Jewish Stereo Types

Me either. "It's Just Another New Year's Eve" by Barry Manilow and Marty Panzer, sung by Barry Manilow: Video posted by BarryManilowOfficial Okay, okay, Murphy Brown joke, whatever. But did you listen to the song? Because it's really good. Try listening to the same song sung by Lea Salonga: Video posted by LeaSalonga--Topic (Provided to YouTube by Sony Music Entertainment) It's really lovely. I've often heard it said that all Manilow's songs sound the same, but my theory is that he sings in a very stylized way and it's a strong enough style that the songs he sings sound more alike than different. Not that he doesn't have a distinctive music writing style--he does--but the songs on his albums that he didn't write sound as much like Barry Manilow as the ones he did. (This one is based on a Bach melody , even.) That's a neat trick. Besides, right about now, I find it really nice to hear someone sing "We've come throu...

Okay, well, me either. (I don't do that, and if I did it would have been done a few month ago.) But apropos of making changes in a new year, here are Ian Axel and Chad King (otherwise known together as A Great Big World) singing their song "This is the New Year" on stage: Video posted by AGreatBigWorldVEVO Or if you prefer, here's the official video, which does not feel very "official" at all: Video posted by AGreatBigWorldVEVO That video is just joyous, isn't it? Apparently that was the point, according to the guys 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." 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. ...

"What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" by Frank Loesser, sung by The Orioles in the original 1949 recording: Video posted by MusicProf78 According to the Songfacts blog , this is the second most popular song for the end of the year, and it is the kind of ballad that is usually sung in a melancholy tone because the singer instinctively knows the answer (you're probably busy). So let's undercut the lyrics with this playful version sung by Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Video by HelloGiggles/Zooey Deschanel Maybe it's that they're clearly having so much fun, or maybe it's that it's a duet, but one way or another they clearly expect the answer to be, "Spending it with you, you idiot!" Deschanel's note is wrong about one thing, though--the original isn't by Nancy Wilson, whose recording of the song came out in 1965. "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" was written by Frank Loesser in 1947 as a stand-al...

"The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" by Mel Tormé and Bob Wells, sung by Paul McCartney: Video by Paul McCartney And sung by Mel Tormé and Judy Garland, including the rarely-recorded opening verse: Video posted by BestArtsJudy "The Christmas Song," was written by Tormé and Wells when then were 19 and 22 respectively. According to Tormé, it was written in about 45 minutes during a heat wave, sparked by an attempt by Wells to cool off by thinking winter thoughts. (This seems to be a not-uncommon trigger for the writing of Christmas songs.) *** This is probably the best known song by Mel Tormé and Bob Wells , both of whom were Jewish . Although Tormé is best known as a jazz singer (he was dubbed "The Velvet Fog") and for his many appearances on TV shows, he wrote or co-wrote more than 300 songs , about half of which he wrote with Wells. In his clearly abundant spare time he managed to write 5 books and to become a licensed a...

I don't think this song needs much of an introduction--here's "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin, sung by Bing Crosby and Martha Mears (who was voice doubling Marjorie Reynolds), in the movie Holiday Inn : Video posted by alpineic1 . (Only the first two and half minutes or so of the video are from the film.) Or, if you prefer, a cover by Bette Midler that includes the rarely-recorded first verse: Video posted by Bette Midler - Topic , provided to YouTube by Sony Music Entertainment The song was written for the aforementioned Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire vehicle Holiday Inn and became an instant classic. Crosby's version of "White Christmas" is the best selling record of all time, * the single selling at least 50 million copies; when all the various covers ( over 500 at current reckoning) are taken into account, the song is estimated to have sold over 150 million copies and there has even been an entire book written about it. All this despite--or pe...

"I'll Be Home for Christmas," by Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, and Buck Ram, sung by Kristin Chenoweth: Video posted by KristinChenowethVEVO And an informal acoustic cover of "I'll by Home for Christmas," sung by Jason and Michael Castro: Video by Jason Castro (Yes, the 'stache is unfortunate.) The song, wistful and haunting, was first recorded in 1943, and became an instant hit, resonating strongly with soldiers at the front during WWII as well as with their families. It still speaks to those who can't be with their loved ones during the holidays. *** As for the writers: A few years back, Wikipedia said that lyricist Kim Gannon was Jewish; currently, however, it says Irish-American. I cannot, in fact, find any source that says he was Jewish, so I think it's safe to say he was not. Buck Ram has co-writing credit on the song, but there's considerable controversy over whether or not he should. He certainly copyrighted a song (origina...

"You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" by Albert Hague and Theodor Geisel, sung by Thurl Ravenscroft: Video posted by horgemlingurinn And here's a cover by Darius Rucker: Video posted by Darius Rucker To quote from Albert Hague's obituary in the The New York Times : "When he played the song he wrote for the Grinch assignment to Theodore Geisel, Mr. Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) exclaimed, 'Any man who slides an octave on the word Grinch gets the job.'" *** Whether you call him Dr. Seuss or Mr. Geisel, the children's book writer/lyricist was not Jewish. (Although he was actively anti-Nazi even prior to the US entering WWII, and produced many anti-Nazi political cartoons.) The composer, however-- Albert Hague -- was Jewish. He was raised Lutheran, because his German Jewish parents felt that their Jewish heritage was a liability (and of course in Germany at that time it most certainly was), but as that provided no shield from the Nazis he and...