Irving Berlin - The Family Album
Irving Berlin’s love of family runs through his songs – from those written following the birth of his daughter to those penned for his wife, Ellin Mackay Berlin, whose 62 year marriage to Berlin has been described as one of America’s greatest love stories.
The family is still closely involved in all aspects of the Irving Berlin catalog, and have curated a new special album with some of their favorite tracks accompanied by stories of their personal connection to the songs.
Cheek To Cheek
Chosen by William Swett, Irving Berlin’s great grandson “It’s a song I will have stuck in my head for the rest of my life.”
All Alone
Chosen by Peter Matson, Irving Berlin’s great grandson “Another "ballad" from the same era as “Remember”, “All Alone” is most brought to life by a spirited swinging rendition. You really feel the pain, toughness, and ultimately a touch of defiant resilience. Anyone who's ridden the emotional roller coaster of being left hanging by a lover can relate. Especially in Sarah Vaughan’s 1967 rendition.”
Moonshine Lullaby
Chosen by Emily Fletcher, Irving Berlin’s granddaughter, “A favorite for sentimental reasons. It is the song that I sang to both my daughters when they were little and upset and it was the only one that would ever calm them down. I tried it on one of them the other day (she is nearly 25) but it didn't work. But it did for a long time!”
What’ll I Do?
Chosen by Irving Barrett, Irving Berlin’s grandson, “There aren’t too many songs dealing with the loss of a loved one and how helpless and hopeless the bereaved can feel. “What’ll I Do” is the best I’ve heard.”
Blue Skies
Chosen by Mary Ellin Barrett, Irving Berlin’s daughter, “The Berlin song with the most meaning for me is “Blue Skies”, which my father began writing shortly after I was born and called my song. It also happens to be a great one.”
Isn’t This A Lovely Day
Chosen by James Matson, Irving Berlin’s great grandson, “A romantic song chosen for the reason that I’m a bit of a romantic.”
I Got The Sun In The Morning
Chosen by Caroline Emmet Bourgois, Irving Berlin’s granddaughter, “The whole score of Annie Get Your Gun is tied to memories of my grandparents. I used to play the LP as a little girl over and over again and sing the songs on the telephone when my grandparents called long distance.”
Pack Up Your Sins And Go To The Devil In Hades
Chosen by Linda Emmet, Irving Berlin’s daughter, “I think this song demonstrates how versatile my father was as a songwriter and the wide range of subjects he wrote about. He was not a religious man but had an interest in the devil which he tackles in a very humorous way in songs such as this and “Get Thee Behind Me Satan”. There is a great pun in this song which stands out to me- “Nothing on his mind but a couple of horns”
How About Me
Chosen by Katherine Barrett Swett, Irving Berlin’s granddaughter, “Of the ballads, I liked this one best because it starts out sad and just gets worse, finally ending on that wonderfully self-pitying pun on “baby” and “about" at the end.”
Change Partners
Chosen by James Matson, Irving Berlin’s great grandson, “A romantic song chosen for the reason that I’m a bit of a romantic.”
Love And The Weather
Chosen by Mary Ellin Barrett Lerner, Irving Berlin’s granddaughter, “Love and the Weather, beautiful song, and the lyrics are so true.”
How Deep Is The Ocean?
Chosen by Rachel Peters, Irving Berlin’s granddaughter, “It has always been a favorite and was the first dance at my wedding. My husband also played it the night he proposed to me.”
Always
Chosen by Nicholas Swett, Irving Berlin’s great grandson, “I think my favorite IB song is Always. I really love the harmony change right before ‘not for just an hour,’ and the way the last four lines of the song float down to the final ‘Always.’ It’s just beautiful!”
Looking At You (Across The Breakfast Table) / Just One Way To Say I Love You
Chosen by Elizabeth Matson, Irving Berlin’s granddaughter, “The lyrics strike me as an intimate capture of my grandparent’s courtship and love. She had charm and beautiful blue eyes. The gentle irony is that they were on such different clocks (she was a morning person, he burning the midnight oil). I never knew them to have breakfast together. But it is a sweet image and a very poignant melody.”
White Christmas
Chosen by Benjamin Lerner, Irving Berlin’s great grandson, “I love "White Christmas" because it brings back family memories of Christmases past where we would congregate around the piano and sing Irving's songs while snow fell outside the windows in New York City.”