Funny, It Doesn't Sound Jewish: How Yiddish Songs and Synagogue Melodies Influenced Tin Pan Alley, Broadway , and Hollywood

352 Pages·2004·47.726 MB·English

by  Jack Gottlieb

20791_dj 6/30/04 3:39 PM Page 1
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MUSIC / JEWISH STUDIES
B G Funny, It Doesn’t
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P R A I S E F O R Broadway, and Hollywood
Funny, It Doesn’t Jewish Jack Gottlieb
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In Funny, It Doesn’t Sound
“As any initiate of showbiz knows, the lore and heritage of Yiddishkayt simmers just beneath the surface of much
n Jewish, Jack Gottlieb chronicles
of the entertainment world’s most venerable traditions. Now, thanks to Jack Gottlieb’s hugely entertaining and
Author and composer JACK inclusive book, all Broadway and popular music enthusiasts can have an instant insight into these poignant and n how Jewish songwriters and com-
HOW YIDDISH SONGS AND SYNAGOGUE MELODIES INFLUENCED
posers transformed the popular
GOTTLIEB has lectured on the amusing connections. Along the way, Gottlieb offers wonderful bouquets of Tin Pan Alley, opera house, backstage, y
music of mid-twentieth-century
Jewish contribution to American and publishing gossip, which bring a smile to our lips and remind us that nothing ever really changes. The book offers TIN PAN ALLEY, BROADWAY, AND HOLLYWOOD
,
America. Although many critics,
popular music throughout the lots for a musician, and at the same time, very much for the general reader, who is sure to pick up some great one-
I historians, and musicians have
United States, Canada, and Israel. liners and party talk from this fascinating work.”
t alluded to the Jewish influence on
He is past president of the Ameri- — Michael Tilson Thomas

American popular song, this is the
can Society for Jewish Music and D
first book ever to support such
has received wide recognition for “Funny, It Doesn’t Sound Jewishis a marvelous book, meticulously researched and a pleasure to read. Jack Gottlieb
o assertions with comprehensive
both his synagogue and secular has filled in the gaps on an era that deserves greater recognition. Bravo on a great job!”
e musical examples. Drawing on a
music. He has been a reviewer and — Michael Feinstein
variety of historical and archival
author of articles on music as well s
sources, as well as his own experi-
as an annotator for concert pro- “Jack Gottlieb knows how to talk, knows what he’s talking n
ences as a composer of synagogue,
gram and record jacket notes. His about, and what he’s talking about is worth heeding. Taking
’
popular, and concert music,
choral, chamber, and theater and off from the general premise—that language shapes music—he t
Gottlieb carefully and compelling-
cabaret works, as well as his sacred shows how the Jewish sensibility has specifically shaped
ly documents how a minority cul-
music—including Songs of Godlove, Broadway musicals, including those by gentiles. This he does
ture infused a majority culture,
over 50 solos and duets—are avail- from every possible angle: historic, linguistic (vocal inflection,
enriched it, and still retained its
able in print. His recordings appear punning nuance, Yiddish jokes, etc.), and musical (harmony,
own identity. He does this with
on the Naxos, Albany, and other counterpoint, rhythm, color, and especially tune). His thesis is
the support of a companion CD
labels. He lives in New York City. sometimes daft, often bold, usually original, and always com-
that includes previously unrecord-
prehensible. This book is indispensably informative.”
ed songs as well as some surprising
— Ned Rorem
A volume in the SUNY series J rarities performed by the likes of
in Modern Jewish Literature “Jack Gottlieb has produced a remarkably witty and enjoy- e Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, and
and Culture Leonard Bernstein.
able, yet serious historical examination of popular music. w
Sarah Blacher Cohen, editor
Copious musical examples and the inclusion of a CD of rari- “Jack Gottlieb’s Funny, It Doesn’t
i
ties are delightful bonuses. Funny, It Doesn’t Sound Jewish is a Sound Jewish is an always informa-
s
Published in association with the
significant contribution to American arts and letters.” tive, always entertaining account
h
Library of Congress
— Gunther Schuller of that remarkable musical evolu-
d tion of the simple songs of the
State University of New York Press e
d shtetl and the fervent chants of
www.sunypress.edu ISBN 0-8444-1130-2 u
90000> S cl the synagogue into many of the
n
EA U D I most memorable songs of the
N N C ‘golden age’ of American popular

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i song. It is a volume to be studied
9 780844 411309 Y d
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A and savored.”
— Milton Babbitt
Funny, It Doesn’t Sound Jewish
Funny,
It Doesn’t Sound Jewish
How Yiddish Songs
and Synagogue Melodies
Influenced Tin Pan Alley,
Broadway, and Hollywood
J A C K G O T T L I E B
state university of new york
in association with
the library of congress
This book was funded in part by grants from:
The Leonard Bernstein Family Foundation, Inc.
The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc.
The Leonore and Ira Gershwin Trust for the Benefit
of the Library of Congress
For the Library of Congress
W. Ralph Eubanks, Publisher
Iris Newsom, Editor
Stephen Kraft, Designer
For SUNY Press
Michael Haggett, production
Fran Keneston, marketing
James Peltz, editor
SUNY series in Modern Jewish Literature and Culture
Sarah Blacher Cohen, editor
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gottlieb, Jack.
Funny, it doesn’t sound Jewish : how Yiddish songs and synagogue melodies influenced
Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, and Hollywood / Jack Gottlieb
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 0-8444-1130-2
1. Jews--United States--Music--History and criticism. 2. Popular music--United
States--History and criticism. 3. Folk songs, Yiddish--History and criticism. I. Title.
ML3776.G65 2004
781.64’089’924073--dc22 2003044257
Copyright ©2004 by Jack Gottlieb. All rights reserved.
In loving memory of my father (1890-1957)
Born Moshe ben Pesakh—“Moses, son of Pascal”—in Pinsk, Russia. Moses, mean-
ing “drawn from the water,” was a harbinger of his future occupation as a small
hand-laundry owner. He became Morris after his arrival at Ellis Island in 1909 via
Rotterdam, Holland. Morris, meaning “moorish” or “swarthy,” was an unlikely
symbolic change since he labored indoors from pre-dawn to after sundown. His
greatest joy was to write Yiddish lyrics and sing them to his own mandolin playing.
In my father’s youth, the following statement appeared in print:
“If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one per cent of the human race.
It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way.
Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of; but he is heard of, has always been
heard of . . . His contribution to the world’s list of great names in literature, sci-
ence, art and music, finance, medicine and obtuse learning are very out of propor-
tion to the weakness of his numbers.”
—mark twain, “Concerning the Jews,” Harpers Magazine, September, 1899

Contents
Illustrations xi
Foreword xiii
Problems of Permissions xv
Other Books xviii
Orthography and Abbreviations xix
Introduction 1
Making Lists 1
What’s in a Name? 3
Yiddish into English 5
part i Secular Roots 11
Chapter 1. Slices of History 12
A Search for Definitions 12
Over There—The Mediterranean Basin and Western Europe 18
Over Here—The USA, Mostly New York City 22
Chapter 2. The Lullaby of Brody—Childhood Experiences 39
Chapter 3. Pathwa ys of Americanization 54
Adaptation—Musical Transformations 55
A Young Wife’s Tale—“Love Me to a Yiddisha Melody” 65
Adoption—Musical Quotations 67
Absorption—Musical Anagrams 68
Chapter 4. “Writes” of Passage 74
Accent-Free Adaptations— “And the Angels Sing” 74
Accent-Free Adoptions—“Nature Boy” 78
Accent-Free Absorptions 79
vii
viii funny, it doesn’t sound jewish
Chapter 5. The Wandering Gypsy 88
Acculturation—By Way of an Idiomatic Musical Formula 88
The Charm of the Flatted Sixth—Jewish Coloration 95
Chapter 6. “Yingish” Songs 101
Novelties—Minor Verse/Major Chorus 103
In the Limelight—“Yiddle, On Your Fiddle, Play Some Ragtime” 107
“Moon Shine” 113
Song Sheets International Proudly Presents The Story of Becky from
Babylon 117
part ii Sacred Roots 121
Chapter 7. The Mood of Modes 122
The Adonai malakh Mode 122
The Magein avot Mode 131
“Hatikvah” (The Hope) 136
“Eli, Eli” (My God, My God) 138
The Ahava raba Mode–The Freygish Factor 141
Chapter 8. Bits and Pieces 145
The Impact of the Synagogue 149
Chapter 9. Sons of Cantors 154
Kurt Weill 155
Jacques Offenbach 159
Irving Berlin 160
Harold Arlen 166
Sammy Fain 170
Cantors’ Sons as Performers 171
Chapter 10. Symbols of Faith in the Music of Leonard Bernstein 178
Chapter 11. Porter’s Trunk 186
Chapter 12. Affinities Between Jewish Americans and
African Americans 193
Debunking Canards 193
Exploitation 194
Blackface 198
Pastiche 201
contents ix
Showbiz Religion 203
The Ukrainian Dorian Mode 205
Jungle Fever, Blues, and Jews 213
Davenen—Jewish Prayer Style 216
Chapter 13. Afterword—Society and Musical Politics 224
Photo Gallery of Yiddish Songwriters and Poets 231
Appendixes
A. Composers, Authors, and Performers 236
B. “Yingish” Song Titles–A Selective List 246
C. Musical Example Titles 259
Acknowledgments 264
Bibliography 267
Permissions 277
CD Tracks 286
Index 294