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1 of 1- Richard Baker
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- From: Kenilworth, Warwickshire, Engl
- Registered: 20/11/2010
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New Al Jolson release
It cannot be denied that Al Jolson tends to split opinions - many view him as a somewhat obnoxious person and then there is the matter, viewed from the modern perspective, of the blackface performances with some songs descending to unfortunate caricature. He did however have considerable verve in presentation of his songs and was vastly popular at the peak of his career, which was revived by the two films The Jolson Story (1945) and Jolson Sings Again (1949).
Bing performed with him and acknowledged his influence, and they appeared on each others radio shows.
Sepia, who have done much to keep Bing's recordings before the public, are issuing a 3CD set of all Jolson's Decca recordings from 1945 to 1950, including some unissued takes, next month, September.
Details on their website, here 
- jeremyrose
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Re: New Al Jolson release
Thanks for alerting us to that release, Richard...
By the time of the earliest of these Sepia sides, Jolson had already been in “the business” for more than 40 years, initially projecting his apparently incredibly loud and piercing voice into an acoustic recording horn in those pre-electric days.
It never ceases to amaze me that by the time of “The Jolson Story” and “Jolson Sings Again”, Jolson had adapted his vocal style - at least in the ballads - to accommodate the revolutionary, intimate electric microphone style initiated by Mr Crosby. Surely the ultimate case of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.
- Richard Baker
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Re: New Al Jolson release
"Archiefit", on some levels I agree with you - you cannot rewrite history and judge the past by the levels of today.
My reference to the character of Jolson, quite apart from the matters associated with blackface, grew out of other aspects - such as his taking over time in shows at the expense of other players (even his wife) - such as the demands that he be credited with songs that he had not contributed to in any material way as a condition of performing them.
Read any objective biography (including those of other stars in which he is mentioned) and some very unattractive aspects of character emerge. It is clear that he was totally self absorbed and self regarding with no regard to others.
I agree a great entertainer.
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Thread Starter- David Lobosco
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Re: New Al Jolson release
Archiefit wrote:
Yes, I've read biographies on Jolson, and I agree (if you can believe these things, which I do take with a grain of salt too) yes, Jolie wasn't a prince of a fellow off-stage. That's what I meant when I mentioned even if others in his personal life suffered. He was not a real nice guy, to put it simply. But, on stage, he really couldn't be beat. Actually, it's kind of sad really, that such a great joyful fellow on stage couldn't have brought a little joy to himself or others he knew off stage.
Hi Lee. I agree with you. Basically stars like Jolson gave so much for the audience that when the lights and music and applause was over their life was empty. A lot of stars were like that like Sinatra and Dick Haymes.
As for blackface, I might not want to watch it in movies, but it does not affect his voice and the talent he had. Despite the blackface stars like Jolson and Eddie Cantor deserve to be remembered. They were true talents!