Re: Jewish Rock Stars.......Re: BOYCOTT THE ROLLING SKULL AND

Date: 8 Jun 2003 01:00:27 -0700
Newsgroups: alt.showbiz.gossip
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www.jewhoo.com certainly does exist...it works fine for me! Perhaps
your ISP blocks it for some unfathomable reason?
Anyway, here are the entries on some of the people mentioned in this
thread (and a few of the 400 other notable Jewish Rockers listed on
the site):
David Lee Roth - The original "Van Halen" front man. His father was
the band's manager for a time. He is a funny and intelligent guy--well
worth listening to on talk shows. Roth has any fan knows, parted
company with Van Halen in 1985. He had great success as a solo act
until about 1990. He has cooled off since then. A fan informs us that
David Lee Roth uses the term 'bubeleh' (Yiddish for baby) at the end
of "Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody". Quoting this Roth scholar,
"Listen for the lyric towards the end when David scat-sings, 'Hummala
bebhuhla zeebuhla bubeleh hummala bebhuhla zeebuhla bop...' (The
spelling is phonetic, but coming from David Lee, the fourth word could
only be 'bubeleh'.)" We at Jewhoo are prepared to accept this
scholarly interpretation of Roth's otherwise mysterious lyrical
ending. However, please do not forward to us any interpretations of
songs played backwards; 'Jewish content' or not. Roth was born in
Bloomington, Indiana in 1955. He says in his 'jumbled', but
entertaining autobiography, "Crazy From the Heat", that his use of his
middle name--mostly a 'Southern' thing--was influenced by growing up
in "Southern flavored" Indiana. He also notes that he has been asked
to speak to synagogue youth groups, but when he tells them he is going
to say that you have to learn as a Jew to deal with a lot of bigoted
or just plain ignorant assholes---the invitations are usually
withdrawn. Roth says, more or less, that he gets into the assholes'
faces before they can really bother him. [{We are adding this note to
about 5 of the Jewish rock and rollers that repeatedly show up in
searches. "Everyone" knows David Lee Roth is Jewish. There are 500
Jewish rock and rollers on this site. Isn't it boring to just confirm
what you know? Don't you want to know something new? So this is what
you do. Look down on the front page. See the heading "Music"? Good.
Click on it. All the music categories will appear. Then click on rock
and roll.]
Gene Simmons - The long tongued bass player for the famous band,
"Kiss". He was born Chaim Witz in Haifa, Israel. His mother survived
imprisonment in a concentration camp. Here is what Simmons said about
his culture shock upon arriving in America, "I was born in the Holy
Land and came to the U.S. when I was nine. When I landed at La Guardia
Airport, I saw a billboard showing Santa Claus smoking Kent
cigarettes; I had never seen Santa Claus, much less a Christian,
coming from Israel. I thought he was a rabbi, maybe a Russian
rabbi--he's got a beard, you know? So there was massive culture
shock." There is a good interview with Simmons on the following link.
(See also, Paul Stanley and Bruce Kulick) {We are adding this note to
about 5 of the Jewish rock and rollers that repeatedly show up in
searches. "Everyone" knows Gene Simmons is Jewish. There are 500
Jewish rock and rollers on this site. Isn't it boring to just confirm
what you know? Don't you want to know something new? So this is what
you do. Look down on the front page. See the heading "Music"? Good.
Click on it. All the music categories will appear. Then click on rock
and roll.] UPDATE March 2002: Gene Simmons has written an
autobiography. He appeared with Larry King and politely answered
questions. However, early in February 2002, he appeared with National
Public Radio host Terry Gross (who happens to be Jewish, too). Gene
exposed the personality that most 'adults' who have followed him
through the years suspected was always there. Gross is generally
considered one of the best interviewers in the country. She has top
guests from every field and really prepares for her interviews.
Simmons apparently knew nothing of this. He treated her like a "lowly
woman" who should be down on her knees with gratitude that he stooped
to give an interview with Public Radio. He was incredibly rude and
sexist and loudly proclaimed his superiority on every score. Simmons
has never made a secret of the fact that KISS was in it for the fame
and money--not for art. That's fine--but Simmons came off like the
complete asshole at a family dinner who thinks he is smarter than
everyone else because he made a lot of money in waste management or
cardboard boxes or some other similar pursuit. Gross made every effort
to steer the inteview in a serious way. But Gene would have nothing of
it. Simmons' view apparently is that he is polite when the interviewer
is very famous, rich, and male (like Larry King). If it's a woman on
public radio--well, they just don't count to Gene. An article about
the interview appears in the March issue of Harpers' Magazine. A story
about the interview is on the second link. As it says, Gross got about
3,000 e-mails supporting her. Simmons Simmons Grosses Out Gross
Paul Stanley - Singer and guitarist for KISS. His birth name is
Stanley Eisen. In 1999, NY rock journalist Rob Tannenbaum put together
an amusing program called, "Shtetl to Heavy Metal", about Jews in hard
rock bands (It was part of his, "what I like about Jew", series).
Regarding "KISS", he said, there's a long tradition of people in rock,
Jewish or not Jewish changing their names. "If you're calling yourself
Eisen and Witz [Gene Simmons' birth name], it's great for an
accounting firm, but it's not all that great for a rock band." There's
an interesting 2000 profile of Stanley on the following link from
Salon magazine. Stanley mentions his fear, as a youth, of being called
to the podium to read at the synagogue because of his less than
perfect command of Hebrew. (A fear shared by many Jewish kids).{We are
adding this note to about 5 of the Jewish rock and rollers that
repeatedly show up in searches. "Everyone" knows Paul Stanley is
Jewish. There are 500 Jewish rock and rollers on this site. Isn't it
boring to just confirm what you know? Don't you want to know something
new? So this is what you do. Look down on the front page. See the
heading "Music"? Good. Click on it. All the music categories will
appear. Then click on rock and roll.] Stanley Behind the Make-Up
Perry Farrell - Born Perry Bernstein. Leader of the influential early
1990's bands, "Jane's Addiction" and "Porno for Pyros". He still is
very active in rock, but has become an observant--if not Orthodox Jew.
Farrell now calls himself "Peretz" Farrell and says, "I wrap teffilin
and study Torah daily with my band member, Aron "Hacohen" Chasen."
There is a very interesting article from the Jewish young people's
magazine, "New Voices", on the following link. It discusses Farrell's
return to observance and the difficulties of being observant and being
a rock music performer. By the way, "New Voices", featured Jewhoo in a
recent (2001) issue. Even if they didn't feature us, we would say that
"New Voices" is one of the best magazines for younger Jewish people
around. It is not for the very traditional---but is a lively
combination of varying pieces (and some humor) written for a young
Jewish audience (circa age 17-30). You can find out how to subscribe
by following the links on the Farrell page. UPDATE--FEBRUARY
2002--This link no longer works. The first link is to an article about
Perry Farrell's life and his Jewish spiritual awakening. The second is
to the New Voices web site. Some complete issues are on-line. The
third article is by about Farrell and "rock and roll" Orthodox rabbi
Israel Langer. New Voices Site Rabbi Langer
Neil Diamond - Ah, Neil. What can we say about the man sometimes
dubbed "the Jewish Elvis?" Well, like with Bob Dylan and Paul Simon,
we won't give a standard bio easily found on any web site. Just, more
or less, the Jewish angle stuff that is hard to find on the web (see
Neil's entry under actors for stuff on the 'Jazz Singer"). Neil was
born in Brooklyn in 1941. His parents were Akeeba and Rose (Rapaport)
Diamond. His parents were born in the United States. His paternal
grandfather was born in Poland and his maternal grandfather was born
in Russia. His parents were incredibly supportive of anything that
Neil wanted to do. His father's dry good business prospered after the
war. They were not rich, but became comfortably middle class and
relocated, in 1956, to Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. Neil was a "C"
student in high school and was more into music--he was interested in
and jealous of Neil Sedaka--who was in Diamond's high school and wrote
a hit while still in high school. Diamond went to NYU on a full
fencing scholarship. Well, from here the story gets more generic. Neil
dropped out of college. He got a job writing songs--lost it. But was
signed again as a songwriter by a company owned by Jerry Leiber and
Mike Stoller. 1965 was the year Neil broke--he wrote two of the
Monkees' biggest hits ("I'm A Believer" and "A Little Bit Me, A Little
Bit You"). His solo performing career took off in 1965 with "Cherry,
Cherry". As noted under his entry under actors, Neil's first wife was
a 'nice' Jewish woman and he had a child with her. Neil divorced her
for a 'glamour wife' in the late 1960s and relocated to Los Angeles.
Neil always wanted the "respect" that people like Dylan, the Beatles,
etc. got as intellectually important songwriters. You decide whether
being Jewish has something to do with that. However, the irony is that
'intellectuals' tend to admire his early, bouncy stuff more--it was
good, bouncy pop music that did not pretend to be anything more.
Neil's forays into more glitzy, "profound" stuff in the 1970s got him
an even bigger audience--but not much respect as an important
songwriter. However, like with a lot of acts--time has put a rosy glow
on "everything Diamond"--"everybody" likes him now as a senior rock
statesman who wrote a hell of a lot of bouncy tunes and can still go
out there and put on a very professional show.
Bob Dylan - Born 1941 as Robert Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota. His
father, Abe, ran an appliance store in Hibbing, Minnesota, way up on
the Iron Range (where they mine iron ore). Well, what can we say about
Bob? There are a score of web-sites including one on his Jewish roots.
Casual fans will be relieved to learn that Bob is a Jew again. He is a
consistent supporter of the annual telethon of the Chabad (hasidic
group). However, we will quote this "Dylanism" since this is a
quasi-religious site. Upon receiving his Grammy for lifetime
achievement, Bob said, "Well, my daddy, he didn't leave me much...he
was a very simple man...but he did say 'Son, you know it's possible to
be so defiled in this world that your own father and mother will
abandon you, and if that happens, G-d will always believe in your
ability to mend your ways.'" The first link takes you to an on-site
interview with Bob's mother. The second is to a Time magazine profile
that is reasonably good. The last link is to Bob's most overtly
"Jewish" song, "Neighborhood Bully". {Well, we figure we will give
Dylan fans three fun facts as updates every once in a while to keep
things interesting. First: Roger Maris, baseball great, was born in
Hibbing and still probably edges out Bob as the small town's favorite
son. Maris moved away at age 10. In a new Dylan biography, released in
April 2001, Bob is depicted as a great father--but a big
womanizer--although he did not cheat on his first wife until the
marriage was virtually dead for other reasons. The biography contains
the "shocking" revelation that Dylan married African-American backup
singer Carolyn Dennis in 1986 and they stayed secretly married until
1992. Bob has a daughter with her. Dennis doesn't have anything bad to
say about Bob. But she spilled the beans on the marriage. Third, Bob,
of course, won the Oscar for best song at the 2001 Oscars. He didn't
look so pretty when he performed his song. Some reports say he
deliberately arranged the camera lights and his make-up to look as bad
as he could look. Bob likes to, as they used to say, "play with
people's heads."] UPDATE: 11/01 Rather than update here and under
Bob's entry under Folk--every once in a while we will use the entry
under the "Folk" section for my Bob fun facts for the Dylan freaks and
people who almost are Dylan freaks. See his entry in the folk section.
Bob's Mother Time Song
Peter Wolf - Wolf was the lead vocalist for the "J. Geils Band" and
was the guy most people think of when they think of the band. He left
the band in 1983 over "artistic differences". Wolf has released some
solo albums, but he has not had the success the band had just before
it broke up. Wolf gained an air of big time glamour when he married
actress Faye Dunaway in the early 1970s. They stayed married for about
five years. See entry on Stephen Bladd for more on the band. Tag-on:
We happened to stumble on Faye Dunaway's autobiography in the library.
She says that she was attracted to Wolf because he was both good
looking and very intelligent. Wolf, she says, would entertain J. Geils
crowds with very witty topical poems that he would improvise on the
spot. However, there was a big difference in their ages. She wanted a
family---he didn't want to start a family yet--and Dunaway was anxious
to start before it was too late. This fact, plus their separations due
to the demands of work--ended the marriage.
Robbie Robertson - Guitarist for and leader of the great rock group
"The Band". His late father was a Canadian Jew and his mother is
Aboriginal (Canadian Indian). Robertson was born (1943) in Toronto.
Robertson didn't really identify as anything until relatively
recently. However, it is reported that he has become involved in
"Native Canadian" issues and spirtuality in the last ten years or so.
We might note that "The Band" is the subject of a documentary that is
generally rated one of the top five rock music films of all
time--Martin Scorcese's "Last Waltz". Scorcese recorded the last
(1976) performance of "The Band" with its full original line-up. The
history of the group is covered in the documentary and there are many
great guest stars. "The Band", as any fan knows, were plucked out of
obscurity to back Bob Dylan in his first electric tour in 1965-66.
Their career and Dylan's career were closely intertwined until "The
Band" disbanded in 1976. Robertson was the songwriter or co-songwriter
of most of the Band's best known songs. Robertson is now a leading
artist development executive for record companies. Added April 2003:
There is a good history of "The Band" on the following link. "The
Band" have been inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame.
Paula Abdul - Adbul was hottest from the mid-80s until about 1995.
Adbul was born in Los Angeles in 1962. She was an LA Lakers
cheerleader in the early '80s. Abdul first attracted major notice as a
dance choreographer for other acts and for choreographing a bunch of
hot music videos. She later broke out with dance hits of her own. Her
career cooled off after 1995, but she has made a comeback of sorts as
one of the celebrity judges on "American Idol". There is a good one
page biography of Abdul on the following site that covers her major
hits and career up to 2000. While Abdul has never gone much into her
background with the news media, it is clear from various reliable
sources that both of her parents are Jewish. Her father (Harry Abdul)
is of Sephardic Jewish background and is a Syrian Jew. Her mother is
also Jewish and was born in Canada. Her parents have lived in Syria,
Brazil, and Canada--and this varied background has contributed to
incredibly different stories in the press about her nationality and/or
religion. [Abdul did tell a rabbi who formerly had an LA talk show
that she "believes in God" and that she was sad that her shortlived
marriage to a Jewish guy did not work out. This is about as
wide-ranging an interview about her personal life as she has given].
(We formerly had a long digression about Abdul's background and the
fact she is often misdescribed as Arab or "half Arab"--and the irony
that virtually every prominent Arab American entertainer (perhaps 15
people) is often perceived or assumed to be Jewish by a wide section
of the general public. However, since this site no longer covers
politics--we have removed this digression because it is outside the
scope of this site. We will simply note that forty percent of the Jews
in Israel and over half the Jews in France are refugees from Arab
countries (or their children)--it's not surprising that the groups
overlap in many ways--from their "look" to their foods to many other
things. This is not a groundbreaking relevation. It's just that a
large number of people are ignorant of it.) By the way, on the more
popular searches--Paula Abdul is a fairly uncommon name so you will
get her by using the search engine without too many other entries. But
just keep on IGNORING THE HUGE READ THIS SIGN UNDER THE SEARCH
ENGINE--and you will not find anyone with ease. Follow the sign!!!!
Marty Balin - Lead singer of the famous San Francisco '60s/70s bands
"Jefferson Airplane" and "Jefferson Starship." Balin was the male lead
on such beautiful songs as, "Coming Back to Me" and "Miracles". Balin
was born (1942) Marty Buchwald. (His father is Jewish. His mother is
not.) Airplane/Starship Jewish troopers also include Jorma, whose
mother is Jewish, and David Freiberg. (Paul Kantner was born and
raised Catholic. Not Jewish at all). The band formed in San Francisco
in 1965. Grace Slick, a member of the band "Great Society", joined in
1966. The Airplane hit the heights of their popularity between
1966-1971, with such hits as "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love."
Starship, the 1970s offshoot, had Kanter, Slick, and Balin among its
members at various points. "Starship" had quite a bit of success, but
imploded by the late 1970s. (Balin wrote the "Starship" hits,
"Miracles" and "Caroline"). A short-lived 1989 revival of the original
Airplane never really got off the ground in terms of popularity. The
history of both bands are on the following links. The Airplane was
inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame. (Revised with new, working links,
April 2003)
Jon Bauman - Bauman, known as "Bowser", was the distinctive baritone
singer for the 1950s style revival and comedic band "Sha Na Na". The
band debuted at the original 1969 Woodstock rock festival. They had
their own syndicated TV show from 1977 to 1981. Other Jewish members
of the band were Elliot Cahn, Henry Gross, and Alan Cooper. Cooper
went on to teach Bible at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Gross has
had a moderately successful solo career. (See his entry). Cooper is
quoted on the following linked piece about Perry Farrell about the
incompatiability of being an observant Jew and being a rock star, "'If
I had stayed [in the music industry], it would have killed me,' Cooper
recalls. In his opinion, the hedonistic lifestyle that typically
accompanies rock stardom is diametrically opposed to practicing a
Jewish life. Morally, the two are stark opposites, he says, adding
that to truly be a Jewish musician, one cannot disregard Jewish
dictates concerning moral behavior. Rabbi Langer agrees that the rock
n' roll lifestyle of 'sex and drugs and wine and women' doesn't
exactly mesh well with Jewish values. Nevertheless, he argues that
there is something in the lifestyle which allows for redemption.
According to Langer, Menachem Schneerson, the late Lubavitcher Rebbe,
taught that the negative effects of popular culture could be
neutralized. 'One can take even what is considered rock and roll
music, and apply it ... put holy words to it, and then it becomes
Jewish music. You can really take from the culture.' " Update December
2002: The link no longer works--we have replaced it with a link to the
official band web site (yes, the band still exists). There are bios on
the site on all members, past and present.
Steve Berlin - Saxophonist for the great progressive rock band "Los
Lobos". Originally from Philadelphia. The token "gringo" in the band.
Berlin got his start in the L.A. rock band "The Blasters", which
disbanded. David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of "Los Lobos" begged him to
join their band. Once he did, they took off with two classic albums,
"How Will the Wolf Survive'? and "By the Light of the moon". Their
only major commercial success was a great remake of "La Bamba". A
shame, for this band has made consistently great albums for more than
the past twenty years, and still perform to this day. Berlin is also a
leading producer. His list of credits is endless ranging from Paul
Simon to the Flesh Eaters, Leo Kottke, The Smithereens, Crash Test
Dummies and Faith No More. In 2003, Berlin produced an album
("Worksongs")for "Quetzal", a groundbreaking band stemming from the
barrios of Los Angeles. Quetzal takes a grassroots approach to fusing
the folk styles of Mexico and Cuba in son and bolero along with
elements of rock and blues.
Eric Bloom - Bloom is the guitarist and lead singer for the legendary
heavy metal band, "Blue Oyster Cult". Bloom was born in New York in
1948. The band formed on Long Island in the mid-1970s and is often
credited with being the first heavy metal band. Bloom pioneered the
leather and studs look. The band has continued on for several decades.
They reached the height of their popularity with the monster hit,
"Don't Fear The Reaper". This song was actually not all that typical
of their music. Producer Sandy Pearlman, who helped put the band
together, is also Jewish. Most critics believe their first three or
four albums are by far the best. Fun fact: Bloom is "somehow" related
to Howard Stern. Some sources say they are cousins. However, a more
trustworthy site, devoted to Blue Oyster Cult, says that Stern is the
cousin of Bloom's wife. Stern and Bloom have hung out with each other.
Mike Bloomfield - Lead guitarist who played in countless sessions,
including Bob Dylan's classic "Highway 61 Revisited". It is his lead
guitar you hear on "Like a Rolling Stone". Al Kooper, who also played
on the "Highway 61" sessions, said that he was going to play guitar.
Bloomfield then walked in and played better guitar than Kooper, "had
ever heard a white man play." Kooper bowed out and played keyboards,
instead. Bloomfield was also a member of "Paul Butterfield's Blues
Band" and he played in a two-man band with Barry Goldberg. They
released an album called, "Two (2) Jews Blues" when such a title was
very daring. See the article, "Jews and Rock" in the columns section,
home page. Bloomfield also played with "The Electric Flag" (the other
Jews in the band were bassist Harvey Brooks and organist Barry
Goldberg). Michael Bloomfield was born in Chicago in 1943. He died of
a drug overdose in 1981. What a waste. The second link is to a good
short biography of Bloomfield
Marc Bolan - Leader of "T-Rex". "T-Rex" was huge in Britain in the
late 1960s and early 1970s. It was less popular in America. However,
the band's biggest hit, "Bang a Gong, Get It On", reached the tops of
both the American and British charts. The band is widely credited with
creating the "glam rock" movement that ended up including figures like
David Bowie. Bolan was, for most intents and purposes, "T-Rex".
"T-Rex" declined in popularity after 1973 and Bolan disbanded the
group in 1976. It looked like Bolan was making a comeback in 1977. He
was musically collaborating with "old rival" David Bowie. Sadly, Bolan
died that year in a tragic auto accident. He was only thirty.
Biography on link.
Michael Bolton - Yes, he is Jewish. You either love him or hate him.
Singer-songwriter who specializes in blue-eyed soul and has sold
millions of albums. Born (1953) Michael Bolotin in New Haven,
Connecticut. We know we should give this guy a longer write-up since
he is (or was) a big star. But it was bad enough in the '50, when Pat
Boone did his tenth rate "white bread" re-makes of rhythm and blues
songs originally done by black performers. We thought that era was
over until 'bulge in his pants' Boltin showed up doing his decidely
lesser re-make of Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves A Woman." In more
recent years, as detailed in the very favorable linked bio---Bolton
has taken on the operatic classics. Maybe he can sing--but so what? He
never brings anything better or more interesting to the music forms he
dabbles in.
David Bryan - Keyboardist for the famous band "Bon Jovi". Bryan, who
is classically trained, was one of the founders of the (New Jersey
born) band and has known band frontman Jon Bon Jovi since they were
teenagers. Bryan was born David Bryan Rashbaum. He has joked (see
linked piece) that "Rashbaum" was not a great name for a rock band.
Bryan is a practicing Jew and discusses his faith in the very
interesting linked piece. He says that Jewish music and his faith
informs his composing work. He mentions that he and BonJovi did a
cover of Adam Sandler's "Chanukah Song" for their holiday concerts in
2000. Actually, like the other guys in BonJovi, he comes off as an
intelligent adult. Unlike a lot of bands, the guys in BonJovi have
been consistently professional musicians. They just do a lot of great
work and don't produce headlines for supermarket tabloids. Bryan is,
to the best of knowledge, the only Jewish guy in "Bon Jovi".
Leonard Cohen - Singer, song writer, and poet from Canada. He is still
doing excellent work, but is most associated with his '60s classics
like "Suzanne" and "Sisters of Mercy". A visitor tells us that, per
capita, he sells the most albums in Poland. (Go figure). Cohen is an
active Buddhist--but his practice is of such a nature that is hard to
say whether it profoundly conflicts with his Jewish identity--which he
has referenced in both his statements and his work. In 1999, Cohen
left the Buddhist monastery where he had lived for five years. A new
studio album is supposed to come out in the first half of 2001 and he
is supposed to tour behind it. If you have any interest in Cohen--the
following linked web site is your place. A Finnish fan has put
together a site that is absurdly comprehensive.
Johnny Clegg - Johnny Clegg is almost certainly the most famous
"white" musician to come out of Africa. He was famous as a voice of
the anti-apartheid movement within the South African community. His
best known song is probably the anthem, "One Man One Vote". He is
known for his innovative work with black South African musicians. Work
that incorporates native musical traditions. Clegg was born in
England,in 1953, but grew up on his maternal grandfather's farm in
(then) Rhodesia. His first language was the African tongue of the
farm's laborers. Clegg's father, an English ex-air force pilot, is not
Jewish. Clegg's mother is Jewish and she was born in Africa, the
daughter of Lithuanian immigrants. Clegg identifies as Jewish and,
according to a recent article, lights candles on the Sabbath. His
background is described in the liner notes to a 1992 album that is
found on the following link.
Marc Cohn - Singer and songwriter best known for the beautiful and
often covered song, "Walking In Memphis". Won a Grammy for best new
artist in 1991.
Jim Croce - The late folk rock star who is famous for "Time in a
Bottle"; "Big Bad Jim"; "Operator", others. Converted when he married
a Jewish woman. Buried in a Pennsylvania Jewish cemetery. Based on an
interview with his cousin, Croce's conversion was principally
motivated by his marriage. His wife's family was quite devout. He
studied and converted; but he hardly could be called a practicing Jew
after his conversion. Like many conversions, it was a complex
situation and it was hard on both families. Jim's son, AJ Croce, is
also a singer/songwriter and actively tours.
Mike Diamond - Beastie Boys' band member--also known as "Mike D".
Contrary to rumor, he is not actor Dustin Diamond's brother--no matter
what it says on the Internet Movie Data Base. By the way, despite the
common assumption that actor Dustin Diamond is Jewish--the only
verifiable piece of information we could find about him was that he
attended a Lutheran High School. Frankly, the Beasties are so well
known that we cannot add a lot beyond the thousands of web sites out
there. But, if you are only somewhat familiar with the band--the
following band history gives an intelligent summary of their career.
Tag on: A veteran visitor to Jewhoo is a proud graduate of Stuyvesant
High School and he asked us to note that all "the Beasties" graduated
from "the Harvard" of New York City high schools. We said "okay" since
the editor's niece is about to enter this fine school.
Adam Duritz - Lead singer and founding member of the intelligent rock
group Counting Crows, which has enjoyed great success since its debut
album, 'August and Everything After' (1993). Both the band's debut
album and followup, 'Recovering the Satellites '(1996), which sold in
the millions of copies, feature Duritz's evocative songwriting and
singing. More recently, Duritz has become involved in movie producing,
and his credits include Burn (1998) and The Locusts (1997). Duritz was
born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1964. His father is a doctor. Adam went
to Hebrew school and was bar mitzvah. The band began in the San
Francisco Bay Area, where Duritz's parents have long lived. Adam, one
of the few dreadlocked Jews, has been romantically linked with several
famous women. Among others, he dated two thirds of the female cast of
"Friends" (Courtney Cox and Jennifer Aniston). He is still unmarried
as of 2001.
Mike Einziger - The lead guitarist for the band 'Incubus'. Incubus is
a five piece funk/metal/rock band, whose most recent album "Make
Yourself" went platinum. Einziger was born in the Los Angeles area in
1976. He is a highly respected guitarist among his peers. His younger
brother, Ben Einziger, also a guitarist, is in "Vent", a very popular
band on the West Coast which just (6/01) released its first album.
Paul Fried, who is also Jewish, is the bass player for "Vent". He is
the stepbrother of Mike and Ben Einziger. The first link is to a fun
interview with Einziger. The second link is to the official 'Vent' web
site. You can find Ben's personally written bio. He talks about his
family, his brother, and himself.
Mama Cass Elliott - Famous singer with the mega sixties group, "The
Mamas and the Papas". She had a great singing voice and an engaging
personality. Cass was born Ellen Cohen to a middle class Baltimore
Jewish family. "Cass" was a family nickname she took as a stage name.
"Elliott" was taken in tribute to a friend. Contrary to rumor, she did
not die from choking on a sandwich. This was an early erroneous report
based on a pathologist's speculation. The official cause of death was,
in lay language, deterioration of the heart due to obesity. Cass'
daughter, Owen Elliott, is also a singer. Cass was 33 when she died in
1974. There is an excellent biography on the following link. Cass was
the only Jewish member of "The Mamas and the Papas". Sources that say
anything different are worthless. Cass, along with the rest of "The
Mamas and the Papas" are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Howie Epstein - Howie Epstein is considered one of the best bassists
in the biz. He joined Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1982. Beyond
his role in the group, as a musician and a backing vocalist whose
harmonies with Tom Petty are a Heartbreakers' trademark, the
born-and-bred Milwaukee musician has earned acclaim as a songwriter
and producer. He produced two albums for John Prine, including 1991's
'The Missing Years', which won a Grammy for "Best Contemporary Folk
Recording." Howie Epstein also produced two albums for Carlene Carter:
'Little Love Letters' and 'I Fell In Love', the latter of which
features his co-written title cut, nominated for "Best Female Country
Vocal Performance." As a player, Howie Epstein has been featured on
songs by such artists as Bob Dylan, John Hiatt, Stevie Nicks, Roy
Orbison, Johnny Cash and Del Shannon. In June 2001, he was arrested
with Carlene Cash (Johnny Cash's daughter; she's reported to be
Epstein's girlfriend) while driving in a stolen SUV. Drugs were found
in the car. Howie, your 46, aren't you getting a little old for this
stuff? Update February 2003: Howie Epstein died of an apparent heroin
overdose this month. Epstein was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame
with the rest of the Heartbreakers. He was dropped from the band in
2002 because of his "personal problems." Now he's another guy in "rock
and roll" heaven.
Donald Fagen - Singer and composer for "Steely Dan". Steeley Dan j put
out a new CD in 2000 after a twenty plus year hiatus. "Steely Dan",
for those unfamiliar with the band, was one of the most influential
and interesting rock acts of the 1970's. While the number of their
individual hits ("Ricki Don't Lose That Number") was small--their
clever lyrics and varied influences combined to create some of the
best music of the 1970s. For all intents and purposes, Fagen and
Walter Becker, who is not Jewish, were and are "Steely Dan". (Update:
Steely Dan won three Grammys at the 2001 Grammy awards. This included
the award for the best album of the year, for "Two Against Nature". On
the following link there is an interesting piece from the "Cleveland
Jewish News" about Donald Fagen. His elderly parents were interviewed.
Not suprisingly they are very proud of him and his platinum record
plaques hang on their walls. Steely Dan was inducted into the Rock
Hall of Fame.
Art Garfunkel - Garfunkel was, of course, the other half of the
legendary folk/rock duo, "Simon and Garfunkel". They were both from
Queens, New York, they are both Jewish, and they met when they were
still kids. And they were both born in 1941. Paul Simon wrote the
songs. Artie had the much more lovely singing voice. Garfunkel's
grandparents immigrated from Rumania and Artie says he hasn't a clue
how they ended up with the funny name of "Garfunkel". Artie has had a
very few solo hits since the duo broke up ("All I Know"). Garfunkel
did a credible job when he tried acting in the early 1970s ("Carnal
Knowledge" and "Catch 22"), but he has not acted in a long time.
Garfunkel is still very active as a touring act and recording artist.
Little update: Based on Paul Simon's comments upon been inducted as a
solo act in the Rock Hall of Fame (2001)---don't expect to see them
reunite for anything in the foreseeable future. It is our sense that
Garfunkel makes some comment about Simon every few years that ticks
off Simon and Simon stops talking to him for a long time. It is our
impression that Artie has never completely got over Simon's decision
to end the duo and go it alone as a solo act. Fun fact: Simon and
Garfunkel's Greatest Hits Album has sold more copies (10 million as of
2000) than any other album by a duo in history. Update February 2003:
Simon and Garfunkel buried the hatchet long enough to appear together
at the 2003 Grammys.
Arlo Guthrie - Arlo is, of course, a folk musician or folk rock
musician. Most famous for his very long song, "Alice's Restaurant".
His biggest single hit was his cover of Steve Goodman's great tune,
"The City of New Orleans." His father was the legendary singer Woody
Guthrie, who was not Jewish. His mother was Jewish and Arlo had a
"hootenanny" bar mitzvah. However, he is now a lay Catholic brother.
Woody Guthrie, by the way, is the only non-Jewish songwriter that we
have found who wrote a Jewish holiday song, "Hanuka Dance". Trust us,
"This Land", it's not. But we love the gesture. UPDATE: Well, Arlo has
been through a lot of religious trips in the last two decades. The NY
Times Times, on January 5, 2002, says that Guthrie has spent time
studying Judaism, spent some time with Franciscan monks (this was we
had last heard), and has heavily studied Hindu and Buddhist scripture.
Apparently his wife is Jewish since the piece said he had lively
discussions about Talmud and Torah with his father-in-law. Guthrie now
runs an interfaith group aimed at promoting understanding of all
religions. He runs it out of the (former) church building that Alice,
you remember Alice?, Arlo's most famous song was about Alice,---lived
in when "Alice's Restaurant" was composed. No services are held at the
former church, but it is a place for meditation. Arlo, according to
the Times, does not identify with any one faith--but is very
'spiritual'and his spirituality informs his social activism. Guthrie
also runs the Guthrie Foundation out of the building. It is aimed at
helping people maintain their traditional culture in the face of
globalization. Update April 2002: We saw an interview with Nora
Guthrie, Arlo's sister. Nora runs the "Woody Guthrie Archives" and
there is a huge amout of Woody material, she says, that has never been
published or recorded. She added this interesting detail: "Also Woody
wrote a lot of songs on Jewish topics while he was living out on Coney
Island, which in the 1950's was the huge kind of
Yiddish/Russian/Jewish/Yiddish speaking community. He was highly
influenced by the stories and the culture that were around him. He
wrote a lot of material on Jewish cultural things like blintzes,
latkas, and Hanukah and all kinds of stuff like that. So I've been in
touch with the Klesmatics. So we're hopefully in the next year we'll
be working together on the Klesmatics writing music to these Jewish
topical songs."
Nina Hagen - Nina Hagen is sometimes called "The Mother of Punk".
Maybe the mother of European Punk would be a better label, although we
are hard pressed to think who would be the American equivalent (Patti
Smith?). Hagen was born in East Germany, but was expelled in 1976. Her
mother is Jewish. Her father is not. Hagen had already gained a
reputation as a flamboyant rock singer by the time she emigrated to
the West in 1976, where she formed a band, signed to CBS Germany, and
released their debut album, Nina Hagen Band, in 1978. It was followed
in 1980 by Unbehagen. Hagen's first U.S. release was a four-song EP
consisting of songs drawn from her two German releases, Nina Hagen
Band EP (1980). She moved to New York and made her first
English-language LP, Nunsexmonkrock, in 1982. That and its follow-up,
the album Fearless (1983), charted briefly, and "New York New York"
was a Top Ten dance club hit. But Hagen left CBS after 'Nina Hagen in
Ekstacy' (1985). Since '85, she has been less hot but still has
something of a cult following. We stumbled on an old "Merv Griffin
Show" interview with her that someone posted on the web. Don Rickles
was a guest on the panel. Rickles joked, for little apparent reason,
"I wonder why they lost the war." Hagen said, "I'm Jewish so I wasn't
involved in that." I bet Rickles was shocked out of his gourd that a
German punk rocker singer was Jewish. Merv 'moved things along' right
away.
Beck Hansen - Singer, songwriter whom Allen Ginsberg called the best
lyricist of his generation. First, the standard biography: Beck mixed
folk, blues and hip-hop into a crowd-pleasing sound that made him one
of the hotter pop musicians of the 1990s. His 1993 single 'Loser' was
an alternative radio hit, and a few albums later he scored his first
gold record with Odelay. That 1996 album won him a Grammy for Best
Alternative Music Performance and also made him a big-time star; he
soon won Best Artist awards from publications as diverse as Spin and
Seventeen. His album Midnight Vultures was nominated for a 2000 Grammy
as Record of the Year. Beck's mother, Bibbe Hansen, was a pal of pop
artist Andy Warhol. Beck took her last name of Hansen after his
parents split. Now the Jewish angle: Beck 'confuses' a lot of people
because only his maternal grandmother was 'fully' Jewish by ethnicty.
However, Jewhoo has consulted a source very close to Beck and the
definitive answer is the he was raised with some Jewish observance and
that he identifies in a religious sense as Jewish. In addition, in a
published interview, Beck stated that he attended Hebrew school for a
short time and wanted to be bar mitzvah. But his family was too poor.
Like a lot of Jewish kids--the first time Beck got drunk was at a
seder. (That wine creeps up on you.) In the spring of 2001, there were
some reports that Beck had been grabbed by the body snatchers over at
Scientology. He denied the reports, but they have persisted. No doubt,
whether it is true will come out in the course of time. Fun footnote:
Beck's great-great-grandfather was the first President of the
International Ladies' Garment Workers Union.
Mickey Hart - One of the two drummers in the Grateful Dead; great
picture of Mickey at his bar mitzvah in the Official Book of the
Deadheads. Born Mickey Hartman. (Special note, while Jerry Garcia was
not Jewish, his mother named him after her favorite composer, Jerome
Kern, who was Jewish). On the link is an article by a religious Jewish
guy about the relationship of the Grateful Dead to Jews and Judaism.
He speculates about why so many Jews were "Deadheads" and goes into
Mickey's background a bit. It is interesting--if a little over the
top. Update August 2002: Following a successful concert in early
August in Wisconsin, the "surviving members of the Dead" announced
they will tour again. (Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey
Hart. Hart is and was the sole Jewish member of "The Dead". However,
as anyone who takes time to read this category, instead of popping in
names in the search engine knows, a lot of important people associated
with famous 1960s "San Francisco scene" were Jewish). Interesting
Jewish related "Grateful Dead" sidelight: We recently read that folk
musician John Cohen, see folk category, is the "Uncle John" in the
famous Dead song "Uncle John's Band". Cohen lead the '50s and early
'60s folk revival band "The New Lost City Ramblers" and his nickname
was Uncle John. The lyrics of the song are a bit cryptic and one would
be tempted to say that some Deadheads were reading too much into the
title. However, Dead lyricist Robert Hunter confirmed the speculation
as to who "Uncle John" is. He saw the Ramblers play in Northern
California in the early 1960s and the title of the song is a tribute
to 'Uncle' John Cohen. (Updated September 2002)
Sophie B. Hawkins - Sophie B. Hawkins is a pop/folk singer of
considerable talent who has achieved quite a bit of fame. Her first
album, 1992's "Tongues and Tails" produced the big hit, "Damn I Wish I
Was Your Lover" and garnered her a Grammy nomination for best new
artist. Her second album, "Whaler", produced the hit, "As I Lay Me
Down". Her third album, "Timbre", featured unusual instruments and
Hawkins felt that Columbia, her record label, failed to promote it.
She went independent and took the album with her. Hawkins recently
told the LA Times about her perfect weekend, starting with Friday:
"Friday night, I would have Shabbat at my house with some friends, and
I'd like it to be done really traditionally. After that everyone would
just talk, and my musician friends bring their instruments, and I'd
have my cello, and we'd sit around by the fire and pass the night that
way." A documentary about her life and career, "The Cream Will Rise",
has been shown at Sundance and on the Independent Film
Channel.Correction 11/2001: We defy anyone to read the quote above and
not assume Hawkins is Jewish. However, in an August, 2001 interview
she said that her best friend is Jewish and she is fascinated by
Jewish history and culture--but she is not Jewish.
Adam Horovitz - Guitarist for the "Beastie Boys". Son of Tony award
winning playwright, Israel Horvitz. His mother is not Jewish. He was
married, until recently, to actress Ione Skye, daughter of '60s
folk-rock star "Donovan". Ione's mother is Jewish. Band history on
following link. (Note to new visitors: "Everyone" knows "The Beasties"
are "mostly" Jewish. There are close to 400 Jewish rock and rollers
listed on this site. Why not just click on the category rock and roll
and read and learn something new?)
Mick Hucknall - The English lead singer of the band "Simply Red",
which became very popular in the 1980s. Their two biggest hits, which
Hucknall wrote, are "Holding Back the Years" and "Money's Too Tight
Too Mention". Hucknall's father is not Jewish. His mother 'walked out'
on Mick and his father when he was three years old and eventually
moved to America. He met her when in was in his early twenties. She
told him, among other things, that she was Jewish. Hucknall disclosed
this in 1999 and evidenced a surprising degree of happiness, for lack
of a better term, that he was part Jewish by ethnicity.
Janis Ian - Janis Ian was still a teenager when she wrote the big
1960s FM radio hit, "Society's Child". It was quite shocking in its
day because it was about inter-racial relationships. Ian came back
into public notice in the early 1970s with the hit, "At Seventeen".
Ms. Ian is one of the Jewish figures in folk and rock who is
interviewed in the Jews and Rock article on this site. The link is on
the home page (articles) and here. Ms. Ian describes herself in the
article as being very connected to her Jewish identity.
Billy Joel - Long Island, New York raised singer and songwriter who
does not need a listing of his credits. People ask us constantly about
his 'Jewishness". Therefore, this entry will almost exclusively be
devoted to that topic. Joel has declared in interviews that, "the Jews
are my people." Both his parents are Jewish. His father's family was
one of the most prominent Jewish families in Nuremburg, Germany. They
managed to escape with their lives, most of their wealth stolen from
them. His father moved to New York in 1941 and later married Joel's
mother, an American Jew. Joel's father went to Europe after Billy's
parents divorced in 1957. His mother was left in reduced circumstances
and that helps explain Joel's working class sensibility. (Correcting
our earlier copy about Joel's father---Billy says his father did "send
a check every week"). Joel was raised without any formal Jewish
religious background. His mother flirted with Christianity, but that
ended quickly. Many people take references to Catholicism in Joel's
songs as autobiographical-& they are to the extent that a lot of
Joel's friends were/are Catholics. On Long Island, everybody is Jewish
or Catholic--or so it seems. [Joel says he sometimes attended Mass
with his boyhood friends and this inspired him to use "dark, Catholic
guilt imagery" in his songs. Despite this imagery, Joel has described
himself as an atheist.] We formerly linked to an excellent story on
the history of Joel's father's family; his partial reconciliation with
his father; and Joel's experiences while visiting Nuremburg. This
story was published in the Long Island, NY newspaper, "Newsday" on
4/18/ 2000. But the site that had the article for "free" has stopped
displaying it. If you are interested in reading this article, go to
the following link. You will be charged to read the article. UPDATE:
Despite all this, people still ask us: Is Billy Joel Jewish? Are you
sure? In April, 2001 we found a cached Billboard article on the web
that accurately describes Joel's background. We pasted a long excerpt
below, lest it 'disappear'. We found the whole article on another site
in July, 2001. There is a little extra information, so fans will
probably want to read the whole thing. But we are leaving the excerpt
here. We want this excerpt to remain on the site because we want to
"end this silliness" about Joel and the excerpt is well worth reading.
Here it is: Howard Joel was born June 12, 1923, in Nuremberg, the only
child of wealthy merchant Carl Joel and wife Meta Fleischmann. While
the earliest Joel is assumed by Billy's father to have been "the one
in the Bible, the book of Joel; he was one of the minor prophets," the
Joel family has traced its modern lineage as far back as 1806, when
Faust Joel entered the world in Colmberg, a farming community near the
Altmhl River in the Bavarian district of Mittelfranken. Faust's son
Julius was a tailor whose expanding interests in textile production
led to grandson Carl Joel's ownership of the mail-order fabric
business that bore the family name, Waschemanufaktur Joel. "It was a
very large business, the largest of its kind in Germany," Howard Joel
explains in the first interview he has ever granted. "My father (Carl)
sold the business before he left Germany (in the late 1930s); he had
to leave, and he couldn't take it with him, so he sold it. He never
really got all the money from the sale, but that's another story. He
was detained in Berlin for a week or so"--at which point he purchased
his freedom with a few remaining personal valuables--"and then he
joined my mother and me in Switzerland." Thus does the taciturn Mr.
Joel describe the theft and destruction by the Nazis of the Joel
clan's generations-spanning enterprise following the imposition in
1935 of Germany's anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws (under which Jewish
citizens were deprived of citizenship rights and their businesses and
real estate seized in a pseudo-legal policy of "Aryanization"). At the
same juncture when these and similar racist writs were being enacted,
Carl Joel packed Howard off to the exclusive St. Gall's boarding
school in northeastern Switzerland for safety's sake. Howard was a
promising young classical pianist, and a photo survives of him poised
at the keyboard during an afternoon children's concert presented on
the terrace of a hotel in the Swiss town of Flim. A musical career was
considered for the precocious young musician. "The possibility was
there," says Mr. Joel, "but my father wanted me to do something
serious. I became an engineer because that's what he wanted. In those
days, you did what the old man told you to do." Howard's parents had
hoped to migrate directly to the United States, but there was a quota
on Jewish refugees, so they were forced in 1939 to travel instead to
Cuba, where Howard attended the University of Havana for three years.
When immigration restrictions eased, the Joels entered America, taking
a handsome apartment in a fashionable section of the Bronx near the
Cloisters, paid for with savings accumulated and/or smuggled out of
Germany during their exile in the Caribbean. In 1942, Howard Joel met
Rosalind Hyman while both served as non-matriculated members of the
Gilbert & Sullivan Players at the City College of New York.
Coincidentally, Rosalind's own parents, British natives Philip and
Rebecca Hyman, had their own first encounter at a Gilbert & Sullivan
operetta presented at London's Royal Albert Hall. Rebecca Hyman (whose
Russian forebears were Kravenkys from Czarist Minsk) had been trained
as a British nanny, while her husband was an amateur playwright and
unpublished author of the Bohemian persuasion. "My father's parents
didn't get along with my mother or my mother's family," Billy Joel
says. "There was a big division, as a matter of fact; as long as I can
remember, there never was any big family thing going on. My mother's
parents lived in Flatbush in Brooklyn, and it was a narrow, dark,
typical tenement-style apartment. My father's parents had this big,
open, sunken living room with very nice furniture and Oriental rugs;
but I was very young, and I don't remember them very well." Billy
would later say the same of his father, who was drafted into the U.S.
Army in July 1943; he was sent to Italy with the 48th Engineer Combat
Battalion and participated in the Allies' seizure of Anzio and the
fierce battle of Monte Cassino.Howard Joel returned to marry Rosalind
Hyman in 1946; she was pregnant three years later with Billy, but the
lighthearted aspect of the senior Joel's personality had largely been
extinguished. "Tragically, he was never the same when he came back,"
Rosalind Joel now says. Her son concurs: "All his cynicism and
sourness came from his experiences in the war." Howard Joel's job at
General Electric required that he trek regularly to Latin and South
America, and his absences became increasingly frequent. When his
parents divorced, Billy was almost 8 and resided with his parents and
older sister Judith Ann in a modest, prefabricated home (identical to
the sweeping grid of dwellings that surrounded it) on Meeting Lane in
the Hicksville, Long Island, housing tract of Levittown. Howard Joel
ultimately resettled in Vienna, Austria, and remarried; he and second
wife Audrey begat Billy's stepbrother, Charles Alexander Joel, now 23
and a rising European classical pianist and conductor. It was not
until 1972, when Billy was himself a grown man of 23, that he set eyes
on his dad again, and their contact would remain only sporadic for
another two decades. As a result, manifold misconceptions cropped up
about his father's background, including the mistaken belief--not
corrected until late in 1993--that Howard Joel had been imprisoned by
the Nazis in the Dachau concentration camp. Sadly, what actually did
transpire was no less unsettling.
Mick Jones - English guitarist best known for being part of the '80s
mega-group, "The Clash". Mick's father is Welsh and not Jewish. His
mother is Russian Jewish and it unclear whether she was born in
Britain. The history of the punk group "The Clash" is summarized on
the following link. Jones was dropped from the band in 1983 over
"artistic" differences. He then formed part of the group called
"B.A.D." ("Big Audio Dynamite") Jones recorded an interesting song
with B.A.D. called, "Beyond the Pale". It refers to the "Pale of the
Settlement". This was the geographic section of the Russian Empire
which the Czarist Russian government allowed Jews to live in without
special permission ("the Pale" existed from the late 18th century
until the Czar was deposed in 1917). The lyrics refer to his (Jewish)
grandmother's flight from oppression, "Crossing all the borders
through the smoke of war and rain/Papers out of order on a military
train/ A coat, a bag, a baby, status: refugee./These are the people of
my family...". Update December 2002: The Clash were selected in
November to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. On
December 23, 2002, Clash frontman Joe Strummer died. Strummer said a
few years ago that his biggest mistake was forcing Mick Jones out of
the band. This decision effectively killed the band within a year or
so of Jones' departure. We are virtually certain that Jones was the
only Jewish member of the Clash. In an interview, Jones said that a
reporter came up to him at a party and said, "I heard there is a
Jewish guy in the Clash." Jones replied, "Your right. I am the Jewish
guy in the Clash." Correction of sorts: Keith Levene, a guitarist who
was forced out of the Clash very early (1976) on, has a Jewish father.
However, he said in an interview that "My mum isn't Jewish and neither
am I." (Some reports say that it was drugs that got Levene kicked out.
He claims otherwise. Levene went on to play with "PIL"--with Johnny
Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, and to do some other things). At the time
Jones made the statement, above, Levene was long out of the band.
Ira Kaplan - Leader, guitarist and primary songwriter of the highly
respected indie rock band "Yo La Tengo". The band formed in Hoboken,
New Jersey in 1984. Rather than try to summarize the band's history
and eclectic influences in a short entry, you will probably enjoy
visiting the following site which summarizes their style and music.
The band appears in the film, "Who Shot Andy Warhol", as "The Velvet
Underground".
Jorma Kaukonen - Famous guitarist for the "Jefferson Airplane" and
"Hot Tuna". Jorma's father is of Finnish background and worked for the
U.S. Foreign Service. His mother, Beatrice Levine Kaukonen, is of
Russian Jewish background. We really have no idea how Jorma was
raised. However, since Jorma was one of the first guys in rock with a
lot of tatoos, it is reasonable to assume he was not raised 'very'
Jewish, if at all. There is a very good one page biography of this
'rock legend' on the following link. (Note: Jorma's brother Peter, a
respected rock guitarist in his own right, played with a "reformed"
version of Jefferson Airplane that toured in 1989 and put out one
album. Drummer Kenny Aronoff, above, also played with the reunion
tour).
Jason Kay - Front man and lead vocalist for the popular English band
"Jamiroquai". This band, which combines "house rhythms" and '70's soul
exploded on the British charts in 1993 with their album "Emergency on
the Planet". It went platinium. Their first Amer. release "Travelling
Without Music", garnered several MTV music awards. We will note the
former bassist is a guy named Stu Zender, we don't know whether he is
Jewish. He is married to Brit pop star Melanie Blatt, who is Jewish.
Carole King - Born Carole Klein in New York in 1942. King wrote with
then husband, Gerry Goffin, Jewish, such classics as "Up on the Roof"
and "Locomotion". Her first solo album, "Tapestry", sold millions and
spawned tons of hits. She is so well-known that we need hardly list
all her credits. Ms. King, of course, is in the Rock Hall of Fame. In
our opinion, the best site is on the following link. You will find out
that so many classic rock and other songs were written by Ms. King and
Jerry Goffin or by Ms. King on her own. Few people could write
everything from "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" to the great children's
album, "Really Rosie". Fun fact: King's father was a New York City
Fire Lieutenant. Yes, despite stereotypes, historically there are
usually about four to five hundred Jewish NYC firefighters on active
duty at any given time. (Search engine users: It is "Carole King" not
"Carol King"-we are mis-spelling the name so you pick her up. But we
cannot do this on every entry). Added July 2002: Ms. King was inducted
in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987. A nice exhibit on the
Songwriters Hall of Fame site--incluing biography--music to listen to,
etc. is on the following site. As most people know, Ms. King was part
of a great group of songwriters who wrote out of the Brill Building in
New York from the late 1950s to the mid 1960s. Most of these writers
were/are Jewish. The most prominent Jewish writers associatd with the
Brill Building were Carole King and Jerry Goffin; Jeff Barry and Ellie
Greenwich; Neil Diamond; Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield; Doc Pomus
and Mort Schuman; Burt Bacharach and Hal David; Jerry Leiber and Mike
Stoller; Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.
Mark Knopfler - Born in Scotland, he grew up in Newcastle, England. He
was an English teacher and rock critic before founding the famous band
"Dire Straits" in the late '70's. One of Knopfler's co-founders was
his brother, Dave, a former social worker. The band had huge hits in
the early '80's with "Money For Nothing" and "Walk of Life" (written
by Mark). But long delays between records killed their momentum.
Knopfler has produced for others, including Dylan. UPDATE: A Jewish
rock journalist recently contacted Knopfler's staff and they told him
that Knopfler's mother is not Jewish. His father is a Jewish refugee
from Hungary. Knopfler, apparently, is an atheist who does not like to
be identified as anything in a religious or ethnic sense. (Search
engine users--there are close to 500 rockers listed on this site. To
find them just use the pull down menu below you and click on rock and
roll. Otherwise, you will join most people in entering the same
handful of right--and the same wrong guesses we see over and over
again.)
Al Kooper - Keybordist and vocalist. Founder of the important 1960s
bands "The Blues Project" and "Blood, Sweat, and Tears". Kooper played
on several classic Dylan albums including "Highway 61, Revisted". He
also wrote "This Diamond Ring", Gary Lewis's biggest hit. Kooper is
now a professor of music at the famous Berklee school in Boston. The
following link is to the official Al Kooper site. Al, we are sad to
say, has been ill in recent years, fighting for his life against a
brain tumor. However, he appears to be on the mend and is planning a
musical tour. He has also signed to score the first feature length
film directed by actor Peter Riegert.(Updated September 2002)
Joey Kramer - Drummer for the famous rock band, "Aerosmith". Kramer is
often praised for his sparse, powerful style. It is mentioned that he
is Jewish in the band's history, "Walk This Way". Kramer and Aerosmith
lead guy, Steven Tyler, met when they were 13. There is a good history
of the band on the following link. Steve Tyler, the Aerosmith lead
man, as any reasonable biography will tell you, was born Steve
Tallarico. He is of Italian American background and, like the vast
majority of Italian Americans--he was born a Catholic. (As an aside,
the editor of this site and a well known NY "oldies DJ" had a long
discussion about how often Northeast Italian Catholic, Irish Catholic,
and other Gentile performers are often taken by people, especially
people outside the Northeast, for Jewish. Hence, the huge number of
people who think Steve Tyler is Jewish based on nothing but his look.
Well, just like 'everybody' in a geographical arc from roughly North
Carolina to Texas seems somewhat like a Southern good ol'
boy--regardless of background--"everybody" in a geographical arc
roughly from Washington, DC to Boston--seems Jewish to some people.
It's not really "Jewish"--but it is a particular type of American
urban style that seems Jewish to "outsiders". It is a
sensibility/sytle that is influenced by a large Jewish population--but
in fact is a blending of various groups "styles"--with Irish
Catholics; Italian Catholics and Jews being the leading groups that
have created this "style'--for lack of a better term. Seattle Grunge
bands and Texas bluegrass groups will never seem "Jewish" even if they
have Jewish players. But practically every band out of New Jersey
will. Even if they don't have a Jewish player. The subtle message of
this aside is that we know more about Jews in rock than anybody. So,
if you are using the search engine and popping guess after guess
in--we suggest that you simply click on the category and read--there
will be many surprises outside the tired usual wrong guesses and the
handful of "right guesses". For every person we list--we have to
eliminate 5 or more following research. But we are not posting a huge
list of "nots"]
Lenny Kravitz - Singer/songwriter and guitarist whose popularity has
exploded in the last five years. His father, Sy Kravitz, a television
news producer, is Jewish. Lenny's late mother was actress Roxie Roker,
who played Louise Jefferson's best friend on "The Jeffersons". Ms.
Roker was a non-Jewish African American. Lenny has clearly been a
committed Christian since 1996, although he apparently wasn't raised
in either faith (Kravitz says he attended one Hebrew school class as a
child with a friend]. Lenny wears crosses and he has the words, "My
Heart Belongs to Jesus Christ", tattooed on his back. It appears that
Kravitz "needed something" when his mother died and this was the
spiritual path he decided on. Mr. Kravitz always speaks candidly and
proudly about his Jewish "half". However, as an editorial note, it
seems like certain people in the Jewish press, who like a good story,
repeatedly mention Mr. Kravitz without ever mentioning that he has
made a very firm religious choice. Time to stop writing incomplete
stories, guys. But here is an interesting story we have never seen in
any story on Lenny. Lenny is named for his late uncle, PFC Leonard
Kravitz, a United States Marine.Leonard Kravitz died a hero in the
Korean War and received the Distinguished Service Cross. He was
nominated for the Medal of Honor. There has been a long-standing
campaign to get him the Medal of Honor and Lenny Kravitz personally
forwarded information about the case to President Clinton. There is a
good one page bio on the first following link. The second link takes
you to the story of his uncle. (See also Lisa Bonet, actresses).
Update May 2002: Early in 2002 a bill was signed by the President that
directs the Defense Department to look at the combat records of
several hundred Jewish and Hispanic veterans to see if they were
denied the Medal of Honor because of past prejudice in the armed
services. The bill is "sub-titled" after Leonard Kravitz. (A similar
law regarding African-American veterans passed quite some time ago. A
review of the records disclosed some fairly shocking instances in
which the medal was not awarded because of the past history of
discrimination in the armed services. Several medals have been awarded
as a result of this review).
Robbie Krieger - Robbie Krieger is best known as the guitarist for the
legendary group, "The Doors". He was born in Los Angeles in 1946. He
was recruited into the group by John Densmore, the drummer. Krieger
wrote some of the band's greatest songs, "Light My Fire", "Touch Me",
and "Love Times Two". The death of Jim Morrison in 1971 spelled the
end of "The Doors" for most intents and purposes. Krieger's later work
has tended to be more in a jazz/jazz fusion mode. He continues to tour
and play with a lot of top people. There is a 1999 article about what
he has been doing since 1971 on the following link. It's interesting.
Krieger was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 1993 with the rest
of the Doors. Krieger has been quoted as saying that nobody has ever
played "Light My Fire" correctly except "The Doors". We'll add that
Ray Manzarek is not Jewish--he is of Polish Catholic background. The
Doors was, ethnically speaking, a pretty diverse American band. But
the guys in this band all had one thing in common--their I.Q. and
cultural literacy level was way above most American bands.
Cyndi Lauper - Big star in the mid-80's with "Girls Just Wanna Have
Fun" and other hits. German Jewish father and Sicilian mother. She was
raised Catholic. Correction: April 2002: We posted what we did based
on an apparently well written article. However, we are now quite sure
that the writer repeated a common mistake about Lauper's father. He
was of German Swiss background, but we are sure he was not Jewish. We
all make mistakes and this is a big one. Well, let's put it this way.
Everyone makes mistakes. However, unlike most sources, we acknowledge
and correct them. Unlike, for example, the Encyclopedia Britannica
which erroneously says that Billy Joel's mother is a Catholic. (They
have ignored our letters).
Geddy Lee - Lead singer and bass player for the talented Canadian trio
called Rush. "Rush" has sold over 35 million albums since the early
1980s. Both of Lee's parents are Holocaust survivors. The story is
told that his unusual first name comes from the way his immigrant
mother stumbled over "Gary", his given name. His full given name is
Gary Lee Weinrib. Excerpting the All Music Guide Bio: Few hard rock
bassists have been as influential as Rush's Lee. Taking up bass as a
teenager and influenced by the likes of the Who's John Entwistle,
Cream's Jack Bruce, and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, Lee hooked up
with guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer John Rutsey to form the hard
rocking trio Rush ...Although the band would eventually find success
and fortune as a progressive hard rock band, early on they were highly
derivative of blues rock/Led Zeppelin, as their self-titled 1973 debut
proved..,But when Neal Peart replaced Rutsey one year later, the
band's sound and musical direction immediately changed. Gone were the
long Zep-jams and in came technically demanding and challenging hard
rock, complete with thought-provoking lyrics (courtesy of Peart)
— although Lee's high-pitched, Robert Plant-esque wail remained.
After honing their sound on a few albums, the trio hit pay dirt with
relentless touring and their 1976 sci-fi concept album, 2112. Each
successive release outsold it's predecessor (such prog metal classics
as A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves), and by 1981's
Moving Pictures, Rush had become one of the biggest rock bands on the
planet. Throughout the '80s, Rush explored more modern (almost new
wave-ish) sounds, yet their massive fan base remained in tact —
with Lee's vocals becoming more restrained. Rush cruised along
throughout the '90s (returning to their earlier, organic hard rock
sound with such releases as 1993's Counterparts), issuing successful
albums and playing sold-out arena tours worldwide, until the band went
on indefinite hiatus in 1997. To combat the downtime, Lee issued his
first ever solo album in 2000, My Favorite Headache (who was joined by
ex-Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and ex-FM guitarist/violinist Ben
Mink). Lee's influence on rock bass can be heard in the playing of
such wide-ranging disciples as Primus' Les Claypool, Dream Theater's
John Myung, and Metallica's Cliff Burton." Search engine users:
Everyone on the planet knows Geddy Lee is Jewish. Don't you want to
know somthing new? Good. Look at the bottom of the page you are
looking at. There is a pull down menu of categories. Scroll to Music
and Rock and Roll and click on it. Or click on Music on the home page.
We list 400 Jewish rockers. Not the five or ten names found on other
sites. And please put names in quotation marks if you are using the
search engine.
Tony Levin - Tony Levin is most famous as the virtuoso bassist for
'King Crimson' and his work with Peter Gabriel. Levin was born in
Boston in 1946. He was classically trained but gradually turned to
jazz and rock. In 1970 joined ex-Mother of Invention keyboardist Don
Preston's band Aha! A busy session career followed, with fluid,
expressive work on classic LPs including Lou Reed's 'Berlin', Kate and
Anna McGarrigle's self-titled debut, and Paul Simon's 'Still Crazy
After All These Years'. In 1979 he played on Robert Fripp's solo
effort 'Exposure', soon after agreeing to join the guitarist in new
incarnation of his groundbreaking progressive unit King Crimson and
remaining a member of the group for over two decades. In 1998 he
formed Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (B.L.U.E.) with longtime King
Crimson drummer Bill Bruford, guitarist David Torn and trumpeter Chris
Botti. Waters of Eden, Levin's Narada label debut, followed in the
spring of 2000
Lisa Loeb - Singer, guitarist, songwriter. Had a huge hit in 1994 with
"Stay" from the "Reality Bites" soundtrack. Her subsequent albums have
sold well. She grew up in Texas. In an interview with a Jewish
community paper in England she said she grew up in a nice Jewish home.
Ms. Loeb is one of the many Jewish rock artists who are discussed in
the article, "Jews and Rock", in our columns section, home page.
Manfred Mann - Born (1940) Manfred Lubowitz. South African-born
keyboardist who brought jazz and blues to the 1960s British Invasion
sound. He did a version of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" that even
teenyboppers liked. Also known for "Do Wah Diddy"; a hit cover of
Dylan's "The Mighty Quinn"; and his hit early 1970s cover of
Springsteen's, "Blinded By The Light". In an interview, he noted that
he is still Manfred Lubowitz. Manfred Mann is a name, he says, he
assumes while on the stage. Manfred Mann and his "Earth Band" have not
have had real chart success since the mid-1970s, but he still has a
modest amount of poularity as a live act.
Richard Marx - Marx is a very successful pop/rock singer-songwriter
who broke into public attention in the late 1980s. His late father, a
successful commercial jingle writer, was Jewish. His late mother was
not Jewish. Richard Marx was born in Chicago in 1963. Marx worked as a
session vocalist in the studio for Lionel Ritchie, Madonna and Whitney
Houston. He also established himself as a songwriter, co-writing Kenny
Rogers' 1984 hit "What About Me?", and providing material for Chicago,
Vixen and Freddie Jackson. Afterwards, Marx embarked on a solo career,
enjoying a string of hits in the late 80s, including "Don't Mean
Nothing" (US number 3, 1987), "Should've Known Better" (US number 3,
1987), "Endless Summer Nights" (US number 2, 1988). Three successive
American # 1 hits in 1988-89 ("Hold On To The Nights", "Satisfied" and
"Right Here Waiting"), and the hit albums 'Richard Marx' and 'Repeat
Offender' (an American chart-topper). Marx has somewhat struggled
since his first two albums to repeat his enormous success. He had a
big hit in 1994 with the single, "Now and Forever". Marx is active in
producing and writing for other acts. His official site is amazingly
comprehensive and anything else you might wish to know is there.
Linda Eastman McCartney - The late Linda McCartney came from an
affluent Jewish family which, in her generation, changed their name
and basically kept their Jewishness under wraps. She was not a member
of the Eastman family as in Eastman Kodak--as is sometimes rumored.
(That family was never Jewish). Her maternal grandparents, the
Linders, were quite active in the Cleveland Jewish community. Her
father, Lee Eastman, born Epstein, was an entertainment lawyer. Linda
was a well-known celebrity/rock music photographer when she met Paul
McCartney. One hates to speak badly of the dead, but the consensus of
opinion is that Linda was a talented photographer---but her musical
talents were, at best, modest. The following link gives you Linda's
background. Weirdly enough, it shows up in a bar mitzvah speech given
by a rabbi. Read on, the Rabbi gets to it pretty quickly. You will
find not this type of detailed background anywhere else on the web.
Final note: Paul McCartney (4/01) recently said that, "Linda was born
Jewish, but professed no faith." We note this because several people
have asked us if Linda converted away because her "memorial service"
(but not her actual funeral) was held in a church. Update December
2002: As noted under the entry for Stella McCartney, under fashion,
please put full names in quotation marks if searching, Stella has
"come out of the closet as Jewish" in an interview with "Glamour
Magazine". As we say under Stella's entry---some media sources are
treating Stella's remarks like it is some earth shaking
relevation--anyone who bothered to look at any of the better histories
of the Beatles knew Linda was Jewish--although we are the only site
that gives a reasonable amount of details. The 'news', such as it is,
is this Stella apparently identifies as Jewish. Please see her
entry--it links to the full text of her comments. (We wish to 'thank'
the British Jewish site that has once again lifted our original
material. This time it was the original copy in this entry on
Linda--lifted almost word-for-word--without credit--to enhance their
news piece on Stella's annoucement. Why not contact us about paying
for material?).
Country Joe McDonald - Lead singer of "Country Joe and the Fish"--the
famous 1960s band. Joe's father was not Jewish. His mother Florence
was Jewish and she was a legendary Berkeley activist and city council
member. (Jhoo has a very reliable source who swears she made a great
chopped liver). The band's most famous song was the anti-Vietnam War
classic, "I feel I am fixin' to die rag", which they performed at
Woodstock and elsewhere. Many people may be surprised to learn that
Country Joe is a Navy veteran who has spent an enormous amount of time
in the last 20+ yrs. doing veterans' benefits. He pushed through a
memorial to Berkeley's Vietnam Vets is trying to get San Francisco to
do the same thing. The band included, at various times, such other
Jewish players as Mark Kempner; Barry Melton (who was "The Fish"--his
mother is Jewish); and David Bennett Cohen.
Randy Newman - Very well known singer and songwriter. His solo hits
include, "I Love LA" and "Short People". Other artists have had
success with covers of Newman compositions such as, "I Think It's
Gonna Rain, Today" and "Momma Told Me Not To Come". Newman mostly
writes for the movies now. (His uncles were Alfred, Lionel, and Emil
Newman, famous movie music composers). A particularly interesting song
is "Dixie Flyer", which is an acute observation of Southern Jewish
life. Newman's mother is a Southern Jewish woman. The lyrics are on
the following link. (See also composers for a short list of his movie
credits and entries on his uncles and his first cousins, film
composers Thomas and David Newman). The second link is to very well
written profile of Newman from "Salon" magazine. Interesting for fans
and "semi-fans".
Laura Nyro - Singer-songwriter whose songs were made into big hits by
others: "Stoned Soul Picnic"; "And When I Die"; "Wedding Bell Blues",
"Eli's Coming." Ms. Nyro was born in the Bronx, NY in 1947 as Laura
Nigro. Her father was an Italian Catholic and her mother is Jewish.
Laura Nyro burst on the scene in 1966 at the age of 19. Nyro always
had a strong "semi-cult" following, but her recordings of her songs
never became the hit "cover". There are several good web sites devoted
to her. The following link is to a good, short obituary in "Salon"
magazine. Laura Nyro died of cancer in 1997. We always thought that
Ms. Nyro's tunes were somewhat misdescribed as "ethereal", although
that term described her persona quite well. Actually, they seem more
like songs a very good Broadway composer could write if he or she was
given a free creative hand.
Michael Penn - Popular and critically well-received singer,
songwriter, and guitarist. His brothers are actors Sean and Chris
Penn. His father, late director Leo Penn, was Jewish. His mother is
not Jewish. Update: We recently saw an interview with Michael in which
he said he was raised in a, "secular household"--but now is a
practicing Christian. Meanwhile, another piece says that Sean Penn is
exploring his "Jewish roots"--but it didn't appear that Sean was about
to become a religious "anything".
The Blues Project - Groundbreaking '60's band was largely a Jewish
"project": Besides Al Kooper, it consisted of Danny Kalb, Andy
Kulberg, Roy Blumenfeld and Steve Katz (who was also in Blood, Sweat
and Tears). Vocalist Tommy Flanders was not Jewish. Andy Kulberg also
played flute and bass for the band "Seatrain". (Update: A reliable
source tells us that the body snatchers got Steve Katz and he is a
born-again you know what). The Blues Project was one of the first
bands that combined the intelligence of folk music lyrics behind the
sound of an electric rock/rhythm and blues band. The original line-up
fell apart 1968, but various incarnations continued for a time. Update
September 2002: Andy Kulberg died of lymphona in January, 2002.
Besides his playing, Kulberg ran a major music scoring company for
many years. The official Al Kooper site also says that Danny Kalb
suffered a heart attack late in 2001, but appears to be recovering.
Joey Ramone - Born Jeffrey Hyman in 1951. He grew up in Forest Hills,
a section of New York City. He had a traditional Jewish upbringin and
was bar mitzvah. Joey Ramone was the lead vocalist of the famous and
highly influential "punk" band, "The Ramones". The band decided to
hang it up in 1996. Explanations vary as to why they decided to quit.
But most say they wanted to end it before "it" or "they" got too old.
Although the band was not known as that political--check out the
Ramones song "Bonzo goes to Bitburg". It is a nice attack on President
Reagan's 1986 visit to Germany. Reagan layed a wreath at a German
military cemetery that had SS soldiers buried in it. Young visitors
may not know that our former President starred in a movie called
"Bedtime for Bonzo". Reagan co-starred with a chimp named Bonzo. In a
masterpiece of planning, a Presidential visit was scheduled to a
German military cemetery as a "let's bury the past thing" without
finding out that there were not just regular soldiers buried there.
This fact was uncovered before the visit--but it went ahead anyway.
So, now you understand what the song was about. Check out the Ramones
in their one big movie ---"Rock 'n' Roll High School". It's still fun.
Actress P.J. Soles, the co-star of the movie, is Jewish on her
mother's side. UPDATE; Joey Ramone died on April 15, 2001 of cancer.
Really sorry to see you go. You were, without doubt, one of the
coolest Jews who ever got on a stage. [One little note that Joey
Ramone probably would appreciate, since he had a sense of humor. We at
Jewhoo have a photographer correspondent who is one of the best
spotters, via obituaries, of famous Jewish people we have ever seen.
He tells us (4/18/01) that Joey Ramone is already buried in a NJ
Jewish cemetery following a NY Jewish funeral. Yeah, Jewish funerals
and burials are as fast as a Ramones song. UPDATE: June 2002; Joey
Ramone, along with all the other Ramones, was inducted in the Rock
Hall of Fame in 2002. On June 7, 2002, Dee Dee Ramone died of a drug
overdose. (Dee Dee Ramone was not Jewish). There is some irony in the
fact that Joey Ramone, according to stories we read, fought really
hard against the cancer that took his life. Meanwhile, his former band
mate engineered his trip into "rock and roll heaven" in the usual
stupid way. An obituary of Joey from Salon Magazine is on the
following link.
Mickey Raphael - He has been Willy Nelson's harp player for over
twenty-five years. Noted for his gorgeous, soulful sound. Mr. Raphael
is of Sephardic decent. In a published interview, he said he is often
the only Jew on the touring bus. In 1995, he and multi-talented
composer David Amram (whose family settled in Savannah in the 1850's)
collaborated with several non-Jewish country artists on the
well-reviewed album "Southern Stories". Mr. Raphael is one of the many
Jewish musicians who are profiled in th article, "Jews and Rock", on
the home page of the site.
Lou Reed - Famous song writer and singer with such hits as "Walk on
the Wild Side". One of the founders of the legendary band, "The Velvet
Underground". The Velvet Underground was inducted into the rock hall
of fame. Reed's father, an accountant, changed his name to Reed from
Rabinowitz. Lou Reed was born in Brooklyn, but grew up in Freeport,
Long Island. Reed has become increasingly Jewish in his identification
in recent years. He hangs out with John Zorn and others associated
with the new Jewish music scene. He also has participated in an
on-line seder. In 2000, Reed married his long time companion, singer
Laurie Anderson. She has been reported to be "heavily involved" with
Judaism. But we just don't know if she has actually converted.
(Special note: Reed's original last name is often reported as Firbank.
This is a mistake and not true. What it is is a reflection of how a
piece of misinformation once reported--almost never ends.) There is a
very good piece on Reed on the following link. Interesting both for
fans and for people who are only somewhat familiar with this
influential performer.
Jonathan Richman - Quirky folk/rock singer who became well known in
the '70s with his band, "The Modern Lovers". He appears in the popular
movie, "There's Something About Mary". He sings the little ditties
about Mary that begin many of the scenes. Richman has always had a
cult following that turns out for him despite his failure to ever
'crack the charts'. There is a good profile of Richman on the
following link. You can even listen to a little of his music.
Lee Rocker - Lee Rocker is best known as the 'slappin' bass player
with the popular 'rockabilly revival' group "The Straycats". Lee
Rocker was born Lee Drucker in Massapequa, New York. His father,
Stanley Drucker, is the first clarinetist for the New York
Philharmonic. His mother, Naomi, also professionally plays classical
clarinet. Rocker helped form "The Straycats" when he was 19. The other
two guys, frontman Brian Setzer and Jim Phantom, were even younger.
The group had huge success in the mid-80s and one album sold 7 million
copies. However, their success faded and the group broke up. Rocker
has mostly continued with rockabilly and, in one memorable CD, played
with Carl Perkins, one of the fathers of rockabilly. Full bio on
following link, with a photo. (By the way, Brian Setzer's name makes
many people assume he is Jewish. However, while we are not sure
"exactly what he is"--every source we have consulted, including people
in the "biz', leads us to believe he is not Jewish.)
Gavin Rossdale - Leader of the very popular alternative British rock
band "Bush". His father's family emigrated to Britain from Russia in
the 1860's. The band was playing Austria in 1998 when "far-right"
politician Jorg Haider's party was added to the government. Rossdale
sang the traditional Hebrew blessing for bread as he opened a concert
in Graz, Austria. The crowd apparently was very supportive. Rossdale
said that he felt he had to make some form of protest, even though it
was not his country. (Update: Only Rossdale's paternal grandfather was
Jewish. But, as he put it, "I'm human and I sympathize and I knew the
prayer from dinners at my grandfather's house".) [By the way, as an
editorial note--we leave Rossdale up because we only gradually found
out the facts of his background and because, clearly, at least once
Rossdale's "Jewish ancestry" had some meaning in his life. As
expressed in the FAQ's, we don't list normally list people with 'just'
one Jewish grandparent or even more remote ancestry who don't identify
as Jewish. Recently, popular musicians "Pink" (AKA Alecia Moore) and
Craig David disclosed they had a Jewish grandparent. We are doing dual
duty with this note. Yes, 'we know' to the people who search for these
performers. But we find these facts to be largely meaningless. If a
person has at least one Jewish parent-- even if they were not raised
Jewish-- they are usually significantly influenced by the fact of
having a Jewish parent. Who and what they are is signficantly
influenced by the "Jewishness' of a parent. Therefore, there is some
rational basis for listing them in list of famous Jews. However, this
'analysis' breaks down with persons who have one Jewish grandparent
and don't identify as Jewish. Almost always, their "Jewish ancestry"
is merely a colorful detail in their background. We find it ludicrous
to 'claim' such people. "Pink" and Craig David fall into the
'ludicrous class' based on their minimal connections to "anything
Jewish". Craig David is a perfect example---he probably would have
never disclosed he had a Jewish grandparent except for the fact that
their has been criticism of him for not identifying exclusively as
black. (His dad is black). His response is to assert that he is
multi-ethnic--black, white, and even a little bit Jewish. He
specifically stated, however, there was nothing "Jewish" in his
upbringing. For the life of me, while I can well understand the
various emotions that go through Jewish people when they find out
someone they admire is Jewish---and that is part of the reason this
site exists---I really don't see the 'thrill' in learning that some
celeb has a single Jewish grandparent if they don't come close to
identifying as Jewish. There are 400 rockers listed on this site---use
the pull down category menu at the bottom of this page and see who is
Jewish. Some are even flavors of the week like Craig David]
Carlos Santana - This is an odd entry. But it is an odd story.
Santana, of course, is a almost a music legend. From his 1960s hits to
his remarkable comeback in 1999 and his Grammy awards in 2000. Santana
spoke a short Jewish prayer at the 2000 Grammys. Many people asked us:
is he Jewish? Biographies say he was born Catholic. In the '70's he
was a "soft Hindu", in the '80's, a born-again Christian. In a 2000
interview, Santana said he is now down on all organized religion, but
is still very "spiritual". Santana's buddy was famous impresario Bill
Graham. Santana and Bill did benefits for a Bay Area Orthodox Jewish
group. Well, the story is even more strange. A source that we
completely trust told us that one of his friends is a religious Jewish
woman in Mexico. She went to school with Santana's sister. The Santana
family, like some Mexican families, has a tradition in the family that
they are the descendants of Conversos, i.e., Jews forced to convert by
the Spanish Inquisition. The Inquisition, by the way, did not end
until the early 19th century. Normally, we don't seperately list
persons of remote Jewish ancestry. But this is such an unusual story
it is worth sharing. By the way, two of Santana's huge hits were
written or co-written by Jewish composers ("Black Magic Woman" by
English Jewish rocker Peter Green; and "Smooth" by Itaal Schur--whose
Israeli father is a head of Hebrew music studies at a famous seminary
and composes Jewish religious music). A lot of Jewish streams come
together when you add up the backgrounds of Santana, Green, Schur, and
Bill Graham.
Neil Sedaka - Most popular in the '50s and '60s, but even had hits in
the '70s. Still quite popular as a touring act. Sedaka's hit songs
include, "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do", "Oh, Carol", "Calendar Girl",
"Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" and "Laughter in the Rain". The
original family name is "Saduka" and his father is a Sephardic Jew.
His mother is Ashkenazi. Sedaka went to Julliard School of Music. We
recently read an interview with Neil and his wife, Leba Sedaka. Her
parents ran a small hotel in the Catskills, "Esther Manor." Leba was a
stunning beauty who was over six feet tall. (The pictures with the
interview bear this out). Neil is pretty short. He played the hotel
when he first started out and he was a poor young guy. Leba and Neil
fell in love despite the differences in their height and family
wealth. Her father was happy, he said that "this boy is a genius." Her
mother was skeptical of any musician. But, of course, Neil's success a
few years later allayed all her misgivings. Good short biography on
link. Neil's lyricist on his early hits, the late Howard Greenfield,
above, was also Jewish. Fun footnotes January 2003: Neil's son, Marc,
is a successful comedy writer--writing for several series including
"The King of Queens". His daughter, Dara, is a much-in-demand singer
for pop jingles and the like. She had one song that did well on the
charts around 1980. Finally, we are reliably informed that Neil is
distantly related to Eydie Gorme. Gorme's mother is of Turkish Jewish
background. Neil's father is also of Turkish Jewish background. Their
respective Turkish parents are distantly related.
Paul Simon - Queens, New York born (1941)and raised singer/songwriter
who was, of course, half of the folk/rock duo, Simon and Garfunkel.
Simon is so famous that we will not give the standard biography that
you can find on any web site. Just a few things of interest. On a
personal level, Simon has shown a sense of humor about being Jewish as
when he referred to his month long marriage to Carrie Fisher in a song
that goes, "One and one-half wandering Jews were traveling." Most
critics give Simon a lot of credit as compared to a lot of 1960s
"dinosaurs". He has managed to do a lot of great work since he and Art
Garfunkel broke up. He endured some criticism for slightly breaking
the absolute boycott of South Africa by recording the magnificent 1986
album, "Graceland". However, he brought the music to the world and he
fairly shared credit and revenues with the black South African
musicians he worked with. Even some of his critics later joined him on
the "Graceland" tour.// Simon has been married, since 1992, to singer
Edie Brickell. They have three children together. Based on the family
history notes on an Edie Brickell fan site, contributed by her
brother, it is pretty clear that the Brickells are not Jewish. (Note
to people who used the search engine: If you had put his name in
quotation marks as directed--"Paul Simon"--you would not have had to
wade through so many pages). There's an article about Simon's
"Jewishness" on the following link. It's not a great piece, but it is
somewhat interesting. The second link takes you to a an interesting
interview Simon did in 1972. Take a look, especially, at the last
question. Simon gives an interesting explanation of the "tailor"
interlude on the early song, "Fakin It". Simon also explains why he
went it alone as a solo act. The third link is to a list of the
inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame--it links with individual
bios. Simon was twice inducted--once as part of "Simon and Garfunkel"
and once on his own. You have to have been recording for 25 years or
more to be inducted into the Hall and Simon was a solo act for 25
years as of the time of his 2nd induction. Update February 2003: Simon
and Garfunkel re-united to sing "Sounds of Silence" at the 2003 Grammy
awards. Also, Paul has been nominated for the best song Oscar for his
song "Father and Daughter" from the "Wild Thornberrys" movie. All the
nominees that we know to be Jewish are found in our special category
"Oscars 2003". Either use the pull down menu of categories below you
on this page and click on Oscars 2003 or return to the home page and
find the category near the bottom of the home page.
Carly Simon - Famous singer and songwriter who had many hits in the
1970s and 1980s, including, "Your So Vain" and "Anticipation". She won
an Oscar for best song for "Let the River Run", from "Working Girl".
Carly was born in New York in 1945. Her late father was Richard Simon,
who was Jewish and was the co-founder of Simon and Schuster, the
famous publishing house. Carly's mother is not Jewish. Richard Simon
was a multi-talented and charming man. He was very musical and passed
this talent on to his daughters. Carly's sister, Joanna Simon, was a
well-known opera singer and her sister, Lucy Simon, wrote the music
for the hit Broadway musical, "The Secret Garden". Although the Simons
are widely thought of as 'Jewish performers', the truth is that their
"Jewishness" is just a hard to quantify cultural legacy from their
father. Richard Simon was not a practicing Jew. His children were
basically raised without religion. Other than on many poorly
researched lists of "Jewish" performers, we have never seen Carly
Simon's name come up in connection with anything "Jewish", including
Jewish cultural or community events. She has written a children's book
about Christmas.
Alex Skolnick - Well, Skolnick has moved with ease through a lot of
very varying music forms. Paraphrasing one bio: "Skolnick, born in
1968, grew up in Berkeley, California. At age nine, a fascination with
the rock group Kiss led to a desire to learn guitar. At age sixteen,
Alex tried out for a local band called Legacy. Shortly after
graduating from high school, he found himself recording his first
album with the group, who by this time had changed their name to
Testament. What followed were five albums and countless tours with,
among others, Megadeth, Slayer, Judas Priest, and White Zombie. Alex
received critical acclaim for his lead guitar work, which had been
inspired by heroes such Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads. In the
meantime, however, his tastes were changing. An exposure to Miles
Davis' electric bands inspired him to push harder to be a serious
musician. No longer content to be just a metal player, he began an
intense study of many types of music including jazz, funk and world
music. In 1990, twenty-one year old Alex was tapped by Guitar World
magazine to become a monthly instruction columnist. He has since
written for Guitar World, Guitar Player, and Guitar magazines, the
latter of which has featured him for over five years. In 1991, bassist
Stu Hamm chose Alex to handle guitar duties on his national tour,
opening the door beyond metal. Since leaving Testament in 1992, gone
on to perform and/or record with Primus bassist Les Claypool and
drummer Brain (currently of Guns'n Roses), Attention Deficit
(w/Michael Manring and Primus drummer Tim Alexander), Savatage, Ozzy
Osbourne, keyboardist Adam Holzman (of Miles Davis), Broadway star Rob
Evan (Les Miserables and Jeckyl And Hyde) and more. Alex continues to
be a featured member of the smash hit holiday show Trans-Siberian
Orchestra. He has also become active as a composer; with credits
including pieces for the EA video game "Hot Wheels Turbo Racing" and
the MTV series "Makin' The Band." Alex has been based in New York City
since 1998. Believing that the learning process never ends, he has
intertwined all his activities with intensive studies. This has
included earning a BFA in jazz performance from New School
University."
Slash - The talented guitarist for the famous band "Guns and Roses".
"Slash" was born (1965) Saul Hudson in Britain to a British Jewish
father and a non-Jewish African American mother. His parents separated
when he was 11 and his mother returned to the States. As detailed
under the entry for Steve Adler, Slash and Adler were in a band before
joining with Axl Rose to form "Guns and Roses". Frankly, while Slash
is reported to have a Jewish father, we have never seen any interview
in which he mentions being part Jewish. It is doubtful that having a
Jewish father had that much of an influence on him. However, Slash
does get more than his share of visitor searches--probably because of
the novelty factor. We suspect that these people ignore the fact that
there are 400 Jewish rock and rollers listed on the site. UPDATE: May
2002; Well, by way of revision of some of our comments above-- we saw
an item that Slash, along with a number of Jewish and non-Jewish
rockers, played a May benefit for the LA Jewish Federation. Good for
you, Slash.
Hillel Slovak - Late guitarist for the famous band "The Red Hot Chili
Peppers". Quite talented, he died of a drug overdose in 1988. Should
have stuck to chilis, obviously. His brother, James, recently wrote a
book about Hillel. He said the Slovaks are a religiously observant
family with no history of drug or alcohol abuse and that he did not
know his brother had a problem until three months before he died.
Everyone was shocked how fast Hillel got addicted and went downhill.
Slovak was born in Israel in 1962. He moved to Los Angeles when he was
5. Hillel knew all the founding members of the band from high school
and had played with them. He joined the band in 1985, shortly after
its founding. Jack Sherman, a guitarist who replaced Slovak for a
couple of albums, is also Jewish. We have "shaky' information that
Jack Irons, a drummer who played in bands with Slovak before Chilis,
and later joined "Pearl Jam" is also Jewish. If so, he would be the
only Jewish guy to play with "Pearl Jam".
Dee Snider - Born Danny Snider. Snider led the very popular band
'Twisted Sister' from its start in 1973 until it disbanded in 1987.
Their signature song and biggest hit was "We're Not Gonna Take It".
Snider has been active as a filmmaker and as the good buddy of Howard
Stern since "Twisted Sister" disbanded. Snider's father is Jewish. His
mother is Catholic. Both sets of families opposed his parents'
marriage. His parents raised Dee Snider and his siblings as
Episcopalians as some sort of strange compromise. (Episcopalism is a
Protesant denomination that is very close to Catholicism. The major
difference is that the Pope is not head of the Episcopal Church. It is
called the Anglican church or the Church of England in England). In
this one particular instance, we feel compelled to say how worthless
the vast majority of these lists of Jews in rock and roll are. Snider
always appears on these lists as 'Jewish' without qualification.
Including Guy Oseary's piece of junk book. It isn't hard to find out
about Snider's background. But it does require having a certain
respect for the people you are writing for. Bill Graham had respect
for his audiences and his artists and he broke the mold of treating
rock audiences like dumb teenage cattle. We try, with less resources
than Bill, to do the same thing---treat our visitors with some respect
for their intelligence. We list Snider because we feel that it is very
likely that someone with a Jewish father has been significantly
influenced by that fact. We give you the facts of his background and
let you decide how you want to view him. But we don't simply list him
as a "Jew Who Rocks".
Phoebe Snow - Phoebe Snow came out of nowhere in the early 1970s and
had a major soft rock hit with her composition, "Poetry Man". However,
she failed to follow this huge hit up with work that got much of a
popular response. We saw a recent profile of her on television and
apparently she had some sort of crisis of confidence and gave up
recording for a very long time. Careful listeners to commercials heard
her singing voice in many commercials. Snow's original last name is
"Laub". She is not African-American or part African American as is
often thought. "Phoebe Snow", by the way, was the name of a train,
painted all white, that rushed milk from the Catskills to New York
City during the first part of the 20th century.
Brenda K. Starr - Singer who had a bit hit in the '80's with "I Still
Believe". Mariah Carey (not Jewish) began as began as a back-up singer
for Starr. Carey & Starr collaborated on a re-make of the song in
1998. Her father is Harvey Kaye (nee Kaplan--the "K" in Brenda's
name)and is Jewish. Her mother is Puerto Rican, and not Jewish.
Chris Stein - Rhythm guitarist and songwriter for "Blondie". For most
intents and purposes, Stein and Debbie Harry were "Blondie".
"Blondie", of course, was one of the most successful 'new wave' acts
of the late 1970s and 1980s. The editor of a Midwest Jewish quarterly,
who was once a rock band roadie, tells us that he asked Stein if he
was Jewish. Stein said, "yes". Other guys in the band told our
correspondent that they were 'pretty sure' that 'only' Stein's father
was Jewish. Stein grew up in Brooklyn, the son of "lefty Bohemian
parents", acoording to one profile. On the second following link there
is an interesting piece about the band from 1999. Stein revisits his
old haunts like CBGB's.
Princess Superstar - Well, Jewhoo stumbled on Princess Superstar
before she came a star. We were taken by her obvious physical charms
and her interesting real name--Concetta Kirshner. (Fairly obvious she
has an Italian and Jewish background--as she notes on her site). Well,
in 2001, Princess Superstar emerged as one of the highest acts on the
rap circuit. She hasn't quite broken into the big time; but she has
gained quite a following in Europe and the United States and she has
garnered quite a bit of press. Ms. Superstar told a British Jewish
paper that her father is Jewish and that her Italian mother converted
to Judaism when she married her father. She cited Chanukah as her
favorite Jewish holiday. (Revised June 2002).
Spinal Tap - Well, "Spinal Tap" could be listed under comedians, of
course. What is "Spinal Tap"? For the uninformed, Rob Reiner's 1984
satirical film, "This Is Spinal Tap", is a great satire on heavy metal
rock bands and is often ranked among the top 100 comedic films ever
made. The satire was so acute that it actually influenced many 'real'
heavy metal bands. There were (are) five members of Spinal Tap:
Christopher Guest (Jewish on his mother's side--aka Nigel Tufel);
Harry Shearer (Jewish--aka Derek Smalls); Michael McKean (aka David
St. Hubbins--not Jewish); David Kaff (aka Viv Savage; no info) and
R.J. Parnell (Mick Shrimpton; no info). The success of the film
inspired albums ("This Is Spinal Tap" and "Break Like the Wind") and
tours. "Spinal Tap" was directed by Rob Reiner (Jewish) and it was
co-written by Reiner, Shearer, Guest, and McKean. (Added April 2002)
The Strangeloves - Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer
were a trio of Brooklyn songwriter-producers who landed a number one
girl group hit with the Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back." Later wrote the
garage band classic, "I Want Candy", as the band, "The Strangeloves",
then, when forced to tour behind it, came up with a fictional story
about being sheepherders from fictional Armstrong, Australia, rather
than three nice Jewish boys from the Brill Building. Refused repeated
requests and escalating remuneration to appear on Ed Sullivan because
they had blown one of the band member's grandmother's gift of money to
finance law school on the "band" and she watched Sullivan religiously.
Goldstein went on to produce records for "War" in the 1970s, and
Gottehrer produced efforts by Blondie, the Go-Go's, and others.
Feldman, by the way, was a close high school friend of Neil Diamond
and got him his first songwriting job.
The Turtles - Howard Kaylen, one of the main members of this famous
1960's band, is Jewish. Mark Volman, his main collaborator, has a
Jewish father, but he was raised Methodist. (The two later became "Flo
and Eddie"). The Turtles' hits included "Happy Together" and a hit
cover of Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe". Kaylen and Volman did vocals and
did not really play instruments. As "Flo and Eddie" they were part of
Frank Zappa's band for a time. Zappa often performed "Happy Together"
in concert when "Flo and Eddie" were in his band. Good short history
on the following link.
The Weavers - (Also listed under "folk"). It is ironic to list "The
Weavers" under rock and roll, but through Dylan and other folk rock
artists--their influence was profound. The Weavers came out of the
leftist/labor folk movement of the 1930s and 1940s. The band was made
up of Pete Seeger (not Jewish), Lee Hayes (not), Ronnie Gilbert
(Jewish), and Fred Hellerman (Jewish). They had two major hits in
1950--"Tzena, Tzena"-a Yiddish song--which went high on the
charts--and "Goodnight, Irene"-which stayed #1 for 13 weeks. The
band's popularity declined with the McCarthy era. But a 1955 reunion
concert sparked the folk music revival of the 1950s & 1960s. Seeger
left in '58, but the band continued with replacements for him. A final
reunion concert, with Seeger, was held in 1980.
Tiny Tim - Looked like a rock musician, but sang old songs. We have
put Tim up in the "jazz/pop" category, too. He was, of course, the
1960's novelty act who had his brief moment in the sun with his big
hit, "Tip Toe Thru The Tulips". His live wedding on the Tonight Show
got huge ratings. But he faded into relative obscurity and died in
1996, age 66. Tiny's mother, Tillie, was Jewish and an immigrant from
Poland. His father was a Christian Arab from Lebanon. There is an
interview with this world class strange guy on the following link. Tim
mentions his mother. {As an editorial aside--at least we are
intellectually honest about Tim's background. Casey Kasem, of
"America's Top 40" fame, has a widely circulated list of Arab American
'celebrities'. Most are of Lebanese Christian or partial Lebanese
Christian descent. All are defined as "Arab" without further
qualification, including Tiny Tim. Several, including Tim, are of
partially Jewish background. However, that part is not mentioned. Nor
is any background but Arab background mentioned in any of these
celebrities bios).
Don Was - Don Was was the stage name of Donald Fagenson, who along
with David Weiss (Jewish) formed the influential '80's act, "Was/Not
Was"-which featured the use of great guest players. Fagenson went on
to be a leading producer for other performers.
Max Weinberg - Drummer for Bruce Springsteen's "E" Street Band.
Bandleader for Conan O'Brien's show. Weinberg's father was a
successful attorney who also ran a couple of popular Jewish summer
camps in the Poconos. His mother was a gym teacher. Max says of his
own background, "I had a wonderful Jewish background, I believe
because my main inspiration in that area was Rabbi Avraham Soltes, who
was one of the most stirring, poetic men I've ever known. I was
fortunate. He married my wife and myself, and he was really amazing,
because he made the study of Judaism come alive for his students and
congregation." (Special note: as most people know, Bruce Springsteen,
a first class mensch, is not Jewish. He is of Dutch/Irish/Italian
Catholic background). See also Roy Bittan. Nice official bio of Max on
the NBC site. It covers his extensive musical projects and awards. (To
the people who were intellectually curious enough to read through the
entries where Springsteen was mentioned and to get to the "special
note" about him--congratulations. You learned something along the way.
To the others who need every answer handed to them on a platter and
will not pause a moment and read four entries about someone else in
which Springsteen is mentioned---well, that's just sad.)
Leslie West - Massive singer/guitarist in "The Vagrants" and the very
aptly named "Mountain". Pioneer of "heavy" rock (literally). West was
born Leslie Weinstein. Mountain's biggest hit was "Mississippi Queen".
A visitor related a funny story. Someone told Howard Stern that there
were a lot of Jews in rock and mentioned Leslie West. Howard did not
believe him. He got West on the phone and West was happy to confirm he
was Jewish. Apparently, they are now sort of buddies.
Jerry Wexler - Calling Jerry Wexler a legend is almost too little a
tribute. He is the producer who gave "rhythm and blues" its name. In
the words of the following profile, "As a partner at Atlantic Records,
and later as an independent producer, Wexler worked with Ray Charles,
Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, Professor Longhair, LaVerne Baker, Ivory Joe
Hunter, the Drifters, Solomon Burke, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Joe
Tex, Sam and Dave, Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Dr. John, Etta
James, Linda Ronstadt, Donny Hathaway, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and
many others. He did much more, however, than preside over the creation
of great music. As much as any of the artists he produced, Wexler
helped establish the direction of '50s rhythm and blues and later came
to define the sound of soul, a moment that for many remains the
creative zenith of postwar popular music." It is no accident that
Wexler is in the Rock and Rhythm and Blues Halls of Fame. He helped
define the sound of the best soul and rhythm and blues music of the
last 50 years.
Carnie Wilson - Daughter of Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys, Not
Jewish) and Marilyn Wilson (Jewish). Carnie, her sister Wendy, and
Chynna Phillips formed the Wilson-Phillips Band which had several hits
in the early '90's. She has also sung with Owen Elliot, Mama Cass'
daughter, in a hybrid group that tours as "Beach Boys' Family and
Friends". Carnie also had a talk show for a few years in the 1990s
and, famously, had her stomach stapled so she could lose weight. She
is now slim and much more attractive. Finally, while Carnie, Wendy,
and Owen Elliot all have Jewish mothers--that appears to be pretty
much it in terms of them being "Jewish". Without going through it blow
by blow--we know enough about the family histories to say that none
were raised with any religion---and if they had any Jewish cultural
background--it was extremely "thin"--probably limited to frequent
trips to the famous Cantor's Jewish deli in Los Angeles and similar
cultural outings.
Jackie Wilson - We always loved Jackie Wilson, the famous soul singer
known as "Mr. Excitement." He was born in Mississippi in 1934. Like
many African American stars, he began by singing in church. As
detailed in the linked biography, he soared in the late 50s with hits
like "Lonely Teardrops". Elvis was particularly in love with his sound
and style. Wilson almost never could capture his sound on record, but
he was an electrifying live performer. Wilson is a member of the R and
B and Rock and Roll halls of fame. As many may recall, he suffered a
stroke in 1975 and lingered in a coma until his death in 1984. Well,
Jackie was friends with Simon Rutberg, a Jewish guy who now runs the
famous Hatikvah Jewish music store in Los Angeles. He met Jackie as a
teenager. There is no doubt that this somewhat unlikely pair became
friends. Simon tells us that Jackie told him that he (Jackie)
converted to Judaism and was circumcised. Unfortunately, a recent full
scale biography of Jackie does not include this info---although Simon
is quoted on other aspects of Jackie's life. (Jackie did not have a
Jewish funeral; but that is not surprising given the fact he was in a
coma for 9 years and his extended family handled the arrangements). We
post this entry with some trepidation. However, since some
surprisingly "knowing" people visit this site---maybe they can shed
some more light on the "Jackie is Jewish" story. A profile of Simon
Rutberg and his rather interesting store is on the second link.
(December 2002)Update January 2003: We received a letter from Mr.
Rutberg. Relevant excerpts follow. (Begin letter) You state that in
the recent biography on Jackie there is no mention of him being
Jewish. The biography you are refering to has been updated and is now
called, "Jackie Wilson, The Man, The Music, The Mob." (by Tony
Douglas). Quoting from page 75: ..."Jackie also took to wearing a
mazuza....given to him by Nat (Tarnopol). Jackie claimed to be Jewish
and said he was encouraged in this conversion by Sammy Davis Jr." This
morning I was contacted by a reporter from the Detroit Jewish News
about the Jackie Wilson-Jewish connection since the stage play "The
Jackie Wilson Story" is opening in his home town (Detroit). The News
was interested in the Jewish connection between Jackie and all the
(Jewish) people he was involved with. The News reporter had
interviewed Al Abrams, a Motown Record executive. Abrams confirmed
that Jackie was Jewish.
Peter Yarrow - The "Peter" of Peter, Paul, and Mary. (We have had
Peter up in our "folk music" category for some time but visitors have
had a hard time finding him.) Peter, who was born in NY in 1938, is
still very much an active social activist. He has become an observant
Jew in recent years. Peter wrote two of the band's biggest hits:
"Puff, the Magic Dragon" and "Day is Done". The group was put together
by Albert Grossman, the manager of Bob Dylan. Grossman got Noel
Stookey to change his name to Paul for the sake of alliteration. It
was no accident that Peter, Paul, and Mary sang Bob Dylan songs.
Grossman did not have to twist their arms or anything--they liked
Bob's music and had big hits with Dylan songs ("Blowin' In the Wind",
"Don't Think Twice It's Alright", etc.). However, Grossman had a
"piece" of both acts--so it worked out nicely for him, too. By the
way, Peter, Paul and Mary is a 'perfectly' diverse American group.
Peter is Jewish. Paul (Noel) is a devout Protestant Christian. Mary
was born Catholic.
Max Yasgur - Max Yasgur (as in Yasgur's Farm) was the Jewish dairy
farmer who lent his Bethel, New York spread to the organizers of the
original (1969) Woodstock Festival when the organizers were barred
from the town of Woodstock. The organizers could not find an alternate
place other than Yasgur's farm---and as every account agrees--if not
for Yasgur--no Woodstock. Yasgur made a memorable speech at the town
meeting held to discuss whether the festival could go ahead on his
farm. Yasgur asked each official if there were any legal stipulations
within their respective departments that hadn't been met to
accommodate the expected 40,000 people per day. When no reservations
were raised, he addressed the entire meeting: "'So the only objection
to having a festival here is to keep longhairs out of town?' A murmur
of dissent swept through the heavily conservative Republican crowd,
and Yasgur bellowed: 'Well, you can all go pound salt up your ass,
because come Aug. 15, we're going to have a festival!' He stormed out
of the room, and the rest became rock history." (Quoting the linked
obituary) Yasgur, we might add, was not happy with all the drug use
that occurred at the festival. However, unlike many of the "hippie
types" who cashed in on the festival name after it was over---Yasgur
refused to cash in on his fame by licensing his name to all sorts of
junk. Max Yasgur died in 1973. A fun fact is that he was a cousin of
actor Sorrell Booke. Booke, who was Jewish, is best known as "Boss
Hogg" on TV's "Dukes of Hazzard". Bet you didn't think there was a
connection from Woodstock to "The Dukes of Hazzard".
Adam Yauch - Born, 1964. Bassist for the famous band "The Beastie
Boys". He was born Jewish, but he is known as a devout follower of
Tibetan Buddhism. Another Jew sits in the lotus. (It's his choice, of
course. However, it is ironic that he would exchange one somewhat
"tribal" faith for another. Both Jews and Tibetan Buddhists face the
challenge of somehow surviving and maintaining their identity while a
large part of the community is in exile from their historic homeland.
This is a point that the Dalai Lama is well aware of and he fears for
the survival of his community in the future. Adam Yauch's conversion,
with all due respect, is not going to do much to save the Tibetan
Buddhist community from cultural extinction). See also Adam Horvitz
and Mike Diamond. Sidelight October 2002: We recently stumbled on a
1996 interview with Yauch in "Tikkun", a left-liberal Jewish magazine.
Regarding the 'Jewishness', or lack thereof, of the famous Beastie
Boys---there were a few sidelights of interest. First, Yauch says that
none of three guys in the band were raised with any Jewish religious
background (Horovitz's mother is not Jewish, by the way). He said they
did not even notice that they were all "Jewish" until some
publications picked up on this---publications in New York were "happy"
about this---some European publications, he said, had an anti-Semitic
tone--although he did not get into specifics. He said the fact that
they were white in an almost exclusively black music form--rap
music--was the much more important 'identity' issue in the mid-'80s.
As an aside, while Yauch's interviewers went on about the connections
between Buddhism and Judaism---the comparisons between Jews and
Tibetan Buddhists--it seemed pretty apparent that Yauch's knowledge of
Judaism could be put in a thimble and there would be room to spare. He
is not a stupid guy--far from it. However, he is not someone who was
raised religiously Jewish--or even someone who made a serious study of
Judaism as an adult--- and then choose Buddhism. The whole interview
was a rather pathetic example of celebrity journalism in a magazine
that says it is a serious forum for Jewish ideas. Adam Yauch is famous
and his name looks good on the cover. Therefore, the magazine
interviewed him. The end result is that they gave someone who is,
after all, an apostate, a chance to proclaim his devotion to Buddhism
and to demonstrate--for whatever this is worth-- that he doesn't know
anything about Judaism and that he has only the mildest acquaintance
with Jewish history. A few bio details were interesting. The rest was
info on the struggles of the Tibetan people that the interviewers knew
as well as Yauch--maybe better. They certainly didn't need an
interview with Yauch to relate this info to the magazine's readers.
(Yes, it is important for Jews--and everyone else-- to be interested
in the persecution of Tibetan Buddhists by the Chinese and their
persecution is shameful. No debate about that.) Oh, there was a rather
pedestrian exchange in the interview about karma and forgiving our
enemies and not becoming as evil as one's oppressors. That's nice--but
tell us something new. (As the more astute visitors to this site
realize--when it comes to people as famous as the Beastie Boys we
don't see it as our primary mission to give you the same bio you can
find on literally two dozen web sites. Rather, if we find an
interesting 'Jewish' angle--we would rather give you that. If the
above sidelight interested you, great. If not, you probably didn't
read this far anyway). There is a link to a full band history from the
entry on Adam Horvitz.