Al Jolson Audio CD's & Vinyl Record Albums

Asa Yoelson (May 26 ,1886 -October 23 ,1950 )was an American immigrant son of a Russian Jew , and was born in Seredzius ,Lithuania . Jolson became a popular singer and a superstar of the Broadway stage in 1911, when he parlayed a supporting appearance in the musical "La Belle Paree" into the eventual starring role. He was soon internationally famous for his extraordinary stage presence and personal rapport with audiences. His Broadway career is unmatched for length and popularity, having spanned close to 30 years (1911-1940). However, he is best known today for his appearance in one of the first "talkies" The Jazz Singer , (the first film with sound to enjoy wide commercial success), in 1927. "Jolie" as he was known to his friends in "The Show Business" was the first entertainer to sell one million records. While no official "Billboard" chart existed during Jolson's career, their staff archivist Joel Whitburn used a variety of sources such as Talking Machine World 's list of top-selling recordings, and Billboard's own sheet music and vaudeville charts to estimate the hits of 1890-1954. By his reckoning, Jolson had the equivalent of 23 #1 hits, the 4th-highest total ever, trailing only Bing Crosby ,Paul Whiteman , and Guy Lombardo . Whitburn calculates that Jolson topped one chart or another for 114 weeks. Among the many songs popularized by Jolson were "You Made Me Love You," "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody," "Swanee," "April Showers," "Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye," "California, Here I Come," "When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along," and "Avalon."