![]() In Tin Pan Alley, author Dave Jasen tells of its curious origin. ![]() This is one of many songs that helped make Al Jolson famous, or possibly vice versa. Having grown up in California surrounded by multi-cultural music forms, I clearly heard a Mariachi band in my head when I first encountered this song, which is how it eventually got recorded on Perfessor Bill Sings, Volume 1, complete with an actual bullfight crowd mixed in and even a piano and guitar duel! OLE!! In the 1940s, comedian Jerry Colonna did a rather frenetic recording of the piece with a band that could barely keep up with him. ![]() However, the studio band did not pick up on the Spanish style that the composer was trying to establish, and they come off as rather stiff in their interpretation. His smarmy manner, which is apparent in his 1913 Victor recording of the work, suits the piece well. This particular one, which has an undercurrent of violence and rage from a jilted lover, actually comes across as silly when performed correctly. So throughout the 1910s Jolie had some very successful encounters with comedic novelty numbers. He was gaining popularity on New York stages, but hadn't settled in to the sentimental variety of Mammy or Dixie songs yet that he would later be associated with. Al Jolson was still looking for a hook of sorts to make his mark in show business.
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