Rahm Emanuel Proclaims Allan Sherman Day
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Anne Cohen August 28, 2013
For citizens of the Windy City, August 31 will now be known as Allan Sherman Day.
Really, Rahm Emmanuel says so.
The Chicago Mayoral Proclamation marks the 50th anniversary the singer’s iconic “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!”, released on the Chicago native’s third album, “My Son, The Nut.” The album became the #1 bestselling album in the country in August 1963.
The official announcement comes at the request of Mark Cohen, author of “Overweight Sensation: The Life and Comedy of Allan Sherman.”
Born in Chicago on November 30, 1924, Sherman rose to fame in 1962 with his first album, “My Son, The Folk Singer,” quickly followed by “My Son, The Celebrity.” His experiences living with immigrant grandparents Leon and Esther Sherman at 3219 West Division Street led him to produce such memorable hits as the “Sarah Jackman” parody of “Frere Jacques, “Won’t You Come Home, Disraeli,” based on “Won’t You Come Home, Bill Bailey,” and “Harvey and Sheila,” based on — you guessed it — Hava Nagilah.
According to a statement released by Cohen, “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh,” about the teenage woes of a boy stuck at Camp Granada, struck such a cultural nerve that Billboard reported people “actually breaking down doors of record stores.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
