The World's Greatest Minstrel

Since the death of Irving Caesar Clive and I have had many moments of reflection about this wonderfully talented songwriter and humanitarian whose gifts of song he gave so freely to the people of the world. And so he is immortalized.

Clive's connection with this remarkable man began about 1970 in front of the famous Brill Building on Broadway in New York. Clive and Pearl Sieben writer of 'The Immortal Jolson' were on the way to see a producer and Pearl recognized Irving Caesar and they stopped to talk. Always a Jolson/Baldwin enthusiast, Pearl told Mr. Caesar about Clive and his natural voice reminiscent of Al Jolson's. Clive sang a few bars of 'Swanee' and then to an amazed Caesar, a few more.

A few years later in 1975 Clive was asked to sing at The Barbizon Plaza hotel for the first International Al Jolson Society Convention. Pearl Sieben helped organise the evening and among many prominent entertainers and theatrical gusts was Samson Raphaelson, author of 'The Jazz Singer'. That afternoon Pearl and Clive met up with Irving Caesar at the Taft Hotel and invited him to come to the convention, unfortunately he had a previous engagement and made his regrets. Once again Irving Caesar sang the praises of Clive Baldwin to Pearl and coming from him, who wouldn't listen?

The next encounter with the great man was at the Jolson Convention at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York where he was one of the honoured guests and Clive was the star of the Saturday evening concert. It was a phenomenal evening, all the dignitaries from the Jolson Society and some of New York's outstanding citizens were there and naturally the were overwhelmed by his talented, unassuming Brit with the gift of Al Jolson's voice. Joey Adams toasted Clive and Irving Caesar, by now a real Baldwin fan asked to see Clive privately when he had time and would be in New York. That opportunity came in November whilst Clive was appearing at Caesar's Palace in Atlantic City in the show 'Legends In Concert'. George Burns was booked in for the weekend allowing the cast to take break and Clive went to New York and met with Irving Caesar in his office near The Winter Garden Theater.

Irving told Clive he had two unpublished songs that he would like to give him were, 'The Good Lord Never Made A Bad Bad Day' and 'There Is No Color Line Around The Rainbow'. At that time Mr Caesar confided to Clive that he was the nearest voice to al Jolson that he had ever heard and he was thrilled every time he heard Clive sing. Wow, what a thing to hear from one of the world's greatest songwriters of all time. Clive was overjoyed and returned to Atlantic City floating on a cloud, with the two fabulous songs in his pocket. Both songs are on Clive's The Magic Of Jolson CD.

So there you have it. Our Clive tied in dramatic fashion to one of the great songwriters of all time and his singing of these two songs is a living memorial to Irving Caesar and a testament to his greatness as a sincere and noble gentleman.

His parting words to Clive were, 'You have rendered unto Caesar more than Irving deserves'.