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.
There's A Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder
Al Jolson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The why and the wherefore
Is someone I care for
I'm yellin', I'm tellin' folks everywhere
I know that she loves me
So what do I care
And a sky of blue above
Oh the sun shines bright, the world's all right
'Cause I'm in love
There's a rainbow around my shoulder
And it fits me like a glove
Let it blow and storm, I'll be warm
'Cause I'm in love
Hallelujah, how the folks'll stare
When they see that great big solitaire
That my little sugar
My little sugar baby is goin' a-wear
There's a rainbow around my shoulder
And a sky of blue above
And I'm shouting so the world will know
That I'm in love
Get hot!
There's a rainbow around my shoulder
And a sky of blue above
Oh, the sun shines bright, the world's all right
'Cause I'm in love
There's a rainbow around my shoulder
And it fits me like a glove
Let it blow and storm, I'll be warm
'Cause I'm in love
Hallelujah, how the folks'll stare
When they see that great big solitaire
That my little sugar
Baby, baby, baby, baby, she's goin' a-wear
There's a rainbow around my shoulder
And a sky of blue above
And I'm shouting so the world will know
That I'm in love
The song There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder by Al Jolson is a classic song about the euphoria and joy that comes with being in love. The opening lines immediately express the singer's happiness and elation, hinting that he has recently fallen in love. He is walking on air because he cares for someone, and he is telling everyone about it. The happiness he feels is so overwhelming that he doesn't care about anything else.
There's a sense of hope and optimism in the lyrics as well, expressed through the metaphor of a rainbow. A rainbow is a universal symbol of hope and promise, and the singer sees it around his shoulder, suggesting that love has come his way and he is basking in its warmth. The 'sky of blue above' simultaneously represents the possibility that the future holds and the present happiness that love brings.
The lyrics also contain a hint of braggadocio. The singer mentions that everyone will stare when they see the "great big solitaire" that his "little sugar baby" is going to wear. This line conveys the idea that the singer has found a woman that other people covet and desire, and he is proud to show her off.
Overall, 'There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder' is a joyful and uplifting love song that celebrates the power of love to bring happiness and hope.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm happy, so happy, walkin' on air
I feel incredibly joyous and light-hearted
The why and the wherefore
The reason for my happiness
Is someone I care for
Is because I deeply care for someone
I'm yellin', I'm tellin' folks everywhere
I'm ecstatic and can't help but tell everyone I see
I know that she loves me
Because I am aware of her love for me
So what do I care
I am unconcerned about anything that could bring me down
There's a rainbow around my shoulder
I feel like I'm encircled by something incredibly beautiful
And a sky of blue above
The sky is clear and blue
Oh the sun shines bright, the world's all right
Everything feels great because the sun is shining
'Cause I'm in love
I am very much, completely enamored with someone
And it fits me like a glove
This wonderful feeling fits me perfectly
Let it blow and storm, I'll be warm
Even if there are external problems or difficulties, I will still be happy
Hallelujah, how the folks'll stare
People will stare at me in awe
When they see that great big solitaire
When they see the large diamond ring on my loved one's finger
That my little sugar
A term of endearment to describe my loved one
My little sugar baby is goin' a-wear
My loved one will be wearing it
And I'm shouting so the world will know
I'm so thrilled that I want everyone to know!
That I'm in love
I am fully in love
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management
Written by: Billy Rose, Dave Dreyer, Al Jolson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
james chatterton
Thanks so much for sharing. Only 33 views, I guess us Jolson fans are fading away. To me he was the greatest.
harryfaber
Great stuff