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.
Oh You Beautiful Doll
Al Jolson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just turn out the lights and then come over here!
Nestle close, up to my side,
My heart's afire, with love's desire
In my arms, rest complete,
Never thought that life could ever be so sweet
'Til I met you,some time ago,
But now you know,
Oh, you beautiful doll!
You great, big, beautiful doll!
Let me put my arms about you,
I could never live without you.
Oh, you beautiful doll!
You great, big, beautiful doll!
If you ever leave me how my heart would ache,
I want to hug you but I fear you'd break
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
Oh, you beautiful doll!
Precious prize, close your eyes,
Now we're goin' to visit lover's paradise,
Press your lips,
Again to mine,
For love is king of ev'rything
Squeeze me dear, I don't care!
Hug me just as if you were a grizzly bear
This is how I'll go through life,
No care or strife, when you're my wife
Oh, you beautiful doll!
You great, big, beautiful doll!
Let me put my arms about you,
I could never live without you.
Oh, you beautiful doll!
You great, big, beautiful doll!
If you ever leave me how my heart would ache,
I want to hug you but I fear you'd break
Oh, you beautiful doll! Oh, oh, oh, oh
The song "Oh You Beautiful Doll" by Al Jolson is a love song about the intense feelings one experiences when they are deeply in love. The lyrics suggest a desire for physical intimacy, with the mention of turning out the lights and nestling close. The singer expresses how their heart is on fire because of their love's desire, and that they feel complete when they have their partner in their arms. They didn't think life could be so sweet until they met their partner, expressing the depths of their love by saying "you know, I love you so."
Moving on to the chorus, "Oh You Beautiful Doll" is a term of endearment used to express the singer's love and admiration for their partner. They call them a "great, big, beautiful doll" and embellish on their feelings, saying they could never live without them. They express the intensity of how hard it would be for them if their partner left them, fearing that their heart would ache. The singer wants to hug their partner tightly, but they express their fear that doing so may cause their beloved partner to break.
Overall, the song portrays the joy, pleasure, and security that comes with being truly in love. The singer's desire for physical intimacy, along with their affectionate endearment towards their partner, express the weight of their love and the happiness it brings to their life.
Line by Line Meaning
Honey dear, want you near,
Sweetheart, I want you close to me
Just turn out the lights and then come over here!
Turn off the lights and join me here
Nestle close, up to my side,
Get comfortable and cuddle up to me
My heart's afire, with love's desire
I am overwhelmed with love for you
In my arms, rest complete,
You feel safe and at ease with me
Never thought that life could ever be so sweet
I never imagined life could be so wonderful
When I met you, some time ago,
I fell in love with you from the moment we met
But now you know, I love you so!
Now you understand how much I love you
Oh, you beautiful doll!
You are so gorgeous!
You great, big, beautiful doll!
You are a stunning and impressive sight
Let me put my arms about you,
I want to hug you tightly
I could never live without you.
I cannot imagine a life without you
If you ever leave me how my heart would ache,
The mere thought of you leaving makes my heart hurt
I want to hug you but I fear you'd break
I want to hold you tightly, but I don't want to hurt you
Precious prize, close your eyes,
You are my precious treasure, close your eyes
Now we're goin' to visit lover's paradise,
Let's take a trip to a world of love, just the two of us
Press your lips, again to mine,
Kiss me passionately, like we did before
For love is king of ev'rything
Nothing is more important than our love
Squeeze me dear, I don't care!
Hold me tightly, I don't mind
Hug me just as if you were a grizzly bear
Embrace me like a bear would, with all your might
This is how I'll go through life,
I want to spend my life like this
No care or strife, when you're my wife
I know we'll never have any troubles if you were my wife
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
Exclamation of joy and happiness
Oh, you beautiful doll!
You are the most beautiful thing in the world!
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: NATHANIEL D. AYER, SEYMOUR BROWN A
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nesmi
I heard this song on Hey Arnold! but the only line Grandpa sang was "You beautiful doll, you great big beautiful doll" lol That stuck with me for a decade
Debbie Smith
Jimmy Stewart brought me here. I just saw his movie The FBI Story. They had a scene with a group sing along. Love all those old songs. 😊❤
Amy Johnson
Ahah, I love the way he says 'nnnn'oh!' Thanks for uploading! x
theBaron0530
Like if you came here because a Warner Bros' cartoon used this song, and you got nostalgic for it! "Mechanical!....So she's mechanical!"