International Al Jolson Society

05/31/2026

Here are the Jolson songs that were Number 1 on the charts on this date in history. The songs for May 31 were:

On May 31, 1913, 113 years ago, the number one song in America was Al Jolson's March 17, 1913, recording of "The Spaniard That Blighted My Life," completing its first week on the charts.

On May 31, 1920, 106 years ago, the number one song in America was Al Jolson's January 18, 1920, recording of "Swanee," George Gershwin's first and greatest hit, for the fifth week in a row.

On May 31, 1922, 104 years ago, the number one song in America was Al Jolson's January 17, 1922, recording of "Angel Child," for the fifth week in a row.

Visit the website of the International Al Jolson Society to hear these song played, at https://bit.ly/JolsonNr1songs

05/31/2026

𝑱𝑶𝑳𝑺𝑶𝑵 𝑾𝑬𝑩𝑺𝑰𝑻𝑬 𝑼𝑷𝑫𝑨𝑻𝑬 𝑭𝑶𝑹 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑾𝑬𝑬𝑲

I am not sure how many of you visit the IAJS website on any kind of basis, but I thought you might appreciate knowing what is new on the site this week, and pop over to see the material.

The monthly song page, which contains all of Jolson's commercial recordings from a given month, features the May songs for the last week. Next week, the June recordings will take center stage. Also this week, the April songs remain for a final week, to replaced by May for the month of June.

The radio show this week is a guest appearance by Al Jolson on the Eddie Cantor program of June 4, 1941. On it, Al Jolson sings a number unique in his performances, and that song is also this week's Audio Podcast.

You can see the cover and table of contents of the Spring, 2026, Jolson Journal, and use the Feedback page to let us hear from you with your thoughts on the articles. The Journal is now being printed, and will be mailed out soon to all Full Members of the Society. You still have time to join and get this new edition of our magnificent Journal.

Dai Francis, who was quite popular in the UK, has been added to the Memorializer page on the website, join many other entertainers who perpetuated the legacy of Al Jolson. Check it out!

That's a brief look at this week's updates. Do wander over to the page at https://www.Jolson.org and have a look and a listen.

Comprehensive site about Al Jolson, with text, music and video showing his history, works and legacy; use of blackface, musical innovations, and film work.

05/31/2026

𝑻𝒘𝒐 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒐 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑾𝒂𝒓 𝑰𝑰. 𝑨𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝑽𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒐 𝑷𝒐𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕. 𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒅?
Here is this week's Video Podcast, posted by the International Al Jolson Society, www.jolson.org, which has been viewed more than 9,000 times so far. This is an excerpt of the 04 Jun 1941 Eddie Cantor Program with guest star Al Jolson, illustrated with images of the stars augmented a bit for this program. Jolie did not sing a lot of songs during this great show, but this tribute to Eddie Cantor's wife is a singular gem.

The complete show will be on the website from its posting in May through the next several weeks. This material is only available from the International Al Jolson Society.

Join the IAJS for this, and much more, material of the World's Greatest Entertainer, from our page or website. If you're not yet a member of the IAJS, read about joining the Society at https://bit.ly/JoinIAJS.

You can see all 141 Video Podcasts to date on the Jolson Video Podcast Page at:
https://bit.ly/JolsonVPod

You can also see the the full YouTube Jolson Video Playlist at:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm7sod1u__TxGMnzo8apqrZMz0X7KLIig

Posted by the International Al Jolson Society, www.jolson.org, this...

05/24/2026

Here are the Jolson songs that were Number 1 on the charts on this date in history. The songs for May 24 were:

On May 24, 1920, 106 years ago, the number one song in America was Al Jolson's January 18, 1920, recording of "Swanee," George Gershwin's first and greatest hit, for the fourth week in a row.

On May 24, 1922, 104 years ago, the number one song in America was Al Jolson's January 17, 1922, recording of "Angel Child," for the fourth week in a row.

On May 24, 1924, 102 years ago, the number one song in America was Al Jolson's January 17, 1924, recording of "California, Here I Come!"

Visit the website of the International Al Jolson Society to hear these song played, at https://bit.ly/JolsonNr1songs

05/24/2026

𝐈𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟒𝟐 𝐀𝐥 𝐉𝐨𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐨, 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐥 𝐉𝐨𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!
Posted by the International Al Jolson Society, www.jolson.org, here is an excerpt of the 13 May 1942 Command Performance, USA, broadcast. While the full, 30 minute, broadcast featured a host of celebrities, including Kenny Baker, MItzi Green, and others, this tightly edited clip features a bit of Marlene Dietrich, who was the host, and one of the three songs performed by Al Jolson, "California, Here I Come." Several photos, original and composite, help to set the scene for the program.

The complete show will be on the website from its posting in May through the next several weeks. This material is only available from the International Al Jolson Society.

Join the IAJS for this, and much more, material of the World's Greatest Entertainer, from our page or website. If you're not yet a member of the IAJS, read about joining the Society at https://bit.ly/JoinIAJS.

You can see all 141 Video Podcasts to date on the Jolson Video Podcast Page at:
https://bit.ly/JolsonVPod

You can also see the the full YouTube Jolson Video Playlist at:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm7sod1u__TxGMnzo8apqrZMz0X7KLIig

Posted by the International Al Jolson Society, www.jolson.org, here is an excerpt of the 13 May 1942 Command Performance, USA, broadcast. While the full, 30...

05/17/2026

Here are the Jolson songs that were Number 1 on the charts on this date in history. The songs for May 17 were:

On May 17, 1912, 114 years ago, the number one song in America was Al Jolson's first recording, the December 22, 1911, recording of "That Haunting Melody," completing its second week on top.

On May 17, 1920, 106 years ago, the number one song in America was Al Jolson's January 18, 1920, recording of "Swanee," George Gershwin's first and greatest hit, for the third week in a row.

On May 17, 1922, 104 years ago, the number one song in America was Al Jolson's January 17, 1922, recording of "Angel Child," for the third week in a row.

Visit the website of the International Al Jolson Society to hear these song played, at https://bit.ly/JolsonNr1songs

05/17/2026

"𝑱𝒐𝒍𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏," 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒊𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒄 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒍 𝑱𝒐𝒍𝒔𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒎 𝒃𝒊𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚. 𝑹𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒎, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒖𝒙 𝑹𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒐 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝑱𝒐𝒍𝒔𝒐𝒏'𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎.
Posted by the International Al Jolson Society, www.jolson.org, here is an excerpt of the 22 May 1950 Lux Radio Theatre presentation of "Jolson Sings Again." This edited clip includes William Demarest introducing Al Jolson as he entertained the troops. Songs included in this clip are "Back In Your Own Backyard," "Chinatown, My Chinatown," and "I'm Just Wild About Harry." Several photos from the radio production are in the podcast, along with some vintage Jolson photos appropriate to the material.

The complete show will be on the website from its posting in May through the next several weeks. This material is only available from the International Al Jolson Society.

Join the IAJS for this, and much more, material of the World's Greatest Entertainer, from our page or website. If you're not yet a member of the IAJS, read about joining the Society at https://bit.ly/JoinIAJS.

You can see all 141 Video Podcasts to date on the Jolson Video Podcast Page at:
https://bit.ly/JolsonVPod

You can also see the the full YouTube Jolson Video Playlist at:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm7sod1u__TxGMnzo8apqrZMz0X7KLIig

Posted by the International Al Jolson Society, www.jolson.org, here is an excerpt of the 22 May 1950 Lux Radio Theatre presentation of "Jolson Sings Again." ...

05/17/2026

As of today, there are over 125 short audio podcasts posted, with nine new songs today from the "Jolson Sings Again" broadcast from May 22, 1950. Check them all out, and share them with your friends!

A weekly podcast featuring Al Jolson, The World's Greatest Entertainer, sponsored by the International Al Jolson Society

05/10/2026

Another great article about Al Jolson and "The Wonder Bar," from May 10, 1931.