give my regards to broadway

To go along with my previous ragtime post, I thought I would add a bit of information about Irving Berlin.

I learned just this week from a very interesting documentary about Broadway, that without ragtime, Broadway as we know it would not exist. To go along with what I said earlier, a Broadway historian said that ragtime was like rap music during that time period. Irving Berlin was the inspiration for the American musical. Before his innovative style, only European operas were performed.

Watch this great tribute to Irving Berlin from the 1982 Oscars performed by favorite Broadway star, Bernadette Peters. There are so many songs I recognize, but I did not know were written by Irving Berlin.

Enjoy!