As for Hess' role in Berlin's life, it was instantiated by Berlin's handicap, as per a later account in an Edison Records flyer advertising Billy Murray's recording of In My Harem.:Īlmost immediately, in early 1913, Hess found himself in Manhattan, having been hired by Berlin as a full-time "private secretary," which really was more like his right hand assistant in regards to Berlin's composing. While Irving was a talented songwriter, he knew pretty much from lyrics and melody, yet had to be helped with harmonizing and scoring a song, since he could not read or write music, and was limited to performing only in the key of F# major, which was commonly if unkindly referred to as the "nigger key" during that period.
He was working there as a song plugger at the very least, and possibly a copyist or arranger, when good fortune came his way in the form of one of his bosses who he had potentially not previously met since Berlin lived in New York City. This put him in good stead with the Chicago branch of the growing New York firm of Waterson, Berlin & Snyder, the latter two being composers Irving Berlin and Ted Snyder. He often worked as an arranger for a show, providing a harmonized piano score at the very least.
For the next couple of years, Cliff worked in theaters and with vaudeville shows, sometimes going on the road with one or another singer or troupe.
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