Seth Rogovoy, a contributing editor at the Forward, is the author of Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet (Scribner) and Within You Without You: Listening to George Harrison (Oxford University Press).
Seth Rogovoy
By Seth Rogovoy
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Culture The Secret Jewish History of ‘Twin Peaks’
Once upon a time, before “Transparent,” before “Mad Men,” before “The Wire,” even before “The Sopranos,” there was “Twin Peaks.” Aired in prime time on ABC-TV, “Twin Peaks,” which debuted in April 1990, was the first TV series that aspired to the creative level of independent cinema, driven by the quirky vision of filmmaker David…
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Culture The Secret Jewish History Of Chris Cornell And Soundgarden
Rock vocalist Chris Cornell, who died early this morning at age 52 after performing a concert in Detroit with his Grammy Award-winning grunge-rock outfit Soundgarden, will be best remembered for the group’s massive 1994 hit, “Black Hole Sun.” Released in the wake of grunge avatar Kurt Cobain’s suicide (Cornell’s death is being investigated as a…
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Music The Secret Jewish History Of Procol Harum
Fifty years ago this spring, a then unknown British rock group called Procol Harum released its very first single, “A Whiter Shade Of Pale.” The distinctive recording went to No. 1 in the United Kingdom and hit the top 10 in the United States, casting the mold somewhat for “progressive rock” on its way to…
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Culture The Secret Jewish History of The J. Geils Band
Guitarist John “Jay” Geils Jr., a jazz-minded musician who formed a blues trio in college that would evolve into the hit-making rock group the J. Geils Band, died on Tuesday at age 71 at home in Groton, Mass. The group was formed in Boston in 1969, and remained a regional powerhouse until it hit big…
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Culture Was Lou Reed A Lot More Jewish Than We Thought He Was?
Lou Reed’s archives are headed to the New York Public Library, courtesy of Reed’s widow, performance artist Laurie Anderson. There are already two display cases of items on view in the lobby of the library’s main branch at 42nd Street, where Reed scholars or the merely curious can read the handwritten lyrics to the song,…
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Culture Remembering Chuck Berry And How Jewish Record Men Helped Him Invent Rock Music
Editor’s Note: Chuck Berry died on March 18, at the age of 90. In the fall of 2016, in honor of Berry’s 90th birthday, Seth Rogovoy wrote this article paying tribute to Berry and the role that Jewish record men had in his rise to glory. More than any other singular individual – including Elvis…
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Culture The Secret Jewish History of Bon Jovi
Coming off a banner year in which the 34-year-old pop-metal band released its sixth No. 1 album, Bon Jovi is ready to rock its way through 2017, kicking off a major tour of U.S. arenas in Greenville, South Carolina, on February 8, with shows scheduled well into April. Why, at the age of 55, does…
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Culture The Secret Jewish History of McDonald’s
There’s more than meets the eye in the title of “The Founder,” the new biopic of Ray Kroc. For while Kroc carefully cultivated his image as “the founder” of McDonald’s, two brothers named McDonald invented their namesake restaurant chain. By the time Kroc — a traveling salesman played by Michael Keaton in the film —…
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