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.
Easter Parade
Al Jolson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade.
I'll be all in clover and when they look you over,
I'll be the proudest fellow in the Easter Parade.
On the avenue, Fifth Avenue, the photographers will snap us,
And you'll find that you're in the rotogravure.
Oh, I could write a sonnet about your Easter bonnet,
And of the girl I'm taking to the Easter Parade.
The song Easter Parade, performed by Al Jolson, is a joyful celebration of the Easter holiday and the tradition of dressing in your finest clothes for the occasion. The opening line, "In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it," sets the scene for a grand procession down Fifth Avenue, with the singer declaring that his companion will be the "grandest lady in the Easter Parade." The pride he feels for his partner is palpable, as he declares that he will be "all in clover" when others admire her. As they walk down Fifth Avenue, the photographers will snap them and include them in the "rotogravure," highlighting their status as the most glamorous couple in the procession. The singer muses that he could even write a sonnet about his companion's stunning Easter bonnet and the joy of taking her to the Easter Parade.
While the lyrics of the song are relatively straightforward, they evoke a sense of excitement and anticipation for the holiday and the festivities that come with it. The imagery of the Easter bonnet, with all of its frills and decorations, is whimsical and timeless, representing a simpler time when dressing up for special occasions was the norm. Overall, the song captures the lighthearted spirit of the season and the joy of sharing it with someone special.
· Al Jolson introduced the song in the 1933 movie “Hallelujah, I’m a Bum.”
· The song was written by Irving Berlin, one of the great composers of American popular music.
· The tune was originally written for a musical called “Smile and Show Your Dimple,” but it was eventually discarded.
· When the song was first published, it was titled “Smile and Show Your Dimple,” but the title was later changed to “Easter Parade.”
· “Easter Parade” became one of Irving Berlin’s most popular and enduring compositions.
· Judy Garland also performed the song in the 1948 movie “Easter Parade,” which became one of her most famous films.
· The song is frequently played during Easter parades and church services.
· The song has been covered by a variety of artists, including Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, and Connie Francis.
· The lyrics describe the excitement of dressing up for the Easter holiday and walking down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
· The song captures the energy and joy of the Easter season, which celebrates renewal, rebirth, and new beginnings.
Chords (Key of C):
Verse/Chorus: C - Am - Dm - G7 - C
Line by Line Meaning
In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it,
Wearing an Easter bonnet adorned with elaborate decorations
You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade.
You will be the most elegant and impressive woman in the parade
I'll be all in clover and when they look you over,
I'll be very lucky to have you by my side during the parade and proud of you when others admire your beauty
I'll be the proudest fellow in the Easter Parade.
I will be extremely proud to be with you at the Easter Parade
On the avenue, Fifth Avenue, the photographers will snap us,
As we walk down Fifth Avenue, photographers will take our picture
And you'll find that you're in the rotogravure.
You'll be featured in the rotogravure section of the newspaper with a picture of you at the parade
Oh, I could write a sonnet about your Easter bonnet,
I could write a beautiful poem praising your exquisite Easter bonnet
And of the girl I'm taking to the Easter Parade.
And also about the wonderful woman that I'm accompanying to the Easter Parade
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Irving Berlin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Arthur Olson
I remember this song very well.
Arthur Olson
AL Jolson
william reichard
Just thinking how my father used to platus when I was a kid happy Easter to all love and God-bless you
Steven Torrey
I love how Berlin rhumes "your" with "rotogravure"!