On Irving Berlin's 80th birthday, ... The song, of course, was "God Bless America," and he was surrounded by a chorus of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. The reception was underwhelming.

Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” ...

It’s one of Irving Berlin’s most famous and beloved songs, ... It was while writing songs for that show that he wrote the first version of “God Bless America.” ...

This Fourth of July marks the 100th birthday of America’s unofficial national anthem, “God Bless America” — written by immigrant Irving Berlin, the same year he became a U.S. citizen.

Irving Berlin was born on this day in history, May 11, 1888. The composer would go on to write 800 songs, many of them American classics, after starting his career as a boy singing in the streets.

So raise your voices – and “God Bless America.” Send comments or story ideas to [email protected] . Originally Published: July 4, 2009 at 12:00 AM EDT ...

Was the unofficial national anthem of the United States lifted from a couple different sources? Consider the following: In 1906 a trio of Irish songwriters scored a minor vaudeville hit with the ...

Who walks away from $10 million? Irving Berlin, the Russian-born composer of “God Bless America,” did, says Bob Greene ...

But Berlin held back one song he'd written for “Yip Yip Yaphank.” After thinking about it, he decided that “God Bless America” should not be included in that high-energy review; and he set ...

Berlin first concocted “God Bless America” in 1918 as a chorus to one of his musicals, then exhumed and revised it for Kate Smith in 1938 in advance of the second big war of the last century.