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Al Jolson

The State of the State (Song) of the Golden State

Michael Sigman | Posted 04.18.2013 | Los Angeles
Read More: The Mamas and the Papas, Harry Truman, California State Song, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Louie Louie, Tin Pan Alley, Al Jolson, Star Spangled Banner, Official State Songs, Official-State-Songs, Video, Los Angeles News
Michael Sigman

If you've heard "I Love You California" at all, chances are it's from a Jeep commercial. Has the moment arrived to dream up a more up-to-date theme?

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Happy Anniversary, 'The Jazz Singer'!

Posted 10.06.2012 | Arts
Read More: The-Jazz-Singer, The Jazz Singer Anniversary, Al Jolson, Film News, The Jazz Singer Blackface, Al Jolson Black Face, Blackface in Art, Jazz Singer Al Jolson, Blackface in Film, Talkie, Film Anniversary, Blackface, Video, Arts News

Today is the anniversary of the 1927 American musical film "The Jazz Singer." Released on this date 85 years ago, the film represents the first featur...

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First Nighter: Mark Nadler's Outstanding, Outrageous 'Crazy 1961'

David Finkle | Posted 03.20.2012 | Home
Read More: Al Jolson, Scott Johnson, Noel Coward, Crazy 1961, Tschaikowsky (and Other Russians), Dan Willis, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Victor Borge, Mark Nadler, Let It Ride, Laurie Beechman Theatre, David Furnish, Barbara Merjan, Gilbert Becaud, Carnival, Elton John, Jerry Lee Lewis, Robert Sabin, George Gershwin, Danny Kaye, Home News
David Finkle

When the amazing Mark Nadler performs, I never fail to find myself thinking about the talent/luck equation. If x (talent) + y (luck) = Big Star, how are x and y measured?

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Dog Ears Music: Volume 177

The Everlasting Phil Ramone and Danielle Evin | Posted 07.27.2011 | Entertainment
Read More: The Decemberists, Marty Shtrubel, Al Jolson, Moby, Andrea Hoag, Johnny Cash, Danielle Evin, Music, Tom Petty, Michael Penn, Chet Baker, mp3s, John Lee Hooker, Xtc, Joe Henry, Phil Ramone, Bernard Herrmann, Josh White, Dog Ears, Dead Confederate, James Taylor, Drive-by Truckers, Entertainment News
The Everlasting Phil Ramone and Danielle Evin

This week, we feature music by Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, James Taylor, Moby, and more.

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Michael Feinstein: Top-of-the-Heap Singer, Equally Important Music Archivist-Historian

David Finkle | Posted 05.25.2011 | Entertainment
Read More: Center for the Performing Arts, Ethel Waters, Al Jolson, Ira Gershwin, Christmas, Hollywood, Columbus, Carmel, The Library of Congress, New York City, The Great American Songbook, Cole Porter, Feinstein's at Loews Regency, Ohio, Hannukah, Michael Feinstein's American Songbook, Swing in the Holidays, Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra, The Great American Songbook Archive & Museum, Michael Feinstein, George Gershwin, Indiana, Palladium, Entertainment News
David Finkle

If Michael Feinstein's American Songbook accomplishes anything -- it indisputably does -- it's that his commitment to the task of perpetuating the music is at least equal to his devotion to performing.

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MTV's Video Music Awards Make Me Feel 100-Years-Old

Andy Ostroy | Posted 05.25.2011 | Entertainment
Read More: Al Jolson, Charo, Kanye West, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Blue Man Group, Usher, VMA's, George Clooney, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, Pauly D, Pearl Jam, Blackface, Will.I.Am, John Rzeznik, J-Lo, Kings and Queens, Taylor Swift, Cher, Snooki, William F. Buckley, Chelsea Handler, Ne-Yo, Nicki Minaj, Lady GaGa, MTV Video Music Awards, Drake, Goo Goo Dolls, Justin Bieber, Sofia Vergara, Entertainment News
Andy Ostroy

Outside of the awesome Eminem and Mary J. Blige, the room at the Video Music Awards seemed all style and no substance.

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Best Movies By Farr: When Oscar Screws Up

John Farr | Posted 05.25.2011 | Entertainment
Read More: Edward G. Robinson, The English Patient, The Exorcist, Tom Hanks, History of the Academy Awards, Julie Andrews, Milk, Fred MacMurray, John Wayne, The Wrestler Stanley Kubrick, As Good as It Gets, Capote, The Great Ziegfeld, Traffic, L.A. Confidential, Driving Miss Daisy, Dr. Strangelove, Fargo, High Noon, Million Dollar Baby, Joan Allen, My Left Foot, Around the World in Eighty Days, Slumdog Millionaire, The Academy Awards, The Sting, Rocky Balboa, Letters From Iwo Jima, Double Indemnity, Shirley MacLaine, Rex Harrison, Little Miss Sunshine, Ed Harris, Life Is Beautiful, Peter Finch, Shakespeare in Love, Charles Chaplin, James Dean, Giant, Crash, My Man Godfrey, Barbara Stanwyck, The Contender, Network, Imelda Staunton, Academy Awards, Titanic, Louis B. Mayer; Daryl Zanuck; Samuel L Goldwyn, Hotel Rwanda, The Apartment, The Departed, Peter Sellers, Pulp Fiction, Burt Lancaster, Gladiator, Vera Drake, Sean Penn, Modern Times, Elizabeth Taylor, Chicago, Field of Dreams, Billy Wilder, Pollock, Al Jolson, Forrest Gump, William Powell, John Travolta, Carole Lombard, Singin' in the Rain, Taxi Driver, Cecil B. DeMille, My Fair Lady, Jack Lemmon, The Searchers, The Hours, Robert De Niro, Entertainment News
John Farr

2005 -- for Best Picture, give me Capote over Crash any ol' time. Another uninspiring year, I thought.

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And Now For The Hangover

Deborah Copaken Kogan | Posted 05.25.2011 | Business
Read More: Al Jolson, Depression, Pink Slip, White Collar Job Loss, Obama Victory, Obama Wins, Obama Election Day, Downsizing, Election Day, Economy, Economic Crisis, Recession, Lehman Brothers, Stock Market Crisis, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Brother Can You Spare a Dime, Cheerios, Great Depression, Business News
Deborah Copaken Kogan

Sorry to be a downer on this of all days, but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that yins always have their yangs. Eight years of buying into trickle down economics has taken a toll.

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