Jolson, Judy, and Jewish memory

Judaism, Fall, 2001 by Irving Saposnik

As the Yiddisha Mamma calls to her child from the grave, her song combines the lure of the old country with a requisite guilt for leaving both country and parent(s) behind. To the pains of immigration, she adds the pains of separation, and ensures that the tug-and-pull of the divided self will define the American Jew. The siren call of mother and motherland in the mother tongue is a paradigm of the Jewish journey to become Americans, a leitmotif that underscores the Yiddish songs of the immigrant generation, and the American songs written by their children. "Ich Vii Tsurik Aheym"--"Ich Vii Tsurik Aheym/In shetele in deym/Avu ikh hob gekat zikh ruik un bekvem"--ad "Swanee" are but a language apart; English words, Jewish thoughts, American rhythms.

Judy-ism

One of Judy's standards... was a Jewish religious song she had learned in her days of performing before B'nai B'rith groups: "Eyli, Eyli" (My God, My God) which she sang in the original Yiddish. It's dirgelike notes invariably made Mayer's eyes glisten, and when Koverman [Mayer's secretary was certain Judy could sing it, she called the great man ... Koverman's strategy worked, and... a memo was sent to M-G-M's legal office: "Please prepare contract covering the services of JUDY GARLAND as an actress." (10)

For A1 Jolson, the cantor's son, the krechts was a given, but for Judy Garland, born Frances Gumm to Presbyterian parents, the Jewish "tear in the voice" was an acquired skill. Her mentor was Cantor David Blanko, who taught her to sing "Eyli, Eyli" for a B'nai B'rith benefit which, in turn, worked to her benefit when she auditioned for Louis Mayer." "Eyli, Eyli" was not only Judy's ticket to her MGM career, but her entree into the Jewish musical world. It prepared her to become a singer rather than a belter, and it allowed her to add her distinctive style to the Yiddish crossover song, "Bei Mir Bist du Schon," and to the Yiddish-sounding "Minnie From Trinidad." (12) Most importantly, it gave her the vocal and emotional tools to sing what was to become her signature song, "Over the Rainbow."

As expected, "Eyli, Eyli" made Mayer cry, as he would at other reminders of his hidden Jewish self, including "Kol Nidre," and his mother's yahrzeit. Mayer knew good Jewish music, and it was he that several years later would insist that "Over the Rainbow" not be cut from The Wizard of Oz. "Eyli, Eyli," although written for the Yiddish theater, had by 1935 achieved quasi-liturgical status and had become a visceral part of the Yiddish soul, even as "Over the Rainbow" was to capture the American imagination four years later. "Eyli, Eyli" and "Over the Rainbow" joined Jewish mogul and Irish Presbyterian star, as Yiddish longing and American dreaming came together to form a classic American song. In fact, it might be said that the road to Oz began as much in Kasrilevke as in Kansas, that Arlen and Harburg made Kansas kosher, just as previous Jewish song writers had blended gribenes and grits.

"Eyli, Eyli" is today so little remembered, that in a recent television biography of Judy Garland (ABC, February 25, 2001), the Hannah Senesh "Eli, Eli" was played instead of the classic song that made Mayer cry. But before the Hebrew revival, Peretz Sandler's turn-of-the-century song was at the top of the Jewish hit parade. (13) Its quotations from liturgy, its conclusion with the "Shema," its references to Jewish victimization, insured its popularity. Sung initially on the Yiddish stage, it quickly became a cantorial showpiece, a secular lament of a martyred people. No wonder it brought tears to Mayer's eyes. Once as recognizable as "Kol Nidre," "Eyli, Eyli" is a cry from the depths of the Jewish soul.