5 Things I Bet You Didn't Know About Irving Berlin

Okay...so I'm going to assume you don't actually know very much about Irving Berlin at all, even though he is one of the greatest songwriters of American history. So here is your brief history:

1. Irving Berlin had no formal education

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For all those "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" fans out there... Irving Berlin was one of the most successful songwriter's of all time, and he did not in fact have a formal education. Irving Berlin helped to support his family at 13 years old when his father passed away. He'd later leave the family to pursue a career as a songwriter. He worked in a small restaurant in China Town, as a singer waiter at 18, singing originally written comedic songs, and people began to take notice. His first published song, from 1907, was "Marie from Sunny Italy."

2. He wrote all these hits that you definitely know

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"White Christmas"

"Happy Holiday"

"Blue Skies"

"There's No Business Like Show Business"

"Puttin on the Ritz"

"God Bless America"

3. His Song "White Christmas" holds a Guinness World Record

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Bing Crosby's recorded version of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" is the best selling single of all time. Ever. In the history of ever. Yes, that means Taylor Swift and the years of pop up-and-comers and their onslaught of record breaking hits still cannot beat out Irving Berlin's sentimental classic, "White Christmas."

Not only does it remain the best selling single of all time, it is estimated to have sold over 50 million copies, and it remains the most recorded song in history (which you probably know from listening to any radio around Christmas time...). There are more than 500 recorded versions of the song, in different languages to boot.

Way to go Mr. Berlin, you record holding badass.

4. He married the daughter of the richest man in America

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When Irving Berlin met his (second) wife, Ellin Mackay, she was a 20-something socialite, daughter of a very wealthy Irish-Catholic American businessman (we're talking richer than Rockefeller wealthy...). She was an heiress. He was a "poor" Russian-American jewish songwriter.

Ellin's father deeply and full-heartedly disapproved of Irving Berlin, though ironically at the time, one could hardly turn on the radio without hearing a song that Mr. Berlin had written. Irving was even hired to perform for one of Ellin's father's parties.

Mr. Mackay warned Ellin that he would cut her off completely and permanently should she marry Irving. So naturally they did, that very night. They rushed off the courthouse and got married in the clothes they were wearing, so in love it didn't matter if they were following tradition. Besides...she was Catholic and he was Jewish. They were already messing up traditions.

When Ellin's father was interviewed by the newspaper the next week in regards to his daughter's elopement, he responded saying: "What daughter? I have no daughter."

Their relationship was the first to be paparazzi'd and blasted all over the news, how our current celebrities are.

Ellin would remain estranged to her father and family until one of the Berlin's children passed away. Mr.Mackay showed up for the funeral, and left soon after.

When the stock market crashed in 1929, Mr. Mackay was the American who literally suffered the greatest amount of loss. He went from once being the richest man in America, to losing every single penny he owned over night.

Ellin and Irving lived to be very old together, until she passed in 1988. Irving would outlive her by one year and pass away at 101, in 1989.

5. He wrote over 1,500 songs in his lifetime

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He not only wrote jazz time band standards and American radio classics. Irving Berlin wrote 19 broadway musicals and wrote for 18 films in early hollywood. His songs were nominated 8 times for the Academy Award.

See one of his other many classics, "Puttin On the Ritz".