Early life and career
The son of the Rabbi of the Talmud Torah Synagogue (now Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah) in Washington, D.C., Jolson became a popular singer in New York City in 1898, and gradually developed the key elements of his performance: blackface makeup; exuberant gestures; operatic-style singing; whistling and directly addressing his audience.
By 1911, he had parlayed a supporting appearance in the Broadway musical La Belle Paree into a starring role. He began recording and was soon internationally famous for his extraordinary stage presence and personal rapport with audiences. His Broadway career is unmatched for length and popularity, having spanned close to 30 years (1911-1940). Audiences shouted, pleaded, and often would not allow the show to proceed, such was the power of Jolson's presence. At one performance in Boston, the usual staid and conservative audience stopped the show for 45 minutes. He was said to have had an "electric" personality, along with the ability to make each member of the audience believe that he was singing only to them. However, he is best known today for his appearance in one of the first "talkies" The Jazz Singer, the first feature film with sound to enjoy wide commercial success, in 1927. In The Jazz Singer Jolson performed the song "Mammy" in blackface. In truth, Jolson's singing was never jazz, indeed his style remained forever rooted in the vaudeville stage at the turn of 20th century.
Jolson is the first music artist to sell over 10 million records. While no official Billboard magazine chart existed during Jolson's career, their staff archivist Joel Whitburn used a variety of sources such as Talking Machine World's list of top-selling recordings, and Billboard's own sheet music and vaudeville charts to estimate the hits of 1890-1954. By his reckoning, Jolson had the equivalent of 23 No. 1 hits, the 4th-highest total ever, trailing only Bing Crosby, Paul Whiteman, and Guy Lombardo. Whitburn calculates that Jolson topped one chart or another for 114 weeks.
Among the many songs popularized by Jolson were "You Made Me Love You," "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody," "Swanee" (songwriter George Gershwin's first success), "April Showers," "Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye," "California, Here I Come," "When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along," "Sonny Boy" and "Avalon."
Jolson was a political and economic conservative, supporting Calvin Coolidge for president of the United States in 1924 (with the ditty "Keep Cool with Coolidge") unlike most other Jews in the arts, who supported the losing Democratic candidate, John William Davis.
Jolson was married to actress/dancer Ruby Keeler from 1928 to 1940, when they divorced. The couple had adopted a son, Al Jolson Jr., during their marriage, but when he was 14 the boy changed his name to Peter Lowe after his mother's second husband, John Lowe.
After leaving the Broadway stage, Jolson starred on radio. The Al Jolson Show aired 1933-1939, 1942-1943, and 1947-1949, and these shows were typically rated in the top ten. Jolson continued performing until his death in 1950.
The Jolson story
After the success of Warner Bros. film Yankee Doodle Dandy about George M. Cohan, Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky believed that a smiliar film could be made about Al Jolson -- and he knew just where to pitch the project. Harry Cohn may have seemed to a lot of people in Hollywood like a crude, loud vulgarian, but he had one soft spot: he loved the music of Al Jolson.
Skolsky pitched the idea of an Al Jolson biopic and Cohn agreed to it. Directed by Alfred E. Green (best known today for the pre-Code masterpiece Baby Face, The Jolson Story is one of the most entertaining of the musical biopics of that era -- an era that included Yankee Doodle Dandy, Till the Clouds Roll By, Words and Music and Three Little Words. With Jolson providing almost all the vocals, and actor Larry Parks playing Jolson, The Jolson Story was released in 1946, and became one of the biggest hits of the year. Parks received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and the film became one of the highest grossing films of the year.
"The Jolson Story," and its 1949 sequel "Jolson Sings Again," led to a whole new generation who became enthralled with Jolson's voice and charisma. Jolson, who had been a popular guest star on radio since its earliest days, now had his own show, hosting the "Kraft Music Hall" from 1947-1949, with Oscar Levant as a sardonic piano-playing sidekick. Despite such singers as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Perry Como being in their primes, Jolson was voted the "Most Popular Male Vocalist" in 1948 by a Variety poll. The next year, Jolson was named Personality of the Year by the Variety Clubs of America. When Jolson appeared on Bing Crosby's radio show, he attributed his receiving the award to his being the only singer not to make a record of Mule Train, which had been a widely covered hit of that year (four different versions, one of them by Crosby, had made the top ten on the charts).
Jolson joked that he'd tried to sing the hit song. "I got the clippetys all right, but I can't clop like I used to."
Jolson's legacy is considered by many to be severely neglected today because of his use of stage blackface, at the time a theatrical convention used by many performers (both white and black), but today viewed by many as racially insensitive. Jolson was billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," which is how many of the greatest stars (including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, Jackie Wilson) referred to him. Charles Chaplin wrote in his Autobiography that he was one of the most electrifying entertainers he had ever seen. A life-long devotion to entertaining American servicemen (he first sang for servicemen of the Spanish-American War as a boy in Washington, D.C.) led Jolson, against the advice of his doctors, to entertain troops in Korea in 1950 when his heart began to fail.
Death
Jolson died on October 23, 1950, in San Francisco at a card game, at the age of 64, apparently of a heart attack, and was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California, where a statue of Jolson beckons visitors to his crypt. On the day he died, Broadway turned off its lights for 10 minutes in Jolson's honor.
Al Jolson has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame:
1. For his contribution to the motion picture industry at 6622 Hollywood Blvd.;
2. For his contribution to the recording industry at 1716 Vine St.;
3. For his contribution to the radio industry at 6750 Hollywood Blvd.
Forty-four years after Jolson's death, the United States Postal Service acknowledged his contribution by issuing a postage stamp in his honor. The 29-cent stamp was unveiled by Erle Jolson Krasna, Jolson's fourth wife, at a ceremony in New York City's Lincoln Center on September 1, 1994. This stamp was one of a series honoring popular American singers, which included Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Ethel Merman, and Ethel Waters. Al Jolson is one of Mr. Burns' (from The Simpsons) favorite actors - he still believes that he is alive.
Jolson's song I'm Sitting on Top of the World was played during the opening montage of 1930's New York City in the 2005 remake of King Kong.
In August of 2006, Al Jolson had a street in New York named after him.
Baby Face
Al Jolson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm raving 'bout my baby now
Pretty little dimples here and dimples there
Don't want to live without her
I love her goodness knows
I wrote a song about her and here's the way it goes
Baby Face, you've got the cutest little baby face
My poor heart is jumpin', you sure have started somethin'
Baby face, I'm up in heaven when I'm in your fond embrace
I didn't need a shove, 'cause I just fell in love
With your pretty baby face
When you were a baby not so long ago
You must have been the cutest thing
I can picture you at ev'ry baby show
Just winnin' ev'ry ribbon with your sweet baby way
Say, honest I ain't fibbin', you'd win 'em all today
Baby Face, you've got the cutest little baby face
There's not another one could take your place, Baby face
My poor heart is jumpin', you sure have started somethin'
Baby face, I'm up in heaven when I'm in your fond embrace
I didn't need a shove, 'cause I just fell in love
With your pretty baby face
In Al Jolson's song "Baby Face," he sings about his love for his partner's adorable features. He describes her rosy cheeks, turned up nose, curly hair, and pretty little dimples. He confesses that he loves her so dearly that he wrote a song about her, and she is someone he never wants to live without. The song continues to admire his partner's face, which he declares is the most adorable and irresistible one he has ever seen. The chorus goes, "Baby Face, you've got the cutest little baby face, there's not another one could take your place."
The song's lyrics are simple, yet they convey how deeply the singer loves his partner. He is in awe of her beauty, and every feature on her face makes him fall more in love with her. The song's upbeat melody and playful lyrics make it a joyful celebration of romantic love. It represents a generation that takes pride in being in love and expressing it in public. "Baby Face" is an eternal love anthem that captures the magic of love in simple, unforgettable lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Rosy cheeks and turned up nose and curly hair
My baby has rosy cheeks, a turned up nose, and curly hair
I'm raving 'bout my baby now
I can't stop talking about how much I love my baby
Pretty little dimples here and dimples there
My baby has adorable little dimples all over
Don't want to live without her
I can't imagine my life without my baby
I love her goodness knows
I love my baby more than anything in this world
I wrote a song about her and here's the way it goes
I wrote a song to express my love for my baby
Baby Face, you've got the cutest little baby face
My baby has the cutest little face I have ever seen
There's not another one could take your place, Baby face
There is no other person in this world who could replace my baby
My poor heart is jumpin', you sure have started somethin'
My heart is overflowing with love and happiness when I'm with my baby
Baby face, I'm up in heaven when I'm in your fond embrace
I feel like I'm in heaven when I'm holding my baby close to me
I didn't need a shove, 'cause I just fell in love
I didn't have to try to love my baby, it just happened naturally
With your pretty baby face
I love my baby's face more than anything else in this world
When you were a baby not so long ago
My baby was just a baby not too long ago
You must have been the cutest thing
My baby was probably the cutest baby ever
I can picture you at ev'ry baby show
I can imagine my baby winning every baby competition and being the star of every show
Just winnin' ev'ry ribbon with your sweet baby way
My baby would win every ribbon and award with their sweet and adorable personality
Say, honest I ain't fibbin', you'd win 'em all today
I'm not lying when I say my baby would win all the awards and competitions today
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Harry Akst, Benny Davis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tuxguys
Was this early television?
Priceless.
**millsbrothers
No, it was for Larry Parks to practice from.
@@millsbrothers
That explains why he just walks off, even before the "band" has finished the final chord.
Great stuff.
(Addendum, five years later:)
I never realized how much Louis Prima owes, vocally, to Jolson, until just now.
(Further Addendum, 9 months later)
Look how Joly is dressed:
This is what passed, in the early '50's, for "casual."
Gary Cahn
He's got some great moves. That's some early jazz phrasing. All the greats that came after him owe a lot to him.
beatngo710
He has such an amazing voice!
maureen1938
The one and only Al Jolson... it's lovely to hear these old songs again, thank you for posting. I love them all
ken karwoski
GREAT song, Al Jolson is a LEGEND!
babyfacemichael
Fifty nine years to the day after his death there is still NO ONE to touch the great Al Jolson!
MARILYN NEISLER
After the success of the Jolson Story, Al insisted in starring in the sequel "Jolson Sings Again". Columbia pictures felt Jolson was too old to play himself, but to appease Al agreed to let him "try out" for the role. After seeing this reel ,Jolson agreed to let Larry Parks portray him again. Coumbia, i.e. Harry Cohn ,was relieved, after all Larry Parks had been nominated for an Academy awrad in 1946 for the "Jolson Story". This reel was shot in late 1948.
Kenneth Drewary
He did appear in one of those films, there was a sequence where he blacked up and was on stage. It was shot at a distance so no one would recognise him
Kaffyboy
I visited Al Jolson's grave at Hillside Memorial in Hollywood a couple of years back and it is, to say the least, VERY impressive! There is a bronze statue of Jolie, his crypt is below a columned memorial with a huge water fall feature. Beautiful!
GR AWAKENDREAM
as garish and outlandish as the man's career
SuperPennyman
me too, way back in the 90's