Irving Berlin Songbook

Irving Berlin, the granddaddy of American songwriters, was born in 1888, the same year as inventor John Logie Baird. Berlin's "popular music" and Logie Baird's "television" would ultimately unite to form the most powerful cultural double-whammy in history. Our mix is a proud salute to Berlin's incredible legacy.

Irving Berlin became a major international success in 1911. Since then, the musical world has employed the Berlin songwriting touch to stunning effect. The superwomen of jazz (Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington) share his songbook alongside heavyweight crooners Tony Bennett and Bobby Darin.

Irving Berlin's songwriting talent is timeless in the truest sense: When great artists tackle a Berlin composition, you're guaranteed something special. Some of the jazz greats bear his imprint, from Django Reinhardt ("Marie") to the free-flowing Branford Marsalis on his nine-minute version of "Cheek to Cheek."

Irving Berlin's genre-defying talent looms like a monolith over the entire spectrum of pop. Tap into his catalog any way you like: Astrud Gilberto & the Walter Wanderley Trio scatter some Latin spice over "It's a Lovely Day Today" and Patsy Cline gives "Always" a crystalline country edge. Of course, there are always those classic cuts from the movies. Where would Hollywood be without "White Christmas" or "Puttin' on the Ritz?" Nowhere, that's where.