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My Son, the Assimilator
Allan Sherman’s page in the American songbook
Okay, pop quiz. It’s summer of 1963. What are the hottest pop songs on the charts? You’re probably thinking Elvis, Chubby Checker, Frankie Valli. Sure, they’re up there. But even hotter was a number rarely remembered these days, except around a campfire: “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh.”
That’s not the only Allan Sherman song that enjoyed widespread popularity. Yet today, his music receives scant attention. With the release of a six disc box set put out by Rhino Records, Jesse Green decides to revisit Sherman’s songbook, and to offer some interpretations for his meteoric rise and fall.
Beyond the Melting Pot
A hipster scholar makes room on his provocative playlist for the jubilant, in-your-face shtick of Mickey Katz
Ben-Gurion
The Dispossessed
Hugo Chávez is ramping up his assault on Venezuela’s upper class, and now a rare Jewish paradise is squarely in his sights. Can it be salvaged?
Cheap Eats
An entrepreneur opened a Jewish-themed restaurant in Lviv, Ukraine. Chopped liver is on the menu, but not its price—diners get to haggle over it.
Grace Notes
Orthodox klezmer and bluegrass virtuoso Andy Statman and evangelical country star Ricky Skaggs cross genres and faiths to form a mighty duo
Goodbye to All That
For generations, the Jews of Caracas had idyllic weather, prosperity, and vibrant communal organizations. Things have changed under Hugo Chávez.
