Asa

Asa was born in Srednik, Lithuania back in 1886 to Moses and Nechama. In 1891 the family moved to New York. His mother died in 1895, this put him in a state of withdrawal spending time at the St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys. Later that same year he was introduced to something that became his life’s work. More on that shortly.

In 1902 he worked for the Walter L. Main’s Circus working as an usher. It wasn’t long before he was noticed and moved up as a performer in one of the Side Shows of the circus. It was from this humble beginning that Asa’s career took off. He moved to San Francisco as a vaudeville singer. Returning to New York in 1909 he appeared in his first musical revue at the Winder Garden Theater. The show he performed in lasted for 104 performances while his popularity continued to grow.

Now is as good as a time to tell you I’m writing about Asa Yoelson however, you may know him better by his stage name of Al Jolson. He was instrumental in introducing African-American music to white audiences. In 1911 he became known for fighting against black discrimination on Broadway. Some of the song made popular by Al was “Swanee, My Mammy and Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody”. One of his friends was Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. He also demanded equal treatment for Cab Calloway. One more thing he read a newspaper article that songwriters Eubie Blake and Noble Sissie was refused service at a Connecticut restaurant because of their race. He tracked them down and invited them out to dinner, “insisting he’d punch anyone in the nose who tried to kick them out!” He played in several films however his career ended when he died in 1950 at 64 from a heart attack.