Only ten songs, on three labels, made it to disk during the dog days of August. But I know that fans will enjoy these summertime Jolson favorites.
The Columbia Recordings
16 Aug 1920: Avalon - This classic Jolson number is credited to Al Jolson and Vincent Rose. Trouble was that if you listen to Puccini's opera Tosca, you will hear an aria that sounds suspiciously familiar. So familiar, in fact, that when Puccini sued, it cost Jolson and Rose $25,000 each. But it was a good investment, as Jolson collected double, for writing and perfoming this song, for the rest of his career. It reached #2 on the Billboard charts for two of the nine weeks it was listed.
04 Aug 1922: I'll Stand Beneath Your Window Tonight And Whistle - Of course, Al Jolson was, along with his other talents, the World's Greatest Whistler. Here is a little novelty number that helps to show off his talent in that arena. Once again, enjoy the turn of lyrics from the roaring twenties.
The Brunswick Recordings
06 Aug 1924: Follow The Swallow - Carl Fenton and his Orchestra backed today's recording session, which included this bouncy Billy Rose number. The public must have followed it, it stayed on the charts for six weeks, reaching the number 3 position.
06 Aug 1924: I Wonder What's Become of Sally - Holding the top spot on the charts for three of the twelve weeks it was listed, this song was destined to become one of Jolson's standards. He would go on to include the song in three of the Kraft Music Hall programs, and one could alway hear the tear in his throat when singing this poignant song.
20 Aug 1928: There's A Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder - Can you believe that the same movie that gave us "Sonny Boy" gave us this cheery number? One of a number of songs that features Jolson's whistling, here he whistles a whole chorus, not just a bridge. The public must have loved it as well, as it reached the number one spot on the charts for two of the thirteen weeks it was up there.
20 Aug 1928: Sonny Boy - The story of how Buddy DeSylva, Lew Brown and Ray Henderson responded to Jolson's request for a song for The Singing Fool, describing the tear jerker of a dying Sonny Boy is legend. Maybe it really happened that way, but this recording of the song, which held the top spot on the Billboard charts for twelve weeks - three months - of the almost five months it was listed, becoming one of Jolson's million seller recordings! Even Jolie kidded the song later in life, often saying, "I wanna tell you about this song Sonny Boy, I don't like to sing it much because a lot of people attach a lot of sentiment to it. It's sentimental alright, but it's corny as a deuce. Only thing it ever did for me, with the royalties I bought a home in Florida; outside of that, nothing!"
The Decca Recordings
10 Aug 1945: Swanee - While many consider the original version of this George Gershwin number on the Permanent Collection page the classic best, it was this Decca recording that turned many on to the voice of the World's Greatest Entertainer. See which one you prefer!
10 Aug 1945: April Showers - If Swanee is one of the numbers fans liked the best, April Showers was Jolie's favorite. Both a theme song and a theme, Al was never in better voice than when singing this song. If you include the opening bars from Kraft Music Hall broadcasts, the number of times he recorded this song was extraordinary. Even without those excerpts, Al Jolson recorded April Showers nineteen times, making this song his most recorded number. It was also the last song he sang, in a broadcast just one month before his death. Again, compare it to the 1921 version in the Permanent Collection.
21 Aug 1946: Avalon - First recorded in 1920, this was another song that Jolie sang as no one else ever could. And why not? He wrote it! Check the story and version from the 1920 version, above, listen to the recordings, and you be the judge.
21 Aug 1946: Anniversary Song - During the filming of The Jolson Story, legend has it that Al was often heard humming a little tune while listening for a playback. Called on it, he recalled the tune, Jan Ivanovici's "Waves of the Danube", as a tune his mother used to hum to him while rocking him to sleep. Deciding to incorporate it into the picture, Jolson wrote the first line, and the lyric was completed by lyricist Saul Chaplin. The tune became the hit new number of the picture.
Alternate Takes
Al Jolson always said that he never sang a song the same way twice. Enjoy an alternate take of one of this month's recordings.
20 Aug 1928: There's A Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder - In this rarely heard alternate version of the famous song from The Singing Fool, Al Jolson is a bit more animated, especially in his charge to the orchestra at the end of the number. Listen to them both, and see which one you prefer!
Unless otherwise noted, transcriptions on this page are from original 78 RPM discs in the personal collection of the webmaster.
