The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-10-21
"A Wandering Minstrel, I"
LACK FACED"

BH0O) A1<ANh ' ANED
 IH0 who have made us forget
 our troubles by their clever stories and their tuneful melodies have ever had a warm spot in my heart because any one who can ban ish tear from the eyes and a sob from the hearts of men Is due a debt of gratitude-at least Thank you from those of us who have been the recipients of their good humor.
 Last week when l was in New York of course 1 went to see the King of Black Faced Comedians" Al Jol- son. in 'Bompo,' who besides being one of the very funniest people on the stage, has the distinction of having very beautiful tuneful voice and he always sings nanny song" ador- ably and l sort of" linked up Al Jol- son with hahdsome Jack Richards yesterday the golden voiced tenor of the Al G. Fields minstrels who can sing a ballad or a "rlammy song with more really beautiful effect ana meiodious vocalization than anybody else 1 know. He can sing an old Song like When You and I Were Young Maggie" that brings joy to SO0A iNAAN anu AiAdhtS 9Vu lOi SCt anu forget and forget--and live for a moment in the land Of dreams and 'make-believe" away from the sordid old world with all of it's seriousness and sorrow.
 Al Jolson, like Mrs. Wharton's heroine of "The House of Mirth." always enters the conversation with hand spring" and as he dashed out In "Bombo" he gives a line of talk that is very amusirg-first-the drops Into seriousness.
 Incidentally, the tickets to "Bom- bo' range in price from ten to twelve dollars each Qm telling you this so you'n understand the story).
 Says the delectable Al;
 So glad to see you, friends; so glad to see such big house; hope you'll enjoy the show; you ought to, you paid enough for your tickets; looks like the Shuberts are trying to pay for the new theatre the first week, doesn't it? Anyway I'm glad to see you; you are all my old inti- mate friendsi in fact l feel just like know you we'll enough to call yon by your first names; if was back at the Winter Garden I'd just reach out my hand and call every fellow here by his name. Hello, Aber
 And such a laugh as he gets.
 And then he sings, Tn Granada" and stops to tell you how hard it is to get new song these days which is really good; how almost next to impossible it is and especially a nanny song" and then singing his brand newest "mammy song' which is a peach.
 Yesterday-as I said I had this quite in mind when I went to SC. handsome Jack Richards-and so ] asked him what he is singing thls season and if he, like MT. Jolson finds 1t difficult to secure new catchy" songs and what's the matter with the 'song- writers" any way.
 ''I've gone back to one of the old est and most popular songs in the repertoire of any singer, Molly Darl- ing s my best song this season, for it's just as Al Jolson says almost :m- possible to get the old time tuneful ballad written by modern composers.
 T use medley, too," MT. Richards continued, which includes the chor- uses of number of old favorites, beginning with Just Because You Are An Old Sweetheart of Mine, My Wild Irish Rose. My Gal Sal and AlHle tSooneyi winding up With When You and I Were Young Mag gie'."
 "Of course you'd have to include that because your audiences simply wouldn't let you off without singing B verse of that old ballad with which your are so insistently identified"
 You know for years I simply could not get away from When You and ] Were Young Maggie If I left it off the programme, the people in the audience would shout for it; if I sang 1t once they called for 1t again; of course 1t pleased me, but finally got so tired singing 1t that I simply could not comply with the many requests ] had for it. Even now I revisit places where there are half a dozen letters awaiting me at the box office of tho theatre where we are to play, asking for When You and I Were Young, Maggi,.
 T try to keep up with the new songs" MT. Richards said, "and by that l do not mean that I want to discard entirely the old songs, but. for instance, during the war I sang Keep the Home Fires Burning with excellent effect, because 1t was the song of the hour. Then later I was singing the big song hit. I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles Last season sang. Down the Trail to Home. Sweet Home.' Cotton Was Little Dixie