GOING through my DVDs the other night, I came across a Freddie Star documentary and with nothing much on the TV, I decided to give it a go.

It included an interview with him being serious and not his usual daft self. I always thought Elvis was his favourite singer as he always talked about him and impersonated him so well.

So when he said Al Jolson was his favourite, it came as a big surprise and disappointment, because I’m a big Elvis fan.

However, I then remembered watching the Al Jolson Story film starring Larry Parks, and I remembered the great songs Al Jolson performed and his showmanship. In the 1920s and 1930s, I suppose he must have been the first and one of the best singers and entertainers of the 20th Century.

So much for John Lennon’s famous quote: “Before Elvis, there was nothing.” Al Jolson proves him wrong.

Mick Peacock, Coxhoe