Al Jolson The Jazz Singer

Birth and Immigration to America Al Jolson was born Asa Yoelson in the Jewish Lithuanian town of Srednik. Like many from that era, he did not know his birthday, so he chose May 26, 1886 as his birthday. His father was Moses Reuben Yoelson (1858-1945), a rabbi and a cantor. His mother was Nechama “Naomi” Cantor (1858-1895). He had 4 siblings, one of whom died in early childhood. Like many in that time, Al’s father came to New York City in 1891 to save up enough to bring the rest of the family over to America. In 1894, all the living Yoelson’s came to America and settled in Washington, D.C.

Early Life Unfortunately, in 1895, Naomi Yoelson died, and the Yoelson children were forced to live in an orphanage in Baltimore. Ironically, this would be the same orphanage that would later house George Herman “Babe” Ruth. By 1897, Asa and his brother were singing on street corners for coins using the names “Al” and “Harry”. In 1903, Al got his first professional singing position in a circus. In 1904, Al first performed in black face. In 1906, Al settled in San Francisco and toured on Vaudeville.

Peak Career Al Jolson was at the peak of his career from 1918 to the 1930s. By 1920, Jolson had become the biggest star on Broadway. In 1921, Jolson became the youngest person in America to have a theater named after him. In 1928, Jolson starred in the movie “The Singing Fool” and the soundtrack for that movie was the first American record to sell over 1 million copies. In total, Al Jolson appeared in 25 movies and 13 musicals. Al Jolson had numerous hit songs, including the California State Song “California, Here I Come”. In the 1920s to early 1930s, Al Jolson was the highest paid American performer.

Black Face and Relations with African Americans Al Jolson started performing in black face in 1904. However, Al Jolson was a strong defender of African Americans, and he: Promoted the play by black playwright Garland Anderson, which became the first production with an all-black cast ever produced on Broadway; Brought an all-black dance team from San Francisco that he tried to feature in his Broadway show; Demanded equal treatment for Cab Calloway, with whom he performed a number of duets in his movie ”The Singing Kid”; Regularly socialized with other prominent African American stars of the day. Many historians consider Al Jolson as a driving force in popularizing jazz and blues to white audiences.

Politics and USO Tours in WWII and Korea Al Jolson was politically conservative and sang an election campaign piece Warren G. Harding “Harding, You’re the Man for Us”. He also sang a campaign piece for Republican Calvin Coolidge “Keep Cool with Coolidge”. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Al Jolson became the first American entertainer to perform overseas for U.S. soldiers during WWII. During the Korean War, he travelled to Korea at his own expense (the USO had been disbanded after WWII) and became the first entertainer to perform for troops in the Korean conflict in 1950. He performed 42 shows in 16 days, which may have led to his death in 1950.

Legacy Al Jolson was buried at Hillside Memorial Park in Los Angeles. He has 3 stars on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, one for his contributions to the motion picture industry, one for his contributions to the recording industry and one for his contributions to radio. He has been cited as a musical inspiration for such artists as Bing Crosby, Bob Dylan and David Lee Roth. The U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp in his honor in 1994.