Al Jolson - Swanee (1920)

[guilhermepires]

cabulouso.

[SatchmoSings]

I'm sick-and-tired of people complaining about Jolson and blackface.

It was an accepted performance standard of the day and that his films are in limited circulation because of this is something I find totally unacceptable.

In many ways, Jolson was not a great human being; he was about one of the most self-centered and egotistical entertainers of all time but one thing he wasn't, was a racist; no way.

[apcchart]

The eldest song in the Alltime Popclassics Chart 2011 edition #17: This year # 14071

[SonsOfLiberty65]

lol mel gibson in south park sang this song

[maxiemom1]

He did everything he could to promote black artists in his shows and others, etc. When he died, his funeral was attended by just about every black performer in Hollywood. Also, it must be noted that the ONLY white stars' home blacks were welcome in as guests in the 30's was that of Jolson and wife Ruby Keeler.

[maxiemom1]

Once again we have IGNORANT people accusing a performer from by-gone days of being a racist because he employed blackface.. WHY THE HELL DON'T SOME OF YOU DOLTS DO SOME RESEARCH BEFORE YOU WRITE YOUR CHARACTER ASSASINATIONS? Jolson worked for civil rights BEFORE there was a cvil rights movement!

[julbim]

Al Jolson was absolutely not being derogatory to black people. In less politically correct times he was merely adopting the minstrel guise. In the film "Holiday Inn" in the early forties, Bing Crosby, who adored Louis Armstrong and the black jazz music, did a blackface routine and as late as the 70s BBC tv had a programme, a very enjoyable show, called The Black and White Minstrels. Everyone deep down knows that black people have influenced with their almost natural genius popular music.

[naokiyyyyy]

great !

i like it. (i am japanese)

[PisceanBeautyy]

I can't comment on whether Al Jolson was racist, but to argue that blackface and minstrel shows weren't racist is delusional. I'm not sure why people are denying that there was no racism in the 1920's and that people claiming racism are being "politically correct". Anyone with common sense would not deny that America was not a very racist place in those times.

[PisceanBeautyy]

@PisceanBeautyy That should say "anyone with common sense would not deny that America was a very racist place in those times"

[X0TangoX0]

Anything else you got from the Ouja Board?

[lsimmo78]

I was attracted to this song when I saw an episode of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and the lead character Larry David sung it at a karaoke night. The real version is full of character and a real delight to listen to

[sweetiepea13]

he died before my parents were born!

[mrrossjonathan]

@sweetiepea13 yet his music is greater then whatever they play today. It has to be really good (or what they call "bad") for me not to scream.

[100689kafrin]

you are all so judgemental. can it just be it is what it is.

[GokuThe80sMan]

79 people are from the future

[sammykins2006]

I love this old music, I was born in the wrong era.

[edtx1949]

we can't judge yester year with todays interpetration.

[isuckaman]

Al Jolson had "soul".

[cursiver]

lady gaga is a racist,

[charliebubblesoar]

@cursiver is it because she stole everything from grace jones just like the white man stole rock n' roll and the blues from the black man?

[benikage666]

This music is just cool for some reason. I first heard of this guy on the Simpsons lol, and I was interested.

[deucesinger]

settle down people,,,whew!,,, i don't know if he was racist or not, but,, i came to this site to see comments about what a great singer he was. if he was,, or wasn't,,(racist)wouldn't make him a better or worse singer inmy book,,, a movie company paid him to play the part,,,, & he took it & got paid to do it, you would to,,,,(if you could sing & act) i wouldn't hate motown if i found out lots of the performers hated whites,,,which i'm sure some probably did!,,settle down & enjoy!

[FollowersofDamu]

This guy is pathetic. I'm a white supremacist and even I find this guy offensive! I wish he got assassinated.

[rosybaby613]

@FollowersofDamu - idiot! this guy was an entertainer, and made films of what was socially acceptable at the time. He was a Jew and was conforming to what the people wanted, not a white supremacist. And its not exactly something to be proud of, hating other races because of their skin colour!

[rosybaby613]

@FollowersofDamu - idiot! this guy was an entertainer, and made films of what was socially acceptable at the time. He was a Jew and was conforming to what the people wanted, not a white supremacist. And its not exactly something to be proud of, hating other races because of their skin colour!

[Yamat0man]

Lithuanian Jews were the only ones to stand up against the creation of ultra orthodox Hassidism in the 17 Century, and probably were the first to think of returning and recreating Israel in a secular non-Messianic manner but did not have the courage to do it, hundreds of years before modern Zionism.

[Yamat0man]

And Lithuania was part of the Duchy of Poland not Russia. That is the other tendency. (He left before the Russian Revolution).

[Yamat0man]

That is absolute nonsense that he was the first Jew to openly perform, there is this extreme tendency to minimize Jews, that one day we will see its extent. One generation persecutes, and all previous generations are forgotten (the nature of Roman British censorship). Jews dominated Vaudeville prior the turn of Jolson's century, and have been openly performing since the 15 Century on this continent. The rare remaining evidence is Emma Lazurus' inscription chosen in 1882 openly Jewish and proud.

[Stlouisswagg]

He's a product of his day..as a black guy I cant help but feel a little offended but most Vaudville acts blacked up...gr8 song thought...

[sfsuk19]

Before anyone condems Jolson as racist they need to read up on why Jolson performed in blackface, his perspective on the music he performed and the people who created it. It may also help to educate yourself on what fellow black musicians and scholars have said about Jolson. I think all of these things will help enlighten you to the spirit of this performance.

[LaurLaurtheNEKO]

We were watching this in Music today, and people were making fun of it and saying he sucked and all this shit. I felt like I was the only person appreciating it. I thought this sounded beautiful. People these days with there mainstream shit. Like the Black Eye Peas don't suck? C'mon.. :l

[RoninAvenger]

@LaurLaurtheNEKO teenagers today are afraid of singing talent, they always will be. they've grown up with computers singing for the "artist"

[thekiki2539]

I love this song! :)

[HeinrickXI]

SUPER !!!!!!!

[DestinyyDisater]

Its what he did, what he got famous for.

Stop talking about it and just be glad he came into Broadway.

[telecasterhst69]

Everything is racist. No one can take a joke. We're all bigots, blah blah blah. People need to get over themselves. The reason why there are sterotypes is because alot of them are true and that goes for everybody. Nobody can comment on anything anymore for fear it "racist" or "politically incorrect". The world is turning into a bunch of wimps.

[putty1994]

Al Jolson wasn't racist when he did blackface he did it as joke to show how stupid racism is

[harley333man]

@putty1994 Do you have evidence for this assertion? Blackface started in the late 1700s and was common by the mid 1800s. Al was just doing what was fashionable, no different from the performers of any other era.

[putty1994]

@harley333man I was defending him perhaps you didn't read my comment properly i was saying that he wasn't racist so next please my comment properly before responding

[harley333man]

@putty1994 No, I read your comment properly, and certainly don't believe he was being racist. I don't believe there was any commentary intended by his blackface, pro or anti-racism. It just appears to have been the fashion at the time; for many years before, and many years after. The BBC aired "The Black and White Minstrel Show" until 1972, with the men in blackface. Just the way it was before the PC liberal mafia took over the world. (And yes, the last bit is meant as a joke!)

[darius595]

@putty1994 he was a great entertainer but he wasn't perfect; you don't have to admire everything a performer does. he didn't do the blackface as some sort of antiracist statement, that's a pretty big stretch.

[nuttymanyelismate]

@putty1994 He loved black music and respected the people who originated this style!

My father, who passed away 2 days ago, loved Al Jolsen, and had many black friends. Al Jolsen was an incredible singer, and a super star of his time.

I will be playing Mammy at my Dads funeral on the 3rd of jan at his funeral, as this song he used to sing to his mammy.

I love you Dad. And we miss you with all are heart. Rest peacefully with Al Jolsen singing to yo for ever. God bless Daddyxxxxxxxxx

[TaleOfValors]

@putty1994 He didn't do it to show how stupid racism is...but it was absolutely accepted in his time so its more or less fine.

[BlackDog7697]

I know everybody thinks of Al Jolson when they think of this song, but I think of George Gershwin.

[CGJUGO80]

music used to be such a passion delivered from the heart.. when you heard a wonderful voice you knew it was God given...not like nowadays...

[ZAPDUNGAA]

He was a conceited,,obnoxious..ham! But damn dat boy could sure sing!

[HernanWood]

It's always nice to remember the sound that my father probably heard when he was fifteen years old only. I can imagine what he felt when he heard these songs. And, at last, Al Jolson was fantastic!

[lemkowitz1]

@HernanWood I have enjoyed all these remarks about Al Jolson,,I was born in 1919 in Baltimore and in 1930

I was 11 and heard Mr. Jolson on the radio WEAF ( radio call letters) and it was thrilling then as it is now to hear it on this wonderful thing you tube

[rfm2ckt]

@lemkowitz1 If you were born in 1919, that would make you 92... not 72 as your channel profile states. If you are 92 and using a computer... congratulations! I am 58, and can barely manage.

[omegaprime06]

al jolso was a musical genius and just because he wore black makup people cencor the jolso story i mean that is bullsit seriously people take political corrretness over history in the media. its happened you cant run from it so people should learn about racism in the past so they know why it was bad and leave people like al jolson who had no racial intent when he did black face alone

[omegaprime06]

al jolso was a musical genius and just because he wore black makup people cencor the jolso story i mean that is bullsit seriously people take political corrretness over history in the media. its happened you cant run from it so people should learn about racism in the past so they know why it was bad and leave people like al jolson who had no racial intent alone

[gullreefclub]

It comes from the reasoning that it is more important to be "politically correct" than historically accurate. It is why schools in England purposely avoid teaching about the Holocaust or about Slavery; because it might make some children feel "Alienated" or it may "offend' someone. We are heading for major future trouble if we all cannot be honest about our past. History class should never to pretend to be pretty and cute instead it should be brutally honest and truthful

[gullreefclub]

It comes from the reasoning that it is more important to be "politically correct" than historically accurate. It is why schools in England purposely avoid teaching about the Holocaust or about Slavery; because it might make some children feel "Alienated" or it may "offend' someone. We are heading for major future trouble if we all cannot be honest about our past. History class should never to pretend to be pretty and cute instead it should be brutally honest and truthfull

[menace391]

in choir we are going to write a portfolio piece in Gorge Gershwin

[AnneBowen1]

Syzgy60, I know I'm going to regret this but I just HAVE to ask.

What in the HELL are you talking about and what does any of that have to do with Al Jolson and "Swanee?"

[AnneBowen1]

I only ever got to see one minstrel show performed on a stage when I was a little kid (1949!) I happen to have a passion for percussion instrument music and there was plenty of that and really superb. I enjoyed the songs very much. The sad thing about minstrel shows is that -- even after taking out the raunchy, offensive stuff (like black face and politically incorrect jokes), there still would have been a lot of good music left. It's too bad the baby got dumped out with the bathwater.

[Syzygy60]

1st off freeloaders,u will die sooner if u don't get off the couch,I am also speaking to myself,let's have some respect for ourselves,don't go cappin' somons ass to get a salary,let's support america and Free Enterprise,no not the Space Ship...or the aircraft carrier...may I continue...lost my thought.hold on...oh yeah,"Buy and Work American" Unions take a pay cut u sacks o shit,we see u standing around,u don't fool the working man,maybe in Europe,not here!Vote Constitution

[Syzygy60]

NBC / GE / IRAN

[Syzygy60]

know who the "REAL" liars are

[Syzygy60]

instead of asking people to have stronger skins,our society ask us to be weaker to acomadate the lowest on the totem pole,communism brings wealthy ppl down to poor levels instead of Capitalism which raises the poor out of poverty if they r willing to work

[14rockshard]

best song ever

[wimpyweirdoworld]

@14rockshard not even close LIKE A G6

[DeLorean4]

Hahahaha! This rendition is so hilarious compared to the 1940s renditions... nearly sounds like a parody. What amazes me most is that Al's voice sounds just as crisp as on an electrical recording unlike the band that's severely affected by the accoustic recording method.

[baskorge]

i still cant belive this song was made in 10 minutes

[CGJUGO80]

@baskorge how about that it's 90 years old? i've listen to some of my dad's yugoslavian records from the 50's//but DAMN this is old

[baskorge]

my choir teacher played this for us and it awsome

[hnksnw]

I read he was making 2 grand a week in 1914 that is some really tall paper for back then.

[asdasd439]

@hnksnw 2 grand a week is pretty good money now, think about how much it would have been then

[doginstine]

niggers did do balckface too. Bert Williams was one.

[redredreds100]

@doginstine something about that N word, that sends shudders does everyone's spine, and really fears anyone who would say it, because, the likes who say it, are of low intelect, have lousy parents, or are just plain american

[madamerotten]

@redredreds100 There are PLENTY of "plain Americans" who detest racism. YOU are being as ignorant as the worst racists by categorizing all American people in this way.

[92Funny]

this be my jam

[Birdboy029]

@92Funny LOL!!!

[Gandalfgrey93]

Watch the movie " The Jolson Story ". Then Jerry Lewis won't spank your Ass! :)

[gferrick]

We are looking back 80 to 90 to 100 years thru our 21st Century Eyes. Al for his time, liked Black People and probably had no intention in his "turn of the century mind" of insulting Blacks. He was Jewish and probably had his share of intolerance directed at him( possibly the Keeler family as an example). I think possibly he felt a kinship with Blacks. This was a different time and Blackface was a theatrical tradition.

[Applebaum]

He was racist, it was the norm to Racist in his day.

regardless of whatever is said by anyone else.

[steeky147]

Racist my arse... he helped many black performers at the start of their careers and some of them are now legends...

[TheSamara89kitten]

@Applebaum im 19 and even i know that you're a complete idiot or a dumbass troll. shut up and die.

[bhoy029]

@Applebaum He wasn't a racist you piece of shit, he spent most of his life trying to help back acts. Its sad how an asshole like you can write shite about a good honest man.

[7akegarasu]

素晴らしい。

この音源に出会えて、幸せです。

因みに、日本の昭和時代の歌手「江利チエミ」が歌っているのもア­ップロードされてますので、観てね。

[gferrick]

Al was not a racist. There's the great story of him with Eubie Blake and his partner Noble Sissle. They had been refused service in a restaurant and Al heard about it. He offered to take them back to restaurant as his guests. However, they declined saying they didn't want to cause further trouble. So Al went and picked them up in his Limo, took them to a delicatessen, loaded up picnic baskets of all kinds of food and the three went out driving and spent the night eating and socializing.

[Applebaum]

@gferrick and then blacked his face up and sang 'Mammy' ??.

you can feed, fuck, eat socialise or put someone in a limo that you believe is inferior to you thats no proof of not being racist....and you can definately don an image that degrades, dehumanises and humiliates black people....whilst capitalisng off their music and be racist.

black people did not do 'white face' did they

[abukamoon]

@Applebaum They didn't "do white face", but they got their hair processed. Even today, we see black people walking around with rags on their heads as if they just came from the process parlor.

I don't think this is racist. What I find racist is black people portrayed as gangsters and drug dealer. I am referring to the "rap artists" who are examples of the worst element. These people make all black people look bad when kids buy their garbage.

[giloubreizh]

Du pur bonheur! Il y a eu, sur Youtube, le film, c'était VERY MIAM. Supprimé. Please! laissez-nous goûter à Swanee! C'est trop bon!

[fireboltttt]

this video is gay, bring back the 80s!

[moosekarloff]

The minstrel show featuring blackface was the most popular form of theatrical entertainment in America until the advent of vaudeville. It was a means of bringing African-American musical ideas to audiences where black performers could not appear. Of course, it picked up some negative overtones due to the typical dimwittedness of American audiences. But, it was at core an homage to a musical tradition, not an endorsement of racism.

[kachzvi]

'Jolie' actually interpolated Swanee into "Sinbad" in 1919 and this is a columbia records recording. Jolson, we seem to now believe, was born in 1885.

[AngelaRed]

This song is 90 years old this year!!

[TempusSans]

Old people music!

[berrydorky4]

we call my cat squwanee!!

so its funny =p

[janfreidun]

is this the same theme as tony sheridan's swanee river?

[teewoods]

My fav AL Song :)

[1940semochild]

Fanny Brice too

[margotdarby]

@edmundusrex| "the first openly Jewish man"...what an odd choice of words. What about Weber and Fields, they were pretty big vaudeville stars. Sarah Bernhardt had a following too, I hear. And then there's...

[infamousxmono]

The Nethercutt Collection in Sylmar, CA plays you this track when they demo this crazy machine they got. Its a giant pre-jukebox music player thats got 20 different instruments in it rigged up pnuematically. its pretty epic.

[lipdiddler]

What is, The Nethercutt Collection ? I lived in Sylmar during the late 60s and most of the 70s. Is it near the Merle Norman building ?

[PisceanBeautyy]

What the fuck are you all talking about?!? Enjoy the God damned song!!!

[amceagle1]

Goatface 1000,

Our new God, Savior of the world, "Obomunist" leader with those criminals headed by Pelosi, are YOUR saviors, not mine!. They're to be squashed! I'm a free thinking Federalist. True to our founding fathers. B.O. want to destroy liberty but sits at the seat of our government. They need to be brought down..voted out. I'm a racist. I HATE anyone who comes between me and liberty. Folks who want to remake the movie without blackface ARE the true racists with OBama the leader.

[MrPontiusPilate]

You're such a child.

[MrPontiusPilate]

And good spelling is a constant struggle against people like you. You spelled the following words wrong...

You're, destroy, and Pelosi.

It seems like words with more than one syllable are hard for you.

[cocacolarar]

this is internet. not school/work.

and u did seem 2 understand him tho?

peeps need 2 stop telling peoples that they type wrong. its not like their gettin graded

[MrPontiusPilate]

Why would work or school be any different that the Internet since it too is a public forum?

If you don't like other people's opinions then don't talk on a public forum.

Deal with it my friend.

[MrPontiusPilate]

Coca coca is one of my very favorite drinks and I drink about one a day.

I visited Coke's headquarters in Atlanta, with free unlimited tastes of Coke's products from around the world.

You should go too if you like Coke as much as your names suggests.

[cocacolarar]

Daily coke drinker.. sounds like a heaven that place

[bphutchins]

hallelujia brother. libertarian all the way!

[KentuckyKid84]

Thank you, Orly Taitz. Now shut the fuck up.

[RedCloudBeechWaveAhh]

@amceagle1 you're nuts; please relax and talk with someone very wise, read, think, write for a while. You really need to sort things out. You are not connected to reality very well, or you've been washing your brain in propaganda; be careful of this, don't let anyone tell you what to think. Please think about this. I wish you well, man.

[maddbutcher666]

i was Al in blackface for halloween and im NOT sorry

[Savemefromhelen]

Thats the spirit!!!

[ChristainPatriot01]

I will pay you 100 bucks if you go to watts in that costume,lol.

[AgentCarter]

where was this?

[redredreds100]

@maddbutcher666 and you shouldn't be

[abraxasIX]

@maddbutcher666

muahaha

that's the attittude xD

\m/ x.x \m/

[gordonp34]

@maddbutcher666 I wanted to go as Black Santa but my girlfriend thought it was inappropriate.

[amceagle1]

What do you expect from a country that embraces 'Political Correctness' as it's new bible!! Americans want big government for handouts through taxation and Marxist suppression. Besides, we have a "Black Face" in the white house now! How can those Obom-unists crush freedom in this country? Easy...By being elected by people who don't give a dam about liberty, states rights, federalism and individual "get out of my face" personal freedom? This nation will soon get everything it deserves!

[goatface1000]

@amceagle1 Besides being an obvious racist you are also an idiot. If you really think that Obama is a Marxist your knowledge of political theory must be on a level with that of a goldfish. America has produced some great things but no-brainers like you give it a bad name. One day the word will be socialist and ruled from the UK.

[giloubreizh]

Quel plaisir! Excellent! Fameux! Quel bonheur. Grand merci.

[peaceexcutiee1]

hes amazing

[mattybock]

they will be remaking the al jolson story, with no black face. how sad. i beleive al would not aproove.

[Gioeli76]

If that is so, then i shall refuse to watch it.

[datalal624]

WHAT? How can they remake "The Al Jolson Story" without any blackface at all? It was an integral part of his performing career, and he wasn't being racist--he was trying to showcase black entertainment, which because of the truly racist exclusion of black entertainers from stage and screen, could not be otherwise shown. Just because blackface might offend some people who think it's racist or distasteful doesn't mean it should be deleted. We should not censor the past.

[datalal624]

As an addendum to my last comment, I also know that the origins of blackface lie in minstrel shows of the 19th century, and that WAS racist. I would argue that Jolson was trying to turn blackface entertainment of the day into a way to pay tribute to real black music and culture, rather than degrading it and making black people look stupid. Otherwise, yes, blackface in general was basically racist and degrading to black people.

[MightyAlz]

Well, regardless of whether blackface is racist or not, Al Jolson DID wear it and so making a film without blackface would just be silly.

It'd be like a making a biopic of Hitler in which he didn't have a moustache...

[datalal624]

My thoughts exactly, MightyAlz.

[CiaranLiam]

@MightyAlz Not really at all like that is it.

[Amhlair]

Racist, schmacist. Lighten up.

[Applebaum]

@MightyAlz umm its not quite like Hitlers moustache is it

Hitlers moustache did not degrade or dehumanise or humiliate an entire race of people or exploit their music.

All or if not most white people were openly racist then, superiority complexes galore

if they must do a biopic they should tell it like it really was

[RedCloudBeechWaveAhh]

@datalal624 love you - thank you

[ensconse]

@datalal624

It's said Jolson was no racist but a remake of his story would take a very strong director and writer - the '46 movie was really a fictitious B-movie.

[datalal624]

@ensconse Yes, that's true. It would take a highly competent, talented director with real guts and balls to pull of an authentic portrait of Jolson. (I haven't seen the original "Al Jolson Story" movie, just clips of it. I can't think of any '40s or '50s biopics that weren't corny and mostly fictitious---it was the style back then, I guess).

[datalal624]

@datalal624 "off" rather. Oops. :)

[JasonWB007]

@datalal624 Yeah, I think people need to understand that although there was certainly more racism in the past, many of the actions would not have had the connotations they do now

[Trulaman]

@datalal624 r u kidding me .....be 4 REAL this song is about slave on the plantations an how the slaves r suppos to BE SOME HAPPY NEGROES PICKIN COTTON maybe he wasnt racist but the song is clearly racist

[datalal624]

@Trulaman I don't hear this song as a pro-slavery proclamation. I hear a song about some Dixieland dude who wants to go back to "Swanee" (i.e. the Suwanee River, in Florida) just to see his "dear ol' Mammy". The word "mammy", in this context, probably just refers to his "mother"---not necessarily the stereotypical Aunt Jemima-type Mammy character. It's a corny, silly song, which was written to be a half-parody of Stephen Foster's "Old Folks at Home", which is hard to defend as non-racist today.

[datalal624]

@Trulaman In other words, the song has racist origins (as Foster's song was used in minstrel shows), but given the context of the time, "Swanee" is not a racist song. So I'll give you that, but I still don't think calling Jolson a racist is fair, given what we know about his personality and for the good deeds he did on behalf of the black community in NYC, and elsewhere (hence why many of the mourners at his funeral were black).

[redredreds100]

@datalal624 they didn't make the Jolson story, without black face, what are you talking about, and the how anyway, do you know what was in his mind.

[WalDemento999]

@datalal624 I agree, I'm against censoring anything that is blackface or racist from the past, because basically you are telling people that those type of prejudices and stereotypes never happened back then.

[datalal624]

@WalDemento999 Thank-you. That's what I was trying to get across in my original post. I don't like blackface at all--it's an ugly example of overt racism, and it belongs in the past. Being a white person, I can understand why no one wants to see blackface in a movie. It makes one uncomfortably aware not only of how racist the past was, but of the prejudices we claim to no longer espouse. The struggle against racism cannot end until we confront the villain in ourselves.

[ugha323a]

@datalal624

Wtf is wrong with blackface?

I think they should do a Jolson play (musical, obviously) and do HIS life, it would be fantastic. This IS a part of our past, and you are 100% RIGHT, Jolson HELPED black entertainers by doing this!

People are insane about this now, like blacks are the ONLY race here in USA and the only ones that get offended.

I am a Portguee Jew that is a Jewtian and Iroquois!

I am the TRUE minority!

LOL

[Iildimsum7]

@datalal624 these minstrel shows were typically offensive to black people. this song shows that black people hope to rise above their social position, but they can't

[datalal624]

@Iildimsum7 I'm not quite sure what point you're making. Minstrel shows were not only offensive (now and today), but they were racist. My apparently popular comment wasn't about how great blackface or minstrel shows were; all I was trying to say was that censoring those things from their historical context, particular in a film about Jolson's life, is whitewashing the past and I don't believe it's the right thing to do.

[Iildimsum7]

@datalal624 i agree that it's important to be aware of minstrel shows, but performing today with blackface is, in my opinion, still offensive

[datalal624]

@Iildimsum7 I agree, it is offensive. I don't think blackface performance has any place outside of being in a historical biopic today.

[willracer92]

@Iildimsum7 no, just no.

[Iildimsum7]

@willracer92 ??? it's blatantly obvious that minstrel shows were racist; they perpetuated and encouraged black stereotypes

[willracer92]

@Iildimsum7 It is obvious that if a minstrel show were done today it would be seen as racist; however, during the times when they were popular and big in the early 20th century, they were not always seen as racist nor did they always perpetuate black stereotypes.

[Ricscott]

fantastic, this music makes me think of wartime, i'd of loved to live in the period between the wars.

[FLOOBERNINO]

Black face is not racist. Read up on it. Can't take a step without being called a racist in the current PC world. At least we have Michael Savage to clear things up.

[paulmartinstillman]

I taught in an all black high school in Philly and the blacks did some skit and wore white face. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

[RedCloudBeechWaveAhh]

@paulmartinstillman Reality is not so simple as you imagine it to be in this case. One group is oppressed, killed, enslaved, hated, treated terribly for a couple hundred years. The other is the group that did it. It's not a blank slate. They are not starting from the same exact situation. So of course you can't interpret their actions as if they are. i'm smart and thoughtful, and know American history

white as well

[hamd01]

Thats because mime artists arnt imitating white people in a negative fashion. Black face artists used to 'dumb up'!

[BJZnRPZ]

PPL say this is racist, but i don't understand by the words, can you tell me how this is racist.

[wilzyk]

Not the song. but the fact he wore black make up called "blackface" but that was 80 years ago.

[dogkelp]

Gershwin's first hit.

[charliebubblesoar]

nice to see him in whiteface, right? lol

[core281]

LOL all you want.

Clearly you do not understand the environment back at the begining of the 20th century..

At that time, the treatment and portrayal of non-whites was a shameful thing, but that is the way of evolution.

Jolson was apparently one of the few who helped and promoted coloured people.

[charliebubblesoar]

I've just never seen Al in anything but blackface. Nevertheless, I really love his singing voice and Swanee is a pretty song.

I know what blackface is all about, and I know what the early 20th century's environment was. I don't think if you asked "coloured" people they'd tell you blackface performers were promoting their lives and culture. Mmm, minstrel shows, those were the days, right? Have you seen Bamboozled?

[RedCloudBeechWaveAhh]

@charliebubblesoar - right right, bamboozled was pretty direct, probably super shocking and eye-opening for lots of folks. It would be great if lots more would have seen it, so we could dialogue more about this stuff. But it is in fact pretty interesting to have that person's point of view on blackface; who knows, that may well have been in people's minds, though what was in the majority's minds regarding race at that time is quite disturbing to contemplate.

Thanks for your comment.