word of mouth. By the end of five years, when Boone was approaching 21, the company had no problem getting booked in towns or cities of every size. The reviews were positive and more money was also coming in, so Boone and company were living well by the time the 1890s came around. In 1891, Boone married Eugenia Lange, his manager's youngest sister. They remained together for the rest of his life.
     According to and article in a May 1893 edition of Kunkel's Musical Review, the Blind Boone Concert Company was in town for four weeks, and the star was greatly lauded. "His playing is remarkable, not because of his blindness, but because of his artistic excellence. John W. Boone is justly considered the successor of the celebrated [Louis Moreau] Gottschalk. He grasps with marvelous rapidity any composition played for him, and the most difficult pieces are played after single reading. His engagements here drew crowded houses nightly." The company also grew in size over the next decade, as Lange and Boone added vocalists to the show, including Emma Smith, Melissa Fuell, Marguerite Day, Stella May (just 16 when she was recruited) and Josephine Huggard They also expanded their reach, performing at least 8,000 concerts in the United States between 1880 and 1895, along with performances in Canada, Mexico and Europe. One of Boone's greatest joys was sharing his gifts and enthusiasm with children. He would openly promote his desire for parents to bring their children to his performances in order to bring them to music, and would sometimes bring large groups of them inside the performance hall for free, simply so he could encourage them to also learn the thrill of playing and sharing that gift. It evidently effected a great many youths who ended up working hard to learn to play, some actually becoming fine pianists in churches or theaters. He also gave back to the church community that supported him, providing funds for a great many church and school building or repair projects wherever he went. According to the 1900 Census, Boone was firmly ensconced in Columbia, and Eugenia was now the treasurer for the company. He is also listed in 1910 in Columbia as a traveling musician, but Eugenia does not have any vocation listed even though she was still active with the company, a common oversight of that time regarding women's roles in society.
     Boone entered his fourth decade of concertizing in 1910. Over the years he had written a number of songs and classically styled pieces that made it into print. In 1908 and 1909 he contributed two Medleys to the ragtime collective, largely made up of folk themes and some original derivatives. Blind Boone's Rag Medley Number One: "Strains from the Alleys", and Blind Boone's Rag Medley Number One: "Strains from the Flat Branch", were not the same type of ragtime that many other composers had been writing by that time. They did represent, however, a more authentic look at the melodies and rhythms that would be the foundation of ragtime; a window into that time when Boone was a youth wandering through the St. Louis tenderloin hearing banjos and pianos pound out these tunes. In late 1912 Boone recorded Rag Medley Number Two and six other tunes from his repertoire to piano rolls for the QRS Piano Roll Company on their Autograph series, one of the first black artists to do so. It is said (hard to verify) that on his recording of When You and I Were Young Maggie that he actually jammed or overloaded the recording mechanism because of the number of notes he was playing in rapid succession at great velocity. One of his favorite concert segments was asking somebody from the audience to play a piece he didn't know (and that was a limited list), after which he would sit down and play it back for them, something that impressed even the highest ranking musicians. It was clear that not only could play virtually anything in the classical style, but that he could also make it his own, infusing Afro-American rhythms and other tricks into the performances. While he didn't quite "rag" the pieces, he did give them a kick that most performers at that time were perhaps not as adept at. The Chickering Piano Company> in Boston, Massachusetts, perhaps Steinway's biggest U.S. rival at that time, offered him a large oak nine food concert grand which he enjoyed enormously. (It is now kept in the Boone County Historical Society in Columbia, Missouri, and can still be played.)
     By 1916 it was estimated that the Boone Company had played over 26,000 concerts in 36 years, suggesting many days where three or four performances were held. But that was perhaps the peak of his career, and his long-time friend and manager John Lange died that same year. The novelty had started to wear off, particularly with a world that was progressing ahead, a world that was at war, and a world that was looking for change. While Vaudeville was still thriving in 1920, the beginning of the "jazz age," and movies were coming into their own, Boone's act was old hat by now. Without Lange the bookings diminished greatly and Boone, once flush with money, found himself and Eugenia struggling to make ends meet. In 1920 he and Eugenia are listed in Columbia with her as the head of household, and neither with an occupation listed. His last concert was May 31, 1927. When John W. Boone was felled by a fatal stroke in October, his estate was worth $132.65 in spite of a report earlier in the year that his annual income was around $17,000. Eugenia was soon reportedly found to be insane, although any record of commitment is difficult to locate. There was not enough money left to even afford a marker for his grave.
     Fortunately the people of Columbia have since successfully resurrected the memory of Boone, forming the Blind Boone Memorial Foundation, Inc. in 1961. The Chickering oak grand was restored for a concert that same year by the Joplin Piano Company, and the first memorial concert was h