Legendary Facts About Irving Berlin, The Christmas Genius
Irving Berlin may have been the most prolific songwriter in American history, including one of the world's most famous Christmas songs, but his was also a life wracked by turmoil, depression, and self-doubt.
Read on to discover how this musical juggernaut never really felt he measured up.
1. He Started At Rock Bottom
Forced to leave Russia after his childhood home burned to the ground during a terrifying Pogrom, five-year-old Israel Beilin must have felt that life was stacked against him. It’s no wonder he would spend the better part of his days questioning his own worth, wondering if he was good enough and desperately wanting to be accepted.
2. They Lost His Name
Shuffling along amid throngs of huddled, scared immigrants arriving on Ellis Island, young Israel Beilin unwittingly became Israel Baline, as a hard of hearing clerk got his family's surname wrong. This would be the first and smallest of many sacrifices his new life in America would ask of him. He thought his life was hard—but much worse days were ahead.
3. He Lived In Dickensian Poverty
The Lower East Side of New York was about as down and out as you could get in 1910. Young Izzy, along with his parents and 6 siblings, crammed into a dingy basement flat where they could barely make ends meet. Money and survival soon became more important than an education, and with only a couple of years of formal schooling, 8-year-old Irving Baline left school to help his family by hawking newspapers.
4. He Sang For His Supper
Berlin proved he was something special from the very beginning. Newspaper boys in NYC were a dime a dozen in the 1900s but singing newspaper boys? That was something different. Izzy soon learned that by mimicking some of the tunes he heard coming from the saloons and cafes on his route, he could pick up a few extra pennies here and there from appreciative subscribers. Singing on key was his only source of income—but he soon realized it was a key that could open doors for him.
