Irving Berlin

• Genre: Musicals
• Hometown: New York

About

Irving Berlin was the first songwriter to pen distinctly modern American music for the Broadway theatre. His songs span almost the entire twentieth century, and while they don't have George Gershwin's or Cole Porter's sophistication, they still glow with a scrappy charm all their own. He literally had hundreds of hits, including such standards as "Cheek to Cheek," "Blue Skies" and "White Christmas," which may just be the single biggest selling song in history with all its various recorded versions. Our favorite Berlin moment may just be the duet of "Puttin' on the Ritz" from Young Frankenstein, but the darkly ironic "Let's Face the Music and Dance" is a perfect match for our romantically jaded era.

- Nick Dedina