Synopses & Reviews
Few artists have left as profound a mark on 20th-century culture as did Irving Berlin. Starting in New York's Tin Pan Alley in 1907 and continuing to Broadway and Hollywood, Berlin enraptured Americans with such songs as "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "There's No Business Like Show Business," "Blue Skies," and "White Christmas." In the autumn of 2001 his classic "God Bless America" even returned to the Top Ten popular songs, decades after it was written.
For the first time, Berlin's extraordinary career can be seen through an unprecedented assemblage of photographs, drawings, posters, set and costume designs, sheet music, and album covers. Most of the materials reproduced here have either never been published or not published in more than 50 years. This visually dynamic book gives us a fresh look at our most popular songwriter, the man Jerome Kern said was American music. It accompanies a nationwide celebration of Berlin, comprising three separate exhibitions-Berlin's Broadway, Berlin's Hollywood, and Berlin's America-that will travel to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C., in 2005 and 2006.
About the Author
David Leopold is an authority on American show business in both New York and Hollywood. As an independent curator and archivist, he has organized a number of exhibitions on the works of Al Hirschfeld, Oscar Hammerstein, George Kaufman, and Moss Hart.