Asa "Al Jolson" Yoelson (born to Jewish immigrants Moshe Reuben Yoelson and… Read Full Bio ↴Asa "Al Jolson" Yoelson (born to Jewish immigrants Moshe Reuben Yoelson and Naomi Etta Cantor - the original family name was Hesselson - in Seredžius, Lithuania on May 26, 1885 or 1886, and died in San Francisco, California on October 23, 1950) was an American singer. He was one of the most popular entertainers of the first half of the 20th century.
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.
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.
When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin' Along
Al Jolson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I heard a robin this mornin'
I'm feelin' happy today
Gonna pack my cares in a whistle
Gonna blow them all away
What if I've been unlucky
Really I ain't got a thing
There's a time when I'll always feel happy
As happy as a king
When the red, red, robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along, along
There'll be no more sobbin', when he starts throbbin' his old sweet song
Ah, wake up, wake up you sleepy head
Get up, get up, get out of bed
Cheer up, cheer up, the sun is red
Live, love, laugh and be happy
What if I've been blue now I'm walkin' through fields of flowers
Rain may glisten but still I listen for hours and hours
I'm just a kid again doin' what I did again singin' a song
When the red, red, robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along
When the red, red, robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along, along
There'll be no more sobbin', when he starts throbbin' his old sweet song
Ah, wake up, wake up you sleepy head
Get up, get up, get out of bed
Cheer up, cheer up, the sun is red
Live, love, laugh and be happy
What if I've been blue now I'm walkin' through fields of flowers
Rain may glisten but still I listen for hours and hours
I'm just a kid again doin' what I did again singin' a song
When the red, red, robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along
I'm feelin' happy today
Gonna pack my cares in a whistle
Gonna blow them all away
What if I've been unlucky
Really I ain't got a thing
There's a time when I'll always feel happy
As happy as a king
When the red, red, robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along, along
There'll be no more sobbin', when he starts throbbin' his old sweet song
Ah, wake up, wake up you sleepy head
Get up, get up, get out of bed
Cheer up, cheer up, the sun is red
Live, love, laugh and be happy
What if I've been blue now I'm walkin' through fields of flowers
Rain may glisten but still I listen for hours and hours
I'm just a kid again doin' what I did again singin' a song
When the red, red, robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along
When the red, red, robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along, along
There'll be no more sobbin', when he starts throbbin' his old sweet song
Ah, wake up, wake up you sleepy head
Get up, get up, get out of bed
Cheer up, cheer up, the sun is red
Live, love, laugh and be happy
What if I've been blue now I'm walkin' through fields of flowers
Rain may glisten but still I listen for hours and hours
I'm just a kid again doin' what I did again singin' a song
When the red, red, robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along
The lyrics to Al Jolson's "When The Red Red Robin Comes A Bob Bob Bobbin' Along" are a motivational and uplifting reminder to wake up, get moving, and enjoy the day. The repeated refrain of "when the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along, there'll be no more sobbin' when he starts throbbin' his old sweet song" conveys the idea that when we embrace the joy and beauty around us, everything else seems to fade away.
The verses go on to encourage the listener to wake up from their slumber, get out of bed, and enjoy the world. The lines "I'm just a kid again doing what I did again, singing a song" suggest that the song's narrator is recalling a time when they were carefree and happy, and the red robin's song is helping them to recapture that feeling.
Overall, "When The Red Red Robin Comes A Bob Bob Bobbin' Along" is an optimistic ode to the simple pleasures of life, and a reminder that even when things seem tough, there is always something beautiful and joyful to be found.
Line by Line Meaning
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along
When the joyous red robin bobs along on its way
There'll be no more sobbin' when he starts throbbin' his old sweet song
The bird's sweet melody will lift our spirits and put an end to our sorrows
Wake up, wake up you sleepy head
Rouse yourself from sleep, oh drowsy one
Cheer up, cheer up the sun is red
Find happiness, for the sun rises red and bright
Live, love, laugh and be happy
Embrace life, love, laughter, and happiness
What if I were blue, now I'm walking through fields of flowers
Even if I were sad, I would find joy in walking through a field of flowers
Rain may glisten but still I listen for hours and hours
Even in the presence of rain, I am captivated by the bird's song and listen for hours on end
I'm just a kid again, doing what I did again, singing a song
The bird's song transports me back to my childhood, and I feel like a carefree kid once more
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin'
When the vibrant robin bobs along on its way
Along, along, along, along, along.
Continuing on its merry way.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Harry Woods
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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John Titor
I heard a robin this mornin',
I'm feelin' happy today,
Gonna pack my cares in a whistle
And blow them all away!
What if I been unlucky,
Feel I ain't got a thing?
There's a time I always feel happy,
As happy as a king!
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along, along
There'll be no more sobbin' when he starts throbbin' his old, sweet song
Wake up, wake up you sleepy head,
Get up, get up get out of bed,
Cheer up, cheer up the sun is red,
Live, love, laugh and be happy,
What if I've been blue, now I'm walking through fields of flowers
Rain may glisten but still I listen for hours and hours,
I'm just a kid again doing what I did again, singing a song,
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along.
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along, along
There'll be no more sobbin' when he starts throbbin' his old, sweet song
Wake up, wake up you sleepy head,
Get up, get up get out of bed,
Cheer up, cheer up the sun is red,
Live, love, laugh and be happy,
What if I've been blue, now I'm walking through fields, of flowers
Rain may glisten but still I listen for hours and hours,
I'm just a kid again doing what I did again, singing a song,
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along.
Christina Thompson
My grandma used to sing this to my mom, and my mom to me, and now I sing it to my kids! Love this!!!❤❤
Helen Day
The best version of this song I know. His voice has such warm emotion and there is a sense of coming out of a dark tunnel (there is a kind of on-the-edge weepiness in his voice that adds to this sense) into, at last, a happier time "I was feeling blue, now I'm walking through fields of flowers"
JudgeJulieLit
And he imbues it with buoyant, optimistic energy
teddycuthbert
For all most folks prefer his later voice for its smoothness and depth, I quite love his earlier recordings, for they capture the way that he had to sing to fill the theatres to the back row without any microphone! His younger voice is so unique to him; a ‘wailing’ quality. I once heard some one say that it almost sounds as though he is on the edge of weeping.
Carlos Jorge Martínez
No
Harold Parratt
Yes!
Dan Leonard STL
Oh man! This version is so great! Was one of my grandpa's favorites. Now I see why. I'm a local entertainer and just recently learned this song. Like many others, I recall my mom singing just the main line while tapping me on the head or something lol. Now, while learning it, it's bringing great emotions, including tears, I can't explain it but I hope it gets you too!
AnglicanXn
I sing this song to my young granddaughters (not as well as Jolson, to be sure!). They love it! I'm continuing a tradition; my dad used to sing it to us.
Bruce Lee • hace 21 años
I sang this to my great great granddaughter when she was 6 in 2008, and my great great grandson whe he was 2 in 2002. I was born in 1920, and this is one of my favorites 1920s Song!
AnglicanXn
@Bruce Lee • hace 21 años Congratulations on making it to the century mark! Best wishes for continued health and enjoyment of your generations of grandchildren.