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How did Al Jolson help make George Gershwin famous?
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George Gershwin
American composer George Gershwin working on the score for Porgy and Bess, 1935.
Al Jolson played a pivotal role in George Gershwin’s rise to fame by championing his music on the musical stage. Although the song "Swanee" was initially unsuccessful, Jolson chose to perform it in the 1918 musical Sinbad.12
Jolson transformed the composition into his trademark number, and his performance turned the song into an enormous commercial success. The hit sold more than two million recordings and a million copies of sheet music, which propelled Gershwin to overnight celebrity status in 1919.12