SINGER

Al Jolson

1886 - 1950

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Icon of person Al Jolson

Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, Yiddish: אַסאַ יואלסאָן; May 26, 1886 (O.S.) June 9, 1886 (N.S.) – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, as well as the first openly Jewish man to become an entertainment star in the United States. He was known for his "shamelessly sentimental, melodramatic approach" towards performing, along with popularizing many of the songs he sang. According to music historian Larry Stempel, "No one had heard anything quite like it before on Broadway." Stephen Banfield wrote that Jolson's style was "arguably the single most important factor in defining the modern musical." Jolson has been referred to by modern critics as "the king of blackface performers". Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Al Jolson is the 815th most popular singer (down from 700th in 2019), the 94th most popular biography from Lithuania (down from 82nd in 2019) and the most popular Lithuanian Singer.

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Among SINGERS

Among singers, Al Jolson ranks 815 out of 4,381Before him are Chris Lowe, Marinella, Emma Calvé, Melanie Thornton, Miliza Korjus, and Peter Frampton. After him are Titta Ruffo, Mike Love, Giulia Grisi, Camilo Sesto, Pierre Gaveaux, and Idir.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1886, Al Jolson ranks 162Before him are Mikhail Tereshchenko, Ernst May, Othmar Schoeck, Dimitri Uznadze, Divna Veković, and Kálmán Darányi. After him are Chester Barnard, Alexander Miasnikian, Edgar Rubin, Pierre Benoit, Aloïse Corbaz, and Georges Vantongerloo. Among people deceased in 1950, Al Jolson ranks 102Before him are John C. Woods, Joseph, Duke of Parma, Alfonso Daniel Rodríguez Castelao, Edward Arthur Milne, Ernst Wiechert, and Dimitri Uznadze. After him are Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, Heinrich Tessenow, Karin Michaëlis, Arthur Jeffrey Dempster, Harold Laski, and Miklós Bánffy.

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In Lithuania

Among people born in Lithuania, Al Jolson ranks 94 out of 328Before him are Irena Veisaitė (1928), Tomas Venclova (1937), Šarūnas Jasikevičius (1976), Yitzhak Arad (1926), Bernard Berenson (1865), and Alma Adamkienė (1927). After him are Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius (1871), Raphael Kalinowski (1835), Silvestras Žukauskas (1860), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (1975), Francišak Bahuševič (1840), and Artūras Paulauskas (1953).

Among SINGERS In Lithuania

Among singers born in Lithuania, Al Jolson ranks 1After him are Lena Valaitis (1943), Violeta Urmana (1961), Asmik Grigorian (1981), Andrius Mamontovas (1967), Andrius Pojavis (1983), Sasha Song (1983), Donny Montell (1987), Monika Linkytė (1992), Monika Liu (1988), Jurijus Veklenko (1990), and Aistė Smilgevičiūtė (1977).