Rosie, you are my posie
You are my hearts bouquet
Come out here in the moonlight
There's somethin' sweet love I wanna say

Your honey boy I'm waiting
Those ruby lips to greet
Don't be so aggravating
Ma' Blushin' Rosie
Ma' posie sweet

There's a little bunch of sweetness
that I long to call my bride
and believe me I'm not happy
'Less my baby's by my side
Her Baptimal name is rosie
But she puts the rose to shame
and most every night
you'll hear me call her name

Rosie, you are my posie
You are my hearts bouquet
Come out here in the moonlight
There's somethin' sweet love I wanna say

Your honey boy I'm waiting
Those ruby lips to greet
Don't be so aggravating
Ma' Blushin' Rosie
Ma' posie sweet

MA' BLUSHIN' ROSIE
(composer : B.G. De Silva)
Al Jolson

I have been listening to a lot of Al Jolson recently for some reason. He's been dead 55 years, but he's still great. Unfortunately, most people my generation and younger know little or nothing about him except for the fact he was the most prominent entertainer to use the despised blackface makeup (never mind it was the theatrical/minstrel/vaudeville style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and that many entertainers, both black and white, used it) and that he made the "first talking picture," though it was a silent film with recorded singing by Jolson. It's sad, because he was the most influential figure in 20th century music, at least in the first half of the century. Every entertainer since Jolson owes him a huge debt.

It's also unfortunate he's not fully appreciated because his forte was live performance, and he was born too soon to make much of an impact in other media, especially television. He made only 11 movies, but they couldn't capture what Jolson was all about. Perhaps the best introduction to Jolson the entertainer is in the two biopics mentioned previously on this blog, The Jolson Story and Jolson Sings Again, both starring Larry Parks in the role of Jolson. The movies aren't at all accurate in terms of depicting Jolson's life, for if they had been, Jolson would never have cooperated with making the films. He was simply too much of a "no-good son of a bitch," to quote a "friend" of his, entertainer George Jessel, for an honest portrayal. However, the films are extremely entertaining, especially The Jolson Story, one of my favorite films of all time, boasting of two of the greatest soundtracks ever. Jolson was at least lucky enough to have been around during the advent of high-fidelity recording, and these and the Decca recordings made during the same period are the best examples of Jolson's singing available. These may only scratch the surface of what this legendary performer was all about, but they are the best we have.

As for Jolson performing live, if people like Jessel, Cary Grant, George Burns, and Sammy Davis, Jr. could vouch for his greatness, then I have to believe it.