Ethnic Songs

Ethnic Songs Vaudeville and turn-of-the-century entertainment were rife with ethnic characterizations. Jewish performers, such as Weber and Fields, portrayed “Dutch” comedians; Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor appeared in blackface; Maggie Cline portrayed a comic Irish character. Waves of new immigrants led to heightened interest in Italian, German, Jewish, and Irish characters, in both comic and sentimental portrayals. Many of the ethnic communities supported these characterizations, which were not…