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Al Jolson: The Decca Years 1945-1950. Sepia Records 1343 (3 CDs).
Al Jolson: The Kraft Music Hall Years 1947-1949. Sepia Records 1349 (3 CDs).
Entertainers whose careers were born in the late 19th century and flourished in the first three decades of the 20th century found multiple avenues to develop and share their talents. Vaudeville and burlesque, musical comedy, ultimately radio and movies, and the burgeoning field of popular recordings proved especially lucrative. However, the early years of recorded sound, particularly in the acoustic era, did not always present these artists at their best. Many are mostly forgotten today except to the most passionate of theatre and music historians and recorded sound buffs. Al Jolson (1885?-1950) stands out among the popular singers and entertainers of that era because, quite simply, his career progressed through every subsequent entertainment medium of the first half of the 20th century, including movies, radio, and, ultimately and briefly, television, not to mention recordings which, by the second half of Jolson's career had improved significantly in technical quality, and performers had adapted to new recording techniques and mastered them.
Jolson, however, presents major problems to us today resulting from his long association with blackface. The practice of white (as well as African American) entertainers donning burnt cork to create exaggerated images of blacks was commonplace, and had been for 75 years by the time Jolson found his first success in the first decade of the 20th century. However, Jolson is arguably the last A-list entertainer to be associated with this practice, which by the mid-20th century was firmly rejected by American performers and audiences as being racist. The fact that Jolson was a notable film performer from the dawn of sound movies and a popular vocalist somewhat saddled with a repertoire of hit songs tied to the blackface minstrelsy era made him the most visible exemplar of this repudiated theatrical tradition.
Billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer" from nearly the start of his career, and continuing until his death in 1950, Jolson's supposed overpowering ego (and what singular entertainer does not possess uncommon self-confidence, at least onstage?) alienated him from some of his peers, though he also exhibited positive qualities. He was brave to the point of recklessness in jumping into...