For those unaware, Al Jolson was one of the biggest showbiz stars of the first decades of the 20th century, his career spanning vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio and recording, and he legendarily recorded some of the most memorable songs of the era.

During the early decades of his career, he performed regularly in blackface make-up, during the era when this was an acceptable and normal style of presentation, which lasted well into post-war years. As a result of his popularity, success and high profile, he had a huge number of hits, and this 91-track 4-CD collection entitled Sonny Boy: The Hits Collection 1912-47 (and out now via Acrobat Records) consists entirely of all his career hits as listed in Joel Whitburn’s book Pop Memories 1890-1954 and also in the early Billboard charts.

Among those are the 22 records listed as No. 1s, which include Sonny Boy, Swanee, Toot Toot Tootsie, Goodbye You Made Me Love You, Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody, When The Red Robin, There’s A Rainbow Round My Shoulder, I’m Sitting On Top Of The World, California Here I Come, and many more from Broadway, Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley. He was a hugely influential and distinctive performer and this substantial collection, capturing the essence of his style and talent, is a fine showcase for his significant recorded legacy.

Al Jolson (born May 26, 1886, Srednike, Russia [now Seredžius, Lithuania]—died October 23, 1950, San Francisco, California, U.S.) was a popular American singer from before World War I to 1940. His unique singing style and personal magnetism established an immediate rapport with audiences.

Taken to the United States when he was seven years old, Jolson was reared in Washington, D.C., where he made his first stage appearance in 1899. He performed with his brother and others in vaudeville before joining Lew Dockstader’s minstrel troupe in 1909. He became a popular New York entertainer and singer, being featured in the musicals La Belle Paree (1911), Honeymoon Express (1913), Bombo (1921), and Big Boy (1925).

In Sinbad (1918) he transformed an unsuccessful George Gershwin song, “Swanee,” into his trademark number. And in Bombo he introduced “My Mammy.” The same show included three Jolson favorites: “Toot, Toot, Tootsie,” “California, Here I Come,” and “April Showers.” Some of his biggest successes were achieved at the New York Winter Garden.

In 1927 Jolson starred in The Jazz Singer, the first feature film with synchronized speech as well as music and sound effects. The picture revolutionized the motion-picture industry and marked the end of the silent-film era. Other films include The Singing Fool (1928), Say It with Songs (1929), Mammy (1930), Hallelujah, I’m a Bum (1933), Go into Your Dance (1935), and Swanee River (1940). The story of his life was filmed in The Jolson Story (1946) and a sequel, Jolson Sings Again (1949). He also collaborated in the writing of many song hits and was a very popular recording artist.

Simply put, this massively impressive new 4CD collection is a beloved dedication to the man who was rightly known as The World’s Greatest Entertainer, a superstar before the word was coined, and whose musical heritage created much of the entertainment industry we know today.

Disc 1:
1. That Haunting Melody 2. Ragging The Baby To Sleep 3. Snap Your Fingers 4. The Spaniard That Blighted My Life 5. You Made Me Love You, I Didn’t Want To Do It 6. That Little German Band 7. Pullman Porters’ Parade 8. Back To The Carolina You Love 9. Sister Susie’s Sewing Shirts For Soldiers 10. Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula 11. Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go With Friday On Saturday Night 12. Down Where The Swanee River Flows 13. I Sent My Wife To The Thousand Isles 14. You’re A Dangerous Girl 15. I’m Saving Up The Means To Get To New Orleans 16. Someone Else May Be There While I’m Gone 17. Pray For Sunshine (But Always Be Prepared For Rain) 18. Ev’ry Little While 19. From Here To Shanghai 20. I’m All Bound Round With The Mason Dixon Line 22. N Everything 23. Wedding Bells (Will You Ever Ring For Me)

Disc 2:
1. Hello Central, Give Me No Man’s Land 2. Rock A Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody 3. Tell That To The Marines 4. On The Road To Calais 5. I’ll Say She Does 6. I’ve Got My Captain Working For Me Now 7. Tell Me (Why Nights Are Lonely) 8. I Gave Her That 9. You Ain’t Heard Nothing Yet 10. Chloe 11. Swanee 12. That Wonderful Kid From Madrid 13. In Sweet September 14. Avalon 15. O-H-I-O (O-My O) 16. Scandinavia (Sing Dose Song And Make Dose Music) 17. April Showers 18. Yoo Hoo 19. Give Me My Mammy 20. Angel Child 21. Coo Coo 22. Toot Toot Tootsie (Goo’bye) 23. Lost (A Wonderful Girl)

Disc 3:
1. Who Cares 2. Coal Black Mammy 3. Morning Will Come 4. Stella 5. You’ve Simply Got Me Cuckoo 6. Arcady 7. California, Here I Come 8. The One I Love Belongs To Someone Else 9. I’m Goin’ South 10. Steppin’ Out 11. Mr. Radio Man (Tell My Baby To Come back) 12. Lazy 13. My Papa Doesn’t Two-Time No Time 14. Mandalay 15. I Wonder What’s Become Of Sally 16. Follow The Swallow 17. All Alone 18. Hello, ’Tucky 19. I’m Sitting On Top Of The World 20. Miami 21. I Wish I Had My Old Gal Back Again 22. I’d Climb The Highest Mountain (If I Knew I’d Find You) 23. At Peace With The World 24. When The Red Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin’ Along

Disc 4:
1. Mother Of Mine, I Still Have You 2. Blue River 3. Golden Gate 4. Ol’ Man River 5. My Mammy 6. Dirty Hands! Dirty Face! 7. Sonny Boy 8. There’s A Rainbow Round My Shoulder 9. Little Pal 10. I’m In Seventh Heaven 11. Why Can’t You 12. Used To You 13. Liza (All The Clouds’ll Roll Away) 14. Let Me Sing And I’m Happy 15. When The Little Red Roses Get The Blues 16. To My Mammy 17. Hallelujah! I’m A Bum 18. The Anniversary Song 19. My Mammy 20. April Showers 21. Alexander’s Ragtime Band 22. If I Only Had A Match

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