"When the great Al Jolson was in a Broadway show, audiences didn't care a bit about the story of the musical. The all-important attraction was their beloved Jolie singing and clowning to his-and their-hearts' content."

"Among these shows were several Al Jolson musicals at the Wintergarden;...."

"Before the movies and radio, most Americans had to entertain themselves or wait for the arrival in town of lecturers, circuses, or the traveling stage revues known as vaudeville. Dozens of prominent American entertainers got their starts in vaudeville -- W.C. Fields, Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Buster Keaton, Sophie Tucker, Fanny Brice, Al Jolson, and the Three Stooges, to name just a few -- and the medium demanded a steady supply of new songs. Late in the 19th century, music publishing became a big business in the United States, with many firms clustered in New York City, on a street that became known as Tin Pan Alley."

"Harry Akst ... toured in vaudeville with Nora Bayes, worked for Irving Berlin as a song demonstrator in the 1920s, and during World War II served as Al Jolson's pianist in the Pacific."