This holiday season inevitably brings to mind all the classic Christmas songs that have been written by Jews. Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” is the big blini, of course, having been covered more than 500 times since Bing Crosby first sang it on his NBC Radio show on Christmas Day 1941. But there are over a…
By now we all know Daveed Diggs’ “Puppy for Hanukkah” is a certified bop. But it was also meant to be something more than just a fun ode to the Festival of Lights. If you wade your way through the effusive social media comments — and some parents playfully cursing the Walt Disney Company for…
Editor’s Note: Long ago in a galaxy far away (well, about a year ago), the Forward published this essay about Hanukkah a capella videos. It won the 2020 Rockower Award for excellence in arts and criticism. For seasonally obvious reasons, we are revisiting it here. “Star Wars” fans have been eagerly awaiting “The Rise of…
Bob Dylan has been full of surprises during this unprecedented year. Coming off his witching hour single drops that culminated in a celebrated album of new material, the 79-year-old songwriter has just agreed to sell his entire catalogue of over 600 songs. On Monday, Universal Music Publishing Group announced that it would purchase all of…
Most of what we know about Salome was written or imagined well after her alleged crime. Reviled as a seductress, who, some 2,000 years ago danced in front of her stepfather, Herod, before requesting the head of John the Baptist on a platter, Salome has had a sizable imprint on western culture in film, opera…
On the day of the autumn equinox, which fell directly between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur this year, Los Angeles-based musician, vocalist and cantor, Daniela Gesundheit, released her newest album, “Alphabet of Wrongdoing.” “Releasing the record on the day of equal light and darkness in the middle of the high holidays… It was an opportunity…
Leonard Cohen died, poetically enough, the day before early returns ushered in the era of Trump in America. That meant the lifelong Canadian national, who made his home in Los Angeles, was spared the Trump presidency. He didn’t have to endure Kate McKinnon’s cloyingly despairing rendition of his song “Hallelujah” performed in character as Hillary…
Editor’s Note: Woody Guthrie was born on this day in 1912. In honor of that illustrious date, we are repubilshing this story that touches on Guthrie’s Jewish history. In the summer of 2014, on the strength of a BMI-Woody Guthrie Fellowship, I spent a glorious few weeks researching in the archives in the Woody Guthrie…
Paul Simon once lamented the fact he always seemed to come in second to Bob Dylan. “I don’t like coming in second,” Simon told Rolling Stone in 2011. Yet, there are some titles where getting second place is not quite so bad. Among them: oldest artist to reach #1 on the UK charts with an…
“You’ll Never Walk Alone” is having a moment, but Barbra Streisand is eternal. In a new video posted to her YouTube channel, the singer, known for her exceedingly rare live vocal performances, used the song to laud those working through the coronavirus pandemic. While the video, with its images of healthcare workers, grocery store cashiers…
At nearly 17 minutes, Bob Dylan’s coronavirus-timed release “Murder Most Foul” is his longest song — and it appears to be buying the 78-year-old songwriter more time in the spotlight. Despite, or perhaps because of, its formidable length, the tune has staying power. Many have taken the occasion of Dylan’s first original track in nearly…
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