Editing Irving Berlin (section)

===Recognition as songwriter===
Max Winslow (c. 1883–1942), a staff member at music publisher [[Harry Von Tilzer]] Company, noticed Berlin's singing on many occasions and became so taken with his talent that he tried to get him a job with his firm.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/06/09/archives/max-winslow-dead-music-publisher-59-official-of-irving-berlin-inc.html |title=Max Winslow Dead; Music Publisher, 59| newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 9, 1942 |access-date=June 5, 2020 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Von Tilzer said that Max claimed to have "discovered a great kid", and raved about him so much that Von Tilzer hired Berlin.{{when|date=November 2021}}<ref name=Hamm/>{{rp|viii}}

In 1908, when he was 20, Berlin took a new job at a saloon named Jimmy Kelly's in the Union Square neighborhood.<ref name=":0" /> There, he was able to collaborate with other young songwriters, such as [[Edgar Leslie]], [[Ted Snyder]], [[Al Piantadosi]], and [[George A. Whiting]]. In 1909, the year of the premiere of [[Israel Zangwill]]'s ''[[The Melting Pot (play)|The Melting Pot]]'', he got another big break as a staff lyricist with the [[Ted Snyder Company]].

Installed as a staff lyricist with a leading Tin Pan Alley music publishing house, Berlin quickly established himself as one of that frantic industry's top writers of words to other composer's melodies. By 1910 he was already in demand and even appeared in a Shubert Broadway revue performing his own songs.<ref name=":1" /> It was purely by chance that Berlin started composing music to the words of his songs. A lyric he had submitted to a publisher was thought to be complete with music. Not wishing to lose the sale, Berlin quickly wrote a melody. It was accepted and published. The success of this first effort opened the door to his career as a composer of music as well as lyrics.<ref name=":1" /> In 1910, Berlin wrote a hit that solidly established him as one of Tin Pan Alley's leading composers. ''Alexander's Ragtime Band'' not only popularized the vogue for "ragtime", but later inspired a major motion picture.<ref name=":1" />