Young Jakie Rabinowitz (Bobby Gordon) loves jazz and ragtime, and wants to be a performer. But his father (Warner Oland) is a cantor, and he orders his son to carry on the family tradition. Jakie tries his hand anyway, only to be discovered by neighbor Moisha Yudelson (Otto Lederer) and kicked out of the house. A decade later, an older Jakie (Al Jolson) has followed his dream, changed his name and found love with performer Mary (May McAvoy), but he still wants to win his father over.