Henderson et al–The Singing Fool, movie, Jolson, Sonny Boy

1928 was a good year for Henderson/DeSylva/Brown because it gave the trio the opportunity to write a song for the first all-talking picture, The Singing Fool, starring Al Jolson. There is quite a backstory here. In Hollywood, Al Jolson was filming The Singing Fool in 1928, and it was tried out in a preview screening and received unfavorable reactions. Jolson called Henderson/DeSylva/Brown and asked for a song in two days. According to Eddie Cantor, as quoted by David Ewen, the team wrote the “corniest song they could dream up” as a joke for Jolson. They even used a pen name, Elmer Colby, on the original sheet music. Jolson turned the table on the jokers; he loved the song, used it in the movie, recorded it as a single; and the song went on to sell a million copies. It was named “Sonny Boy;” and when the sheet music was published, it had the proper names of Henderson, Brown and DeSylva on the cover.

In the movie, we see a driven entertainer who insists upon going on with the show even as his small son is dying. It was a great role for Jolson.