The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-15
From the New York. World.

From the New York World.
~ you want to be a successful
writer? Do you want to make
- the whole country hum?
If you do, just listen to Irving Berlin.
the most successful song writer of the
year. Eighteen months ago he was
waiter in "Nigger Mixes" Uelham cafe,
in Pel street, New York. Now he Is
member of a big music publishing hrm,
has cleaned up $4,000 in the past year and
the wealth is still rolling in on him. He
has bought home for his mother up IN
the Bronx from the proceeds OF his work.
and has been living in manner that as
a waiter in the Chinatown resort he never
dreamed Of enjoying.
Song writing" says this young COM
poser of ''My Wife's Gone to the Coun-
trv." "Dorando.' Sadie Salome, Go
Home" etc, "all depends on the public
The thing 1t likes one minute 1t tires
of the next Just now, for some reason,
the public wants to have some fun with
the marriage relation. Get up song
banning the husband or the wife, roast
them, have some fun with them. show
I'D some of the little funny streaks in
domestic life and your fortune is made,
at least for the moment. Pretty soon the
public will tire of these and then you
must be able to switch your Tyre to some
thing else. If not new writer Will
take your place and your star. which rose
40 suddenly, will set as rapidly as 1t
came up"
For five years young Berlin worked in
"Nigger Mikes" Chinatown restaurant.
No place in New York might be less ex-
pected to inspire the nations song writ
err. Yet here is where he got all of his
ideas. Here is where he studied char
acter.
Berlin knows nothing of music. That
is. he cannot read music. But he plays
naturally and he picks out his own airs
on the piano and carries them along as
he scribbles out the words that have
brought him his music hall fame and
the golden stream that has made life
easier the past year. 1t all started with
his "Dorando" song.
He is what is called in restaurant cir
cles a "snging waiter" That is, he
was expected to entertain the patrons OF
as by attending to their wants in the
eating and drinking line. He was high
Nv thought of in "Nigger Mixes" for
he was original in his methods and no
wrote his own songs. Scarcely any sub
iect came up in the news of the day that
he did not put into doggerel verse, pick
out a tune for it on the tinpanny piano
and sing it for the edifcation of the WIS.,
uors who called that evening. va
"Dorando" was written as recitation.
not as a song 1t was inspired by the
defeat of the little italian Marathoner
in Madison Square Garden by Tom Long
boat. Berlin listened to the italian pat
rons of Niger Mike" bemoaning the
loss that was occa stoned by their over
confidence in the abilities of their coun-
tryman. He conceived the idea of an
Italian barber selling his barber shop and
investing the proceeds in Dorando stock
The sudden slump in the Italian runner s
affairs gave him that line, "Gooda-bye,
a-a-a-r-r-ber Shop"
After he had that written Berlin put
the wailing tune to it and sang 1t that
evening at "Nigger Mixes Henry Wat
erson (not the Kentucky colonel, but an
other Henry dropped in that evening
with some friends and heard 1t. He was
delighted and he talked to the young
waiter The talk ended by Waterson Of
fering to back him as a song writer, get
him in with publishing house and take
him away from Chinatown.
Next came "Sadie Salome. Go Home"
1t was written as parody for Joe Welsh
on Meet Me In Rosetime. Rosy" 1t
was one of the biggest successes of the
year. More than 100000 copies were sold
before its popularity began to wane.
my Wife's Gone to the Country"