Happy Birthday, Al Jolson (b. 26 March 1886)

(SPOKEN)
Mammy...
My little Mammy.
The sun shines east-- the sun shines west--
I know where-- the sun shines best!
It's on my Mammy I'm talkin' about, nobody else's!

(SUNG)
My little Mammy,
My heartstrings are tangled around Alabammy.

(SPOKEN)
Mammy-- Mammy, I'm comin'--
I'm so sorry that I made you wait!
Mammy-- Mammy, I'm comin'!
Oh God, I hope I'm not late!
Look at me, Mammy! Don't you know me?
I'm your little baby!

(SUNG)
I'd walk a million miles
For one of your smiles,
My Mammy!

Comments

[Laura Orem]

Here's the clip from "The Jazz Singer" -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6vl5NpBsT4&feature=related

Watching this again, I was struck by something. Jolson is made up in blackface, like a typical minstrel show performer, but in his delivery, he doesn't use the typical caricatured stereotypes. He is hammy and melodramatic, but that was his style and the style of the age. The blackface is almost perfunctory, a nod to audience expectations. It certainly seems unconnected with his actual performance of the song.

Interesting...