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When Pop Broke Up With Jazz

Frank Sinatra captured by photographer William "PoPsie" Randolph during a 1943 concert. Author Ben Yagoda points to Sinatra as one of the interpreters who helped revive the Great American Songbook. William "PoPsie" Randolph/Courtesy of Riverhead hide caption

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William "PoPsie" Randolph/Courtesy of Riverhead

The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books

When Pop Broke Up With Jazz

For the first half of the 20th century, Tin Pan Alley songwriters like Irving Berlin and the Gershwins dominated pop music. By the the 1950s, tastes had changed, and the music changed with them.

When Pop Broke Up With Jazz

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The Shifting Identity Of 'God Bless America'

American composer Irving Berlin sings his song "God Bless America" in front of Boy Scouts troop members and spectators gathered at a tent in Monticello, New York in 1940. Instead of collecting royalties from "God Bless America," Berlin created a fund that collected and distributed them to the Boy and Girl Scouts. Getty Images hide caption

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Author Interviews

The Shifting Identity Of 'God Bless America'

In the new book God Bless America: The Surprising History of an Iconic Song, author Sheryl Kaskowitz explores the lyrical evolution of Irving Berlin's enduring song and explains how its early popularity reflected the anxiety of the pre-war period and sparked a surprising anti-Semitic and xenophobic backlash.

From Peace To Patriotism: The Shifting Identity Of 'God Bless America'

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'Alexander's Ragtime Band'

Composer Irving Berlin, circa 1918. Henry Guttmann/Getty Images hide caption

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Henry Guttmann/Getty Images

The NPR 100

'Alexander's Ragtime Band'

Susan Stamberg reports on the story behind Irving Berlin's hit "Alexander's Ragtime Band."

'Alexander's Ragtime Band'

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'Cheek To Cheek': The Melody Lingers On

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Hulton Archive/Getty Images

What Makes It Great

'Cheek To Cheek': The Melody Lingers On

Top Hat, from 1935, featured Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. But commentator Rob Kapilow says the real star of the movie is Irving Berlin's classic song, "Cheek to Cheek."

Hear What Makes Berlin's 'Cheek To Cheek' So Great

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