Jewish Stereo Types

...and that goes for the Jewish songwriters I've highlighted on this blog too, of course. Flipping through the Wikipedia articles on a smattering of these, I find Germany, Lithuania, England, Poland, Austria, Prussia, Belarus, and of course, broadly, Russia. Often there is no mention of where their parents or grandparents came from, just that they were Jewish and lived in this or that city. But one entry leapt out at me for specifically giving the city from which his parents emigrated--Rovno, which is now Rivne, in Western Ukraine: Leonard Bernstein. Of course, Bernstein wrote a great amount of music, both for classical venues ( Jeremiah , Candide , Kaddish ) and for Broadway ( West Side Story , On the Town , Wonderful Town ), but just as evidently he was best known for conducting, and one piece that he conducted seems particularly appropriate to me, coming in the middle of an attempt to destroy Ukraine. So today I bring you the beginning of the Fourth Movement of Beethoven's...

Or to put it another way, I am chasing a deadline and don't have time to write a new blog post, but it is Valentine's Day and I already posted a very good Valentine song four years ago , so I'm going to cut-and-paste, with a few tweaks here and there (because it is impossible not to find a few things to tweak when you reread your own work). So here is my Special Repeat Post about "My Funny Valentine" by Rodgers and Hart, here sung by the great Ella Fitzgerald: Video posted by YouTube for the subject Ella Fitzgerald You'll note that I chose to use a version sung by a woman, even though the Frank Sinatra and Chet Baker covers are probably the most well-known. That's because the song was written for the Broadway musical Babes in Arms , in which it was sung by a girl about her new boyfriend, a young man named Valentine. The lyrics, it seems to me, make a lot more sense when you consider that they are describing a boy, and one whom the singer considers hop...

Here, have a happy for the new year: Video posted by A Great Big World That video is just reportedly just as unscripted as it looks, according to Chad King and Ian Axel (aka A Great Big World), in a Reddit AMA . They were at a friend's holiday party when Lief Parton (another friend) came up with the idea, so they just filmed it there and then, using the partygoers present. In their words, "[W]e just wanted to capture pure, unscripted joy," and who can't use some of that? In a 2014 Huffington Post interview , the two had this to say about the song: In 2008 we went to the most epic New Years party ever in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania. On our way back, we felt incredibly inspired by life. This song came from a place where making changes and resolutions in our lives seems to only happen once a year, and we feel like they should be and can be made every day. *** King's birth name is Chad Vaccarino ( he changed it in 2015 ), and I have no reason whats...

"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," sung by a 13-year-old Brenda Lee: Video posted by Christmas Music "A Holly Jolly Christmas," sung by Lady Antebellum: Video posted by ChristmasEve12345 "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," sung by Ben Rector (in a slightly less familiar fashion than other covers): Video posted by Ben Rector Although he wrote 175 published songs , these three massive hits--and the over twenty other Christmas songs he wrote--led songwriter Johnny Marks to name his music publishing company "St. Nicholas Music." Despite this very public acknowledgment of the importance of Christmas to his career, Marks was Jewish . Here's a little from the man himself--Ian Whitcomb Interviews Johnny Marks: Video posted by adamgswanson I'm afraid that Mr. Marks was being just a wee bit disingenuous there about the inspiration for the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," since it came from a booklet writt...

I bet you thought this was going to be about "Baby, It's Cold Outside," but no. Not tonight. Tonight we're spotlighting "Santa Baby," written by Philip Springer and Joan Javits, which was controversial enough when it came out in 1953 to be banned by some stations, because--*gasp!*--it was too sexy. (One wonders what those stations would have made of, oh, say, "WAP"...ah, well, autre temps and all that.) Here's a cover by Kelly Clarkson singing "Santa Baby," full dressed and doing nothing untoward to her mike: Video posted by The Kelly Clarkson Vault "Santa Baby" was another of the Christmas classics written to order --in this case, it was a record company wanting a Christmas number for Eartha Kitt, who surprised absolutely no one when she later titled her memoir Confessions of a Sex Kitten . Philip Springer, who had written a few hits by then, and Joan Javits, a Brill Building staff writer, came up with a list for S...

"The Christmas Waltz," by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, sung by She and Him (Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward): Video posted by SheandHimOfficial According to Sammy Cahn, it was written during a hot California summer, because Frank Sinatra called and asked for a Christmas song . Wanting to at least not compete directly with Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," they wrote a waltz. And since Sinatra used it as the B side to "White Christmas," it was just as well. As I have mentioned before (and as is strongly suggested by their names), both Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne (pronounced "Julie Stine") were Jewish, with Styne writing mostly for Broadway, Cahn writing mostly for movies, and both writing SO MANY SONGS, both with each other and with others. Lyricist Sammy Cahn was born on the Lower East Side of New York to Jewish immigrants. He started writing lyrics at about age 16 , which (spoiler alert!) ended well: He won four Oscars for Best Song ...

Here's the thing: In a proper book musical, all the songs have to be part of the story. And yet, if the song is TOO much part of the story, it stays in the show, rather than becoming a classic. And if the New Deal is in your lyrics, let alone the title, your song is really quite solidly embedded your play. So, not a holiday staple. But it is also stuck in my head, thanks to one of those live-on-TV productions 10 days ago, so..."A New Deal for Christmas" from Annie , by Strouse and Charnin: Video posted by BroadwayTVArchive As I've mentioned before, both Charles Strouse (music) and Martin Charnin (lyrics) are Jewish. "Tomorrow" notwithstanding, the show won seven Tony Awards, two Broadway revivals (so far), three movies (not counting sequels), and the aforementioned live-on-TV production, starring Harry Connick, Jr. as Daddy Warbucks, so it's doing pretty well without spawning a Christmas standard. (But I confess to being a bit sorry that FDR'...

...the OTHER dreidel song! Remember how I ever-so-subtly implied that dreidel is not the most, um, complicated of games? Well, this song does not have the most complicated of lyrics. If you live outside Israel the lyrics translate to: Dreidel spin, spin, spin Chanukah is a good holiday Chanukah is a good holiday Dreidel spin, spin, spin A happy holiday it is for the nation A great miracle happened there A great miracle happened there A happy holiday it is for the nation And if you live in Israel, the second paragraph translates to: Spin, please, spin like this and that A great miracle happened here A great miracle happened here Spin, please, spin like this and that ...because if you happen to live in Israel, the miracle of the oil happened "HERE" rather than "THERE," and both the dreidel and the song reflect that. Now, you'd think that the only way to sing this song written for children would be to have children sing it, like this: Vide...

...It's "I Have a Little Dreidel." Never mind that it's literally a song about a game played by spinning a tiny little top, which is no more exciting than it sounds. It's THE Chanukah song, and it Must. Be. Sung. So here are the Maccabeats, looking for a way to sing it: Video posted by the Maccabeats (I am okay with a Bohemian Dreidel Rhapsody. That is not a bad option.) *** As ubiquitous as the song is, you'd think that it had always been around. Okay, not as "always" as yesterday's 13th Century lyrics set to a 15th Century folk song--it IS in English, for one thing--but still, always. Well, it hasn't been, not unless your definition of "always" is 1927, which is only (almost) Irving Berlin "Always" (1925). We also know who wrote it--one Samuel E. Goldfarb . And as an interesting sidenote, his brother, Israel Goldfarb , composed the equally ubiquitous melody to "Shalom Aleichem" in 1918. Some been-a...

So it's the second night of Chanukah (actually, it will be the second day when most of you will see this, because it is only if I am fast and lucky that I will get this done before I turn into a pumpkin or something) and I thought I would bring you the very traditional "Ma'oz Tzur." Yes, yes, I know. I have brought you Ma'oz Tzur before (and before and before ). But the Jewish people have been singing Ma'oz Tzur at least eight times per Chanukah for...well, for a really quite very long time. I mean, this melody dates back, probably, to the 15th Century or thereabouts, and the lyrics are believed to have be written even further back, in the 13th Century, so yeah. That's a lot of times it's been sung. Three repetitions is NOTHING. So have another. Here's the then-President of Israel, Ruvi Rivlin, lighting candles and leading the audience in singing Ma'oz Tzur on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Israeli Philharmonic, until he is int...

Today I have already received, by actual count, 347 Black Friday Sales emails. That does not count the Pre-Black Friday Sales emails I have received during the past week. That is just this morning. So there was really only one choice for opening up my season of Holiday-Songs-Written-by-Jews: "The Christmas Can-Can," lyrics and arrangement by Walter Chase, music (mostly) by Jacques Offenbach, sung by Straight No Chaser: Video posted by Today in Nashville *** In the past, I have noted that while there was nothing definitive available about the Jewishness or lack thereof of the arranger, Walter Chase. Well, I now have a definitive answer: No. He is not. As he says: In college, the ‘dreidel guy’ was a guy named Mike Itkoff, a nice Jewish boy from Columbus, OH. He was hysterical doing it. When the group re-formed back in 2008, Mike did the group for a year and then he left, and left a void of the ‘dreidel guy’ and that was passed down to me. I’ve been doing it ever sinc...

Well, another holiday, another song or two. I was mulling over a few options, and then I had a little conversation with my mother about how on July 4th, people across the US used to gather in public spaces to hear the Declaration of Independence read aloud, and how unfortunate it is that that isn't common any more. So here is a song about the Declaration of Independence: Video posted by Illinois Policy The Schoolhouse Rock! song Fireworks was one of those written by Lynn Ahrens, a highly successful ( and Jewish! ) Broadway lyricist and libretticist. Together with her collaborator Stephen Flaherty she has written the songs for Ragtime , Seussical , Anastasia , Once on this Island and others, picking up an Emmy, 3 Grammy nominations, and a Tony (plus two more Tony nominations) along the way. And of the 37 Schoolhouse Rock! songs, Ms. Ahrens wrote 15 , including her first, and probably best known, "Preamble," which I include because why not? Video posted by T...

Let's start old school--very old school indeed, since the words come from paragraphs inserted into prayers during Chanukah (and Purim) and date back to perhaps the 8th or 9th Century, the Gaonic period. (For more details, see this post or perhaps this one .) The melody, from the group Six13 , is considerably more recent. Video posted by Tizmoret A Cappella *** And then there's this one, which is new this year, from the group Clipping--which is to say, by Daveed Diggs (yes, that one), Jonathan Snipes, and William Hutson: Video posted by DisneyMusicVEVO Clearly we must include this song--not only is it a new Chanukah song, but puppy, and also, Klezmer rap! Plus it's awesome to have the diversity of the Jewish community celebrated like this. Of course, the fact that it is a Chanukah song is enough to have it included here, but also...Daveed Diggs's (yes, that one) mother is Jewish , which means that he is Jewish. Which I suppose is obvious by his first n...

I've left it a bit late, but it's still Chanukah, and it's still the holiday season, and here we are. So let's have a couple of Chanukah specials, just because we can. I've brought Ma'oz Tzur here a couple of times before ( here and here ), but after all, that is nothing compared to the eight times every year I attempt to sing it, and you definitely don't want to hear that. Trust me. Instead, you can refer to the previous links for more traditional versions, or you can listen to this jazzy version by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Nicolette Robinson, which is not only lovely but surprised me by the really very good Hebrew: Video posted by Leslie Odom Jr. I encourage you to click back to the older posts (again, they are here and here , no one should have to go search for links, amirite?) for a little background on the song, but for those who lack time and/or interest, I shall shove just a little history your way anyway: The melody (otherwise known as "Roc...

...because they were faced with more than their fair share of "too sweet" critiques: You may have to bump up the volume for this recording of Kelli O'Hara singing "I Whistle a Happy Tune" Video posted by Rodgers & Hammerstein Then there's the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald singing the now-controversial "Happy Talk" (but surely the message of South Pacific should count--or should it? Drop a line in the comments if you've got some thoughts about that, please) Video posted by A Trip Down Memory Lane And there's Julie Andrews bringing us a list of what makes her character happy, "My Favorite Things" Video posted by Fox Family Entertainment Hello to you, too! *** As I've written before , Richard Rodgers (his father changed the family's last name from Abrahams) was Jewish, and one of the most influential composers on Broadway, first with Lorenz Hart, then with Oscar Hammerstein, and lastly, in a series of one...

"Shakin' the Blues Away" by Irving Berlin: Videos posted by The Marriott Theatre And hey, do not skip the rope skipping! Video posted by Great Performances/PBS That interrupted number was from the 2018 revival of Holiday Inn , but it was originally written for The Ziegfeld Follies of 1927 , was used again in 1948 in Easter Parade as a number by Ann Miller, and was used yet again in 1955's Love Me or Leave Me , in which it was sung by Doris Day, playing the role of Ruth Etting, the original 1927 singer. I guess it's a really good tune for a dance number? But, hey, no complaints here, I always do love a good tap number! *** If it weren't for the fact that we've got a holiday (Shavuot) starting in a few hours, I'd try to come up with some new factoid about Irving Berlin, but since we do, I shall just put in some links to what I've already said about Irving Berlin: For those who are celebrating Easter... It's been a little minute....

I really should have thought of this one before: Video posted by Sophia BP I mean, it was good enough for Lin-Manuel Miranda, right? Video posted by usnavi (Is this what happens at every Tony winner's wedding? Because this has not happened at any wedding I've been at. I feel like this should happen at more weddings.) *** I cannot help but feel that it is a trifle unnecessary to say that Jerry Bock (the composer) and Sheldon Harnick (the lyricist) of Fiddler on the Roof were Jewish. (As were the book writer, Joseph Stein ; the producer of the original Broadway production, Hal Prince ; and the director/choreographer of that same production, Jerome Robbins . So much for Mel Brooks and his "phalanx of Jews" !). Both Bock and Harnick wrote with others, but together they wrote the songs for at least eight Broadway musicals, including Fiorello! , the under appreciated She Loves Me , and The Rothschilds , and along the way picked up three Tonys. L'Chaim! *...

I don't suppose you can really call it a dance, can you--more a routine. But who cares? Video posted by ozabbavo77 Talk about classic comedy! And if you want to brave a Russian site, you can see Joseph Gordon-Levitt interpret/recreate the number on SNL , which while considerably less frenetic is at least as impressive an accomplishment considering that he made it all the way through on live TV--and then did the rest of the show--while when Donald O'Connor performed that tour de force of physical comedy he was so bruised and battered he had to retreat to bed for several days after filming the number. Ouch! Of course, there is a teensy little problem with the song itself. Arthur Freed was a producer at MGM, responsible for many of the best musicals to come out of Hollywood, but before that he was a lyricist, and together with composer Nacio Herb Brown had written a nice catalog of songs that he thought could be put to good use in a movie. Being an excellent producer, his wh...

Guilt doesn't seem like a promising direction. Let's try something else entirely: Video posted by omarov No, no, NO, they can't stop there! You can't have Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers not dance! (Go ahead, go full screen for it, you know you want to.) Video posted by UberDurable That was "Pick Yourself Up," music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and it was written for the 1936 movie these clips came from, Swing Time . It's been covered and recovered , and was (almost) quoted by Barack Obama in his first Inaugural Address . *** We've run across Dorothy Fields before , but I hadn't mentioned that her father, Lew Fields (born Moses Schoenfeld), started out in theater as half of Weber and Fields --one of the most popular comedy teams in vaudeville--and then became a successful theater producer . Despite this show business background, Dorothy did anything but coast--even though a female lyricist and librettist was a rarity in her...

After all, we've already tried giving orders and offering sweet reason, so... Video posted by renatorw1165 "I Want to Be Happy" is from the Broadway musical No, No, Nanette , but wasn't in the original score. The show was unsuccessful in its out-of-town tryouts, so the producer asked Vincent Youmans (the original composer) and Irving Caesar (not the original lyricist) to come up with some new songs . The ones they came up with were "Tea for Two" and "I Want to Be Happy," and they turned out to be the big popular hits from the show, and both have been covered a LOT. *** Vincent Youmans, who died young , was not Jewish , but the legendary Isidor Keiser (aka Irving Caesar) was . He wrote the lyrics for over 700 songs, including "Tea for Two" (yes, that one ), "Swanee" (with George Gershwin), and the English lyrics to "Just a Gigolo," not to mention the songs for over 30 Broadway shows and revues. Not enough? He wa...