Second Place Is NOT First Loser

Irving Berlin
never learned to read or write music. He hummed or sang his songs to a
secretary, who wrote them down in musical notation. His name was Helmy Kresa, a
songwriter in his own right. Mr. Kresa's was the first published arrangement of
"All of Me," written by Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons. Mr. Kresa
composed the instrumental sound track for Martin Scorsese's film "Raging
Bull" and, with Carroll Loveday, he wrote "That's My Desire,"
which Frankie Laine recorded. In 1926, Mr. Kresa began working for Mr. Berlin
and eventually became the general professional manager of the Irving Berlin
Music Company. Obviously, as a composer, he never reached the level of
notoriety as his boss, though without his notations, there would be no songs
like "White Christmas," "God Bless America," or
"There's no business like show business." The question arises: would
there even be an Irving Berlin without a Helmy Kresa?
Her…
Her…