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I always considered Al Jolson to be the Mick Jagger of his era, groundbreaking & always giving 100% in concert according to all his contemporaries. I couldn't even watch the YT video because of the title "...Villain" ? WTF!
I always considered Al Jolson to be the Mick Jagger of his era, groundbreaking & always giving 100% in concert according to all his contemporaries. I couldn't even watch the YT video because of the title "...Villain" ? WTF!
Well, I think he has been somewhat demonized due to the Black face thing, but I had read before that MANY Blacks and Blank entertainers were along the streets for his funeral cortege and that most looked on him very favorably. The video is, on balance, quite positive.
I've never understood why people ever did Black face, but I suspect some did it to humiliate, while others did it to compliment.
So this is 90 years ago & is going to look horribly dated to us, but consider what his white contemporaries were doing when they sang, standing rigid in tails with frozen smiles & perfect hair... maybe they would lean to one side occasionally or take a step back. Al must've been a revelation to mainstream vaudeville audiences.
So this is 90 years ago & is going to look horribly dated to us, but consider what his white contemporaries were doing when they sang, standing rigid in tails with frozen smiles & perfect hair... maybe they would lean to one side occasionally or take a step back. Al must've been a revelation to mainstream vaudeville audiences.
Al Jolson is, along with Judy Garland, and Mickey Rooney, among the greatest performers of the last century. He introduced runways down the middle of theatres, so he could run along it, and sing. It must have been fantastic to see him in his prime.
This video is from 90 years ago, and he is great........
It is so funny you mentioned Judy Garland, i almost included her in my reply above as well. Back when I was teenage rock & roller in the 60's watching some show, possibly Ed Sullivan, waiting for my rock act to come on like The Stones or The Doors, Judy Garland was introduced. I associated her with my parents' boring & square outdated pop music tastes.
Now I can't say for sure if I was stoned at the time or not, but I watched her intently for some reason & I began to see her emotion really translate into a dynamic performance, it opened my eyes to a whole new style of music perhaps the same way The Beatles did to my parents, real talent will transcend any style.
It is so funny you mentioned Judy Garland, i almost included her in my reply above as well. Back when I was teenage rock & roller in the 60's watching some show, possibly Ed Sullivan, waiting for my rock act to come on like The Stones or The Doors, Judy Garland was introduced. I associated her with my parents' boring & square outdated pop music tastes.
Now I can't say for sure if I was stoned at the time or not, but I watched her intently for some reason & I began to see her emotion really translate into a dynamic performance, it opened my eyes to a whole new style of music perhaps the same way The Beatles did to my parents, real talent will transcend any style.
Interesting.
I think that there are a lot of people out there, particularly probably younger people, who don't understand that music is -- without question -- evolutionary. Jolson and Cantor evolved into Sinatra, Como, and Martin. Elvis Presley was a fan of Dean Martin's. Later rock acts inherited something from Presley, and so forth.
Thanks for this. I literally grew up on the music of Al Jolson (I'm only 46!) because my dad was such a huge fan of his. I can't tell you how many times as a family we watched The Jolson Story and Jolson Sings Again. In fact, my brother and I would audition for school plays singing Jolson tunes.
This is a great look at why he hasn't endured. I never felt that his "black face" performances were disrespectful. This was a different time and this was the ONLY way he could've delivered Jazz, blues and ragtime to white audiences. Such a sad and disgraceful time.
Yes - he definitely had his "issues" as a person. But what current day celebrity doesn't?
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