Jackie Wilson Loves Al Jolson?

[Barry]

Was reading about this album yesterday - Jackie's tribute to Al Jolson which apparently has Jackie gushing about Al in the blurb on the flip...seems very odd for a black singer to quote a 'blacked up' white man as his favourite vocalist.

I suppose it could have been the record company's angle to sell it - anyone got one? to see what Jackie says?

[Guest Dave Turner]

Here ya go Barry

https://jolsonville.com/2010/05/26/jackie-wilsons-tribute-to-al-jolson/

[Barry]

Here ya go Barry

https://jolsonville.c...e-to-al-jolson/

Thanks very much Dave.

[Barry]

Sounds real enough not to be record company nonsense - so Jackie really did love Al.

In 1961, Jackie Wilson recorded a tribute album to Al Jolson, ”You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet,” which included the album liner notes below — and which were the only liner notes he ever wrote for an album:

To my way of thinking, the greatest entertainer of this or any other era is the late Al Jolson. Even as a child, I can remember the thrill I always experienced whenever I heard him sing.

I guess I have just about every recording he’s ever made, and I rarely missed listening to him on the radio.

It’s truly unfortunate that television couldn’t have benefited by his talents. Regrettably, I’ve never had the privilege of seeing him perform in person. But even to this day, I am still one of his most avid fans.

During the three years I’ve been making records, I’ve had the ambition to do an album of songs which, to me, represent the great Jolson heritage. I never thought that this ambition would take shape this soon, but thanks to my manager, Nat Tarnopol, without whose faith and foresight I might never be writing this now, my dream has finally become a reality.

With the assistance of conductor-arranger Dick Jacobs, we set about selecting the songs to be recorded. The problem wasn’t so much the choice of only twelve songs, but rather which twelve of the many hundreds of songs that are so closely identified with Jolson should be included. Once this decision was made, the rest was comparatively easy, and the result is “You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet!”

In no way is this album an attempt to imitate Jolson’s style, nor is it an attempt to duplicate his incomparable way with a song. This is simply my humble tribute to the one man I admire most in this business.

With the sincere hope that my contribution will in some way help keep the heritage of Al Jolson alive through the great songs he left behind.

Let me here and now extend my deep appreciation to all those involved in making this album a proud moment for me. I hope you like it!

Gratefully,

Jackie Wilson

Edited November 24, 2012 by Barry

[Robbk]

Ha! Ha! It's really strange to hear Jackie sing "My Yiddishe Mama" ! He sounded just like a cantor in a Synagogue. On first guess, someone might think that Nat Tarnopol used the threat of his strong-armed (unsavoury) friends (you know who I mean) to make Jackie to agree to record this album. But the quality of his singing (emotion and feeling he put in), makes me think that it actually may have been his own idea (or, at least, that he wasn't opposed to it).

[bri pinch]

....and they both, at some point recorded for decca/brunswick.

[Robbk]

....and they both, at some point recorded for decca/brunswick.

I don't think that's a coincidence. That might have been what spawned the project in the first place, rather than Wilson telling Tarnopol or someone at Brunswick that he wanted to record that type of album. I still think it would have been better for us had Tarnopol hadn't pressured Jackie to stay with Brunswick after his first contract was up. If he'd have returned to Gordy at Motown in 1960, history would have been quite different. Wilson's "schmalttzy" material from 1961-65 tossed out, and Holland/Bateman/Gorman, Smokey Robinson, HDH, Stevenson/Hunter, Fuqua/Bristol material and production together with Jackie's singing talent would have produced a lot of very memorable music. Of course, then we might have lost his work with Carl Davis (but, I'd have been willing to take that chance).