Seth Rogovoy is a contributing editor at the Forward. He is the author of Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet (Scribner, 2009) and the forthcoming Within You Without You: Listening to George Harrison (Oxford University Press).
Seth Rogovoy
By Seth Rogovoy
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The Schmooze The Secret Jewish History of Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman, one of the greatest musical innovators of the 20th century and the man who coined the term “free jazz,” died this morning in Manhattan of cardiac arrest. He was 85. A saxophonist, composer and bandleader, Coleman, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2007 for his album, “Sound Grammar,” began playing jazz…
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Culture The Secret Jewish History of Pink Floyd
Try as hard as they might, Pink Floyd is the band that refuses to die. The group’s founder and original visionary, Syd Barrett, called it quits in 1968, and by any rights it should have ended there. Yet the group has survived the loss of two frontmen and other founding members, and has endured changing…
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News 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 Bruce Springsteen — on His 65th Birthday
As recently as a year ago this past autumn, The New York Times misspelled the Boss’s last name as “Springstein,” reminding those of us old enough to remember that, early in Bruce Springsteen’s career, it was commonly thought — or secretly hoped by some — that this rock ’n’ roll messiah was Jewish. That rumor…
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Music The Secret Jewish History of Prince
Prince died at the age of 57 on April 21, 2016. In honor of what would have been his 60th birthday, we’re re-reading this very Jewish appreciation. In 1993, at the height of his fame, after selling millions of albums, collecting a closetful of Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy awards, and establishing himself as one…
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Culture The Secret Jewish History of Tupac Shakur
Yes, he does have a very Jewish secret history
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Culture The Secret Jewish History of The Rolling Stones
When the Rolling Stones take the stage at HaYarkon Park in Tel Aviv on June 4, it represents more than just the world’s greatest and longest-running rock band’s first concert in Israel. It also marked one small victory in the war against a rock ’n’ roll boycott of Israel being waged by some English rockers,…
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Culture The Secret Jewish History of William Shakespeare
Had William Shakespeare never died, he would be turning 450 years old this month, which would put him in biblical territory for longevity. As it turns out, that’s not necessarily such an unusual place for him to be. While little is known about the historical Shakespeare, there is much to suggest in his work and…
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