You ain't seen nuthin' yet!

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Q.� Why did a musical about Al Jolson appear in London a few years ago < xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

A.� Al Jolson was a massively popular American showman, possibly the original 'superstar' entertainer. The idea of recreating his legendary live performances proved popular among modern audiences.

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Q.� So what's the story behind this legend

A.� Born Asa Yoelson in Lithuania in 1886, Al Jolson's father was a Rabbi. Despite his strict religious upbringing, and his parents' hope that Asa would follow his father into the church, after the family moved to Washington, Asa quickly followed his elder brother Harry who had gone to New York with ambitions to be an entertainer.

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Asa changed his name to 'Jolson' as his brother had done, adopting the more American name of 'Al' and joined his brother as part of a comedy trio, Jolson Palmer and Jolson, gaining valuable experience in the world of vaudeville entertainment.

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Q.� Is that when Jolson started his famous 'black face' routines

A.� No, that came later, when he left the trio and started a solo career, working as an entertainer and singer in nightclubs in California. While working at a club in San Francisco, Jolson returned for an encore wearing 'black face' makeup, and he sang a few songs with a Cod-Southern accent�- and obtained thee encores. The future of Al Jolson was assured.

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Q.� Hang on, what's 'black face'

A.� White entertainers who wanted to approximate black singers used 'Black Face' make-up. The entertainer would wear black face makeup, except for white around the eyes and mouth, a curly wig, and white gloves.

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Q.� You're kidding! That's racism personified!

A.� Now it is, but you must remember this was America in the last years of the nineteenth, and first years of the twentieth century.�Attitudes to race, and towards black people in general, were very different than they are�now. People saw nothing offensive in such appearances in vaudeville theatres, as evidenced by the massive success gained by Al Jolson. No-one would think such an approach appropriate in today's more enlightened times, but back then, Jolson was the icon of his era�- a reflection of his times, rather than a creator of an image.

Q.� Was Jolson good at what he did

A.� Frankly, he was the best there was. From an early age, Jolson used his considerable ego, energy, and stage presence to great effect. His famous catch-phrase was "You ain't seen nuthin' yet!" and the audiences would always roar their approval, confident that Jolson would stay on stage for hours, singing his own particular brand of mawkish kitsch, which was the talk of the entertainment world at the time. The stage show Bombo in 1921 featured the songs that were to turn Jolson from a mere famous entertainer, into a show business legend�- My Mammy, Toot Toot Tootsie, California Here I Come, and April Showers. Combined with his numerous radio shows, Jolson's fame grew ever larger. People who knew him at the time, claimed that Jolson was a difficult man to work with�- a slave to his monstrous ego, and believing of his own fame, but there was no denying his appeal, or his ability to deliver show-stopping performances on a regular basis.

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Q.� Didn't Jolson make the first talking picture

A.� He did�- again it's a sign of Jolson's fame and influence that the first film made using dialogue was loosely based on his own life. The film was The Jazz Singer, released in 1927, and it catapulted Jolson's fame into the stratosphere, and he embarked on an endless series of concerts and radio shows

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Q.� Did Jolson make any more films

A.� He did, second most famous would be The Singing Fool, a sentimental story about an entertainer who's young son, is dying. The song Sonny Boy� from the film became another legend, not least for Jolson's ability to wring every ounce of pathos out of his performance, both in the film, and during his mammoth stage shows. The kind of over-emotional delivery at which Jolson excelled is again a product of the time�- it would be seen as amusing, or even slightly unpleasant today, but as a style of singing at the time, it was exactly what audiences wanted, and Jolson always delivered what his audiences wanted.

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Q.� How long did Jolson keep going

A.� Jolson kept going until his career ran out of steam in the 1940's. Fervently patriotic, he enjoyed playing shows for American troops throughout the war, and his career received a second wind when The Jolson Story was released in 1946, where he lip-synched for actor Larry Parkes who played him on film. A further�film Jolson Sings Again in the same style was released in 1949.

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Q.� What about his private life

A.� Evidence that Jolson may have been less than easy to live with is found in his four marriages, although with his wives he adopted three children, the boy in the family being nicknamed Sonny Boy by his doting father.

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Q.� When did Al Jolson die

A.� Continuing his passion for entertaining American troops, Jolson adopted a gruelling schedule during the Korean War. In 1950, after returning from playing forty-two shows in just 16 days, Jolson was playing cards with friends, when he felt the onset of a massive heart attack. Always ready with an appropriate ad lib, Jolson announced, "This looks like the end." as he collapsed and died.

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Q.� But his fame lives on

A.� Very much�- Jolson was a massively popular entertainer in his day, and his particular brand of grandstanding show business still finds audiences today, as witnessed by the success of the stage musical based on his life, which played in London and on tour in the late 1990's.

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Al Jolson may have neither known, or cared, about the concept of political correctness, but he knew about entertainment, and he continued to ply his trade with unceasing commitment, until his death. Jolson always thought of himself as a legend in his own lifetime, judging by the success of his life story on stage forty years later, his faith in himself was justified.

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Andy Hughes

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