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.
Without a Song
Al Jolson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Without a song the road would never bend
When things go wrong a man ain't got a friend
Without a song
That field of corn would never see a plow
That field of corn would be deserted now
A man is born but he's no good no how
Without a song
And I'll get along as long as a song, strong in my soul
I'll never know what makes the rain to fall
I'll never know what makes that grass so tall
I only know there ain't no love at all
Without a song
I've-a got my trouble and woe and, sure as I know, the Jordan will roll
And I'll get along as long as a song, strong in my soul
I'll-a never know what makes that rain to fall
I'll never know what makes the grass so tall
I only know there ain't no love at all
Without a song
The lyrics to "Without A Song" by Al Jolson paint a picture of how important music is to our lives. The first two lines, "Without a song the day would never end, Without a song the road would never bend" suggest that music is a fundamental part of existence. It talks about how bleak life can be without the simple pleasures of music. The following line "When things go wrong a man ain't got a friend" suggests that music can be a constant companion in times of trouble. It can offer solace and comfort when there is no one else around.
The next few lines of the song allude to the importance of music in agricultural life. Jolson sings "That field of corn would never see a plow, That field of corn would be deserted now" which demonstrates how music has been an essential part of the lives of farmers and workers in rural areas. Without music, these fields would have been barren and unmanaged. Finally, in the last verse, the lines "I only know there ain't no love at all, Without a song" suggest that music is essential for love too.
Overall, the song captures the essential role that music plays in our lives, offering solace and companionship in difficult times, helping us celebrate in joy and festivities, and bringing us together.
Line by Line Meaning
Without a song the day would never end
If there were no songs, the day would seem long and never come to an end
Without a song the road would never bend
Music is what adds rhythm to one's life and gives it a unique twist
When things go wrong a man ain't got a friend
At tough times, when no one seems to be around, music is a man's only friend
Without a song
The song 'Without A Song,' is emphasizing the importance of music
That field of corn would never see a plow
Music has the power to change things and make things happen
That field of corn would be deserted now
Without music, nothing would grow or prosper in life
A man is born but he's no good no how
Music is what makes life worth living, without it, life would be dull and boring
I got my trouble and woe but, sure as I know, the Jordan will roll
In times of hardship, music gives hope and solace
And I'll get along as long as a song, strong in my soul
Music is what makes one resilient in difficult times
I'll never know what makes the rain to fall
Music is a mystery, it has the power to make one feel things for no reason
I'll never know what makes that grass so tall
Music has the power to create and make things possible
I only know there ain't no love at all
Love is incomplete without music, it is what completes and fuels it
I've-a got my trouble and woe and, sure as I know, the Jordan will roll
No matter what life throws at you, music is what can give you the strength to overcome it
I'll-a never know what makes that rain to fall
Music is unexplainable, yet it has the power to move mountains and make one feel alive
I'll never know what makes the grass so tall
Music is what adds magic and beauty to life
I only know there ain't no love at all
Without music, love lacks vitality and passion
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, MUSIC.INFO FINLAND OY, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Edward Eliscu, Billy Rose, Vincent Youmans
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Camila Cotrim
I love his voice ❤️
Tom Hockin
Nice! -never heard this before. Unusual to hear his voice in high fidelity.
Margaret Thomas
Another great Jolie! Thanks for Keeping his music alive!
CatsPjamas1
Thank you for your kind comment!
Barry I. Grauman
I believe the song was written to "plug" the movie (a real "weeper", which was Margaret Sullvan's last film), of which Jolson gave a "rave recommendation" in newspaper ads at the time. One of my personal favorites....
William Robinson
Jolson....Americas first Elvis.....
Jorge Bersabe
Indeed, a Proto-Elvis, basically Elvis before Elvis.
Barry I. Grauman
Orchestra and chorus under the direction of Gordon Jenkins.
Bruce Kogan
Both the film and song were great. Incidentally the film was Margaret Sullavan's last.
Donna Weller
This one is so good. Thsnks