American patriotic music 1917, when he saw headlines announcing the U.S. had entered World War I. Cohan also is famous for penning "Yankee Doodle Dandy," an over-the-top parody of patriotic music. A 1918 Irving Berlin composition, "God Bless America", is sometimes considered an unofficial national anthem of the United States and is often performed at sporting events alongside (or, in some rare cases, such as Ronan Tynan, in place of) "The Star-Spangled Banner." In 1940, Woody Guthrie wrote "This Land Is Your Land" in response to his dislike of "God Bless America", calling it unrealistic and complacent. The World War II era produced
Say It Isn't So (Irving Berlin song) Say It Isn't So (Irving Berlin song) "Say It Isn't So" is a popular song by Irving Berlin, published in 1932. The song was written when Berlin was suffering a loss of confidence following several setbacks and he initially placed the song in a drawer feeling that it would not be successful. However one of Berlin’s employees – Max Winslow – heard it and on his own initiative took it to Rudy Vallée, who was then a major star on radio. Vallee sang it on his radio show and it became an immediate hit.<br> George Olsen and His Orchestra released