Irving Berlin; A Daughter's Memoir

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. First Printing. Hardcover. very good, very good. 25 cm, 320 pages. Illustrations. Index. Slight wear to DJ edges. Biography of the composer and the tragic years his wife Ellin Mackay endured after being disowned by her Catholic father. Mary Ellin Barrett (née Berlin; born November 25, 1926) is an American writer and the oldest daughter of Ellin (née Mackay) and composer Irving Berlin. She grew up in New York City, where she attended the Brearley School. She then went to Barnard College, majoring in music. After graduation, she began to work for Time Magazine, where she met her future husband, Marvin Barrett. Mary Ellin was the book critic for Cosmopolitan Magazine, where she worked very closely with Helen Gurley Brown. Barrett is the author of three novels: Castle Ugly was published in 1966, followed by An Accident of Love in 1973 and American Beauty in 1981. Her most recent publication is a memoir entitled Irving Berlin: a Daughter's Memoir. Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Baline; May 11, 1888 - September 22, 1989) was an American composer and lyricist, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history. His music forms a great part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russia, Berlin arrived in the United States at the age of five. He published his first song, "Marie from Sunny Italy", in 1907, receiving 33 cents for the publishing rights, and had his first major international hit, "Alexander's Ragtime Band" in 1911. He also was an owner of the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. "Alexander's Ragtime Band" sparked an international dance craze in places as far away as Berlin's native Russia, which also "flung itself into the ragtime beat with an abandon bordering on mania." Over the years he was known for writing music and lyrics in the American vernacular: uncomplicated, simple and direct, with his stated aim being to "reach the heart of the average American," whom he saw as the "real soul of the country." In doing so, said Walter Cronkite, at Berlin's 100th birthday tribute, he "helped write the story of this country, capturing the best of who we are and the dreams that shape our lives." He wrote hundreds of songs, many becoming major hits, which made him "a legend" before he turned thirty. During his 60-year career he wrote an estimated 1,500 songs, including the scores for 19 Broadway shows and 18 Hollywood films, with his songs nominated eight times for Academy Awards. Many songs became popular themes and anthems, including "Easter Parade", "White Christmas", "Happy Holiday", "This Is the Army, Mr. Jones", and "There's No Business Like Show Business". His Broadway musical and 1942 film, This is the Army, with Ronald Reagan, had Kate Smith singing Berlin's "God Bless America" which was first performed in 1938. Berlin's songs have reached the top of the charts 25 times and have been extensively re-recorded by numerous singers including Al Jolson, Ethel Merman, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ethel Waters, Elvis Presley, Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, Linda Ronstadt, Rosemary Clooney, Cher, Diana Ross, Bing Crosby, Frankie Laine, Johnnie Ray, Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Doris Day, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and Ella Fitzgerald. Composer George Gershwin called him "the greatest songwriter that has ever lived" and composer Jerome Kern concluded that "Irving Berlin has no place in American music-he is American music."