Berlin: Early Songs

The period 1907–14 represents the first phase of Irving Berlin's songwriting career, when his primary concern was with individual songs, before he turned to focus on complete shows. Despite Berlin's stature as the era's leading songwriter, however, the majority of the over two hundred songs presented in this edition have been difficult to obtain. Offering all of these songs here, in chronological order and including numerous previously unpublished works, gives a complete picture of Berlin's early development as a songwriter. The extensive introduction places Berlin within the Tin Pan Alley tradition originating in the late nineteenth century and stretching well into the twentieth.