"Row, row, row," Al Jolson 1912 Broadway hit & Debbie Reynolds 1950 film hit, by Monaco & Jerome

1910s summer fun! I learned of this song from the 1950 MGM film, "Two Weeks With Love," where it was performed by Debbie Reynolds and Carleton Carpenter in a "show within a show" where they entertain summer guests at a Catskills resort. The film is set at the turn of the century, and the score consisted of nostalgic songs from the era (you can tell MGM was going for the Meet Me In Saint Louis style, albeit a bit less ambitiously). #broadway #broadwaymusicals #1910smusic #aljolson I looked into the performance history, and it appears Al Jolson performed the song in 1912 in the Broadway musical Whirl of Society, where, according to critic Gilbert Seldes, "[Jolson] would bounce up on the runway, propel himself by imaginary oars over the heads of the audience, draw equally imaginary slivers from the seat of his trousers, and infuse into the song something wild and roaring and insanely funny." The staging in "Two Weeks With Love" similarly features Debbie and Carleton pretending to row in a boat; I'm not sure if that was directly inspired by Jolson or if it's just the obvious staging for the song! "Row, row, row" was also featured later that year in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1912. The song was by James V. Monaco, best known as the composer of "You Made Me Love You," and lyricist William Jerome, known for "Bedelia" and "Get Out And Get Under The Moon." The song also appeared in another nostalgic movie in 1955, The Seven Little Foys. The sheet music is available from the University of Connecticut's digital repository, https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/s... Lyric: Young Johnnie Jones he had a cute little boat, And all the girlies he would take for a float. He had girlies on the shore, Sweet little peaches by the score, But Johnnie was a Weisenheimer you know His steady girl was Flo, And ev’ry Sunday afternoon, She’d jump in his boat and they would spoon. And then he’d row, row, row, Way up the River He would row, row, row, A hug he’d give her, Then he’d kiss her now and then, She would tell him when, He’s fool around and fool around And then they’d kiss again And then he’d row, row, row, A little further He would row, oh, oh, oh, oh, Then he’d drop both his oars, Take a few more encores, And then he’d row, row, row. Right in his boat he had a cute little seat, And ev’ry kiss he stole from Flo was sweet. And he knew just how to row, He was a rowing Romeo, He knew an Island where the trees were so grand, He knew just where to land, Then tales of love he’d tell to Flo, Until it was time for them to go. And then he’d row, row, row, Way up the River He would row, row, row, A hug he’d give her, Then he’d kiss her now and then, She would tell him when, He’s fool around and fool around And then they’d kiss again, And then he’d row, row, row, A little further He would row, oh, oh, oh, oh, With her head on his breast Then there’s twenty bars rest, And then he’d row, row, row. And then he’d row, row, row, Way up the River He would row, row, row, A hug he’d give her, Then he’d kiss her now and then, She would tell him when, He’s fool around and fool around And then they’d kiss again And then he’d row, row, row, A little further He would row, oh, oh, oh, oh, Then he’d drop both his oars, Take a few more encores, And then he’d row, row, row.