Kern–SB, Ol man, Jules bledsoe

While there are many more songs for us to listen to and enjoy that came from the Broadway musical, Show Boat, we now come to the one song that made Show Boat a hit in 1927 and still makes it a hit in 2020. That song is “Ol’ Man River.”

There has never been a song on Broadway that can compare with “Ol’ Man River.” It was and is unique. It expresses the hopes and dreams of all mankind in the form of a discussion between Joe and his God, who takes the form of the immortal River. The River does not intervene in our lives, nor does it save us from our own mistakes and folly. Yet, embedded in the concept of the River, is the Biblical view of the River as the River of Life. This concept was picked up in Negro Spirituals and has continued to be used in modern times. We see this in Carly Simon’s wonderful song, “Let the River Flow,” and in the poetry of Maya Angelou.

In fact we wrote an entire book about this concept in A Spiritual Exploration of the Literary and Performing Arts, Volume II Show Boat.

Let’s start with Jules Bledsoe’s recording of the song on Decca. Jules was the first Joe on Broadway and was trained for the opera. He was a professional singer with tremendous credentials. Yet, as we listen, we may find the tempo and style to be unusual and not at all dramatic.