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.
Ol' Man River
Al Jolson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dat's de ol' man dat I'd like to be
What does he care if de world's got troubles
What does he care if de land ain't free
Ol' man river, dat ol' man river
He mus' know sumpin', but don't say nuthin'
He jes' keeps rollin'
He don' plant taters, he don't plant cotton
An' dem dat plants' em is soon forgotten
But ol'man river
He jes' keeps rollin' along
You an' me, we sweat an' strain
Body all achin' an' wracked wid pain,
Tote dat barge! Lif' dat bale!
Git a little drunk an' you lands in jail
Ah gits weary an' sick of tryin'
Ah'm tired of livin' an' skeered of dyin'
But ol' man river
He jes' keeps rolling' along
Niggers all work on de Mississippi**
Niggers all work while de white folks play**
Pullin' dose boats from de dawn to sunset
Gittin' no rest till de judgement day
(Don't look up an' don't look down)
(You don' dar'st make de white boss frown)
(Bend your knees an' bow your head)
(An' pull dat rope until you're dead)
Let me go 'way from the Mississippi
Let me go 'way from de white man boss
Show me dat stream called de river Jordan
Dat's de ol' stream dat I long to cross
(Ol' man river, dat ol' man river)
(He mus' know sumpin', but don't say nothin')
(He just keeps rollin')
(He keeps on rollin' along)
Long, low river
Forever keeps rollin'
(Don' plant taters, he don' plant cotton)
(And dem dat plants' em is soon forgotten)
(But ol' man river
(He jes' keeps rollin' along)
Long low river
Keeps singin' dis song
You an' me, we sweat an' strain
Body all achin' and wracked wid pain
Tote dat barge! Lift dat bale!
Git a little drunk and ya lands in jail
Ah gits weary an' sick o' tryin'
Ah'm tired o livin' an' skeered o' dyin'
But ol' man river
He jes' keeps rollin' along!
"Ol' Man River" is a classic song from the 1927 show "Show Boat," with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The song is sung from the perspective of a black stevedore working on the Mississippi River, who admires the power and determination of the river itself. The song also touches on racial themes, with the singer contrasting his own struggles with those of the river, which he sees as indifferent to the troubles of the world. He also reflects on the arduous work of black laborers on the river, who face exploitation and discrimination from white employers.
The opening lines of the song express the singer's admiration for the Mississippi River, which he sees as a symbol of strength and resilience in the face of adversity. He contrasts this with the troubles of the world, which he suggests the river is oblivious to. The repetition of the line "He jes' keeps rollin'" emphasizes the river's endless motion and unstoppable power.
The second verse contrasts the work of the stevedores with that of the river. Unlike the workers, who toil in obscurity and are easily forgotten, the river continues to flow regardless of who is planting crops or navigating its waters. The singer also acknowledges the hardships of his own life, including physical exhaustion and the threat of imprisonment.
Line by Line Meaning
Dere's an ol' man called de Mississippi
There's an old and timeless river called the Mississippi
Dat's de ol' man dat I'd like to be
That's the old and experienced being I wish I could be
What does he care if de world's got troubles
Why should he care about the problems of the world?
What does he care if de land ain't free
Why should he care if the land is not free?
Ol' man river, dat ol' man river
Old man river, that old man river
He mus' know sumpin', but don't say nuthin'
He must know something, but he doesn't say anything
He jes' keeps rollin'
He just keeps rolling along
He don' plant taters, he don't plant cotton
He doesn't plant potatoes or cotton
An' dem dat plants' em is soon forgotten
And those who do plant them are soon forgotten
But ol'man river
But old man river
He jes' keeps rollin' along
He just keeps rolling along
You an' me, we sweat an' strain
You and me, we work hard
Body all achin' an' wracked wid pain,
Our bodies are in pain
Tote dat barge! Lif' dat bale!
Carry that load, lift that bale!
Git a little drunk an' you lands in jail
If you get a little drunk, you'll end up in jail
Ah gits weary an' sick of tryin'
I get tired and sick of trying
Ah'm tired of livin' an' skeered of dyin'
I'm tired of living and scared of dying
Niggers all work on de Mississippi**
Black people all work on the Mississippi
Niggers all work while de white folks play**
Black people all work while white people play
Pullin' dose boats from de dawn to sunset
Pulling those boats from dawn to sunset
Gittin' no rest till de judgement day
Getting no rest until Judgment Day
(Don't look up an' don't look down)
(Don't look up and don't look down)
(You don' dar'st make de white boss frown)
(You don't dare make the white boss frown)
(Bend your knees an' bow your head)
(Bend your knees and bow your head)
(An' pull dat rope until you're dead)
(And pull that rope until you're dead)
Let me go 'way from the Mississippi
Let me go away from the Mississippi
Let me go 'way from de white man boss
Let me go away from the white man boss
Show me dat stream called de river Jordan
Show me that stream called the River Jordan
Dat's de ol' stream dat I long to cross
That's the old stream that I long to cross
Long, low river
Long, low river
Forever keeps rollin'
Continuously keeps rolling
Keeps singin' dis song
Keeps singing this song
Old man river, that old man river
Old man river, that old man river
Long low river
Long low river
You an' me, we sweat an' strain
You and me, we work hard
Body all achin' and wracked wid pain
Our bodies are in pain
Tote dat barge! Lift dat bale!
Carry that load, lift that bale!
Git a little drunk and ya lands in jail
If you get a little drunk, you'll end up in jail
Ah gits weary an' sick o' tryin'
I get tired and sick of trying
Ah'm tired o' livin' and skeered o' dyin'
I'm tired of living and scared of dying
But ol' man river
But old man river
He jes' keeps rollin' along!
He just keeps rolling along!
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave
Written by: Jerome Kern, Oscar Ii Hammerstein
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
flyboy13131
I remember my dad telling me when I was young that he was the greatest live performer he had ever seen. It made me peek up when I’d hear any performance from him . He was one of the greatest performers in his time !
Only a few others like Garland and Ella Fitzgerald could entertain an audience like he could .
Andrew Thompson
The performance is beautiful. Can you not hear how beautifully he sings? Black people loved him, and he helped them. Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, all followed after him.
Ldr Johnson
Timeless let us not forget the beauty of historical recordings, they bring us home again.
GeorgeFluteA
Watching and listening to Jolson and minstrel bands is surely life at its very best
Darragh Duncan
He was a pioneer for equality in the music industry
Margaret Thomas
Incredibly moving!!
Earl Grey
I am so proud to be related to him (he was my grandfather's 1st cousin)
George Prockton
I aways thought of him being the greatest
Kosh's Shadow
My parents were members of the Jolson Society.
Margaret Thomas
Would that be from the Hess Clan or Hesssalolson, or maybe somehow connected to one of his 4 marriages?