Hadassah Magazine
December 2004
Review of Stars of David: Rock 'n' Roll's Jewish Stories

In a tradition that began with the original Jewish rock star, King David, Scott Benarde explores uncharted territory-the grouping of twentieth-century rock musicians by their membership in the Jewish tribe.

Up against the dilemma of defining artists by their religious affiliation, one might ask, what is a Jewish musician after all? One who plays Jewish music, or one who is born a Jew? Unlike the popular trend of some Christian rockers, few Jewish rockers, if any, have identified themselves and their art by their religious beliefs. Benarde may have changed all that.

Rock music fans of the last several decades can probably name at least one or two Jewish rock composers, songwriters or musicians in the pop music world. Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul and Mary) and bob Dylan are, in fact, synonymous with the folk music movement of the '60s, but never made their Jewishness a part of their message. Some folkies knew, but few people thought to ask. Ironically, only when Dylan chose to embrace Christianity did the public focus on his spiritual beliefs.

The cascade of musicians who have flooded the folk, rock and alternative music scene, from spiritual roots music to urban blues, proves that Jewish talent has been in the forefront while Jewish identity has remained, not surprisingly, concealed. Consider the following list: The Blues Project (Danny Kalb, et al.), Manfred Mann, Country Joe and the Fish, Mickey Raphael of Willie Nelson and Family, David Bryan of Bon Jovi, Mike Gordon of Phish, and Lisa Loeb.

Because anti-Semitism and prejudice do exist, making one's religion a part of a public persona has been discouraged, with the exception of the notorious Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys-he is a phenomenon who has had the moxie to be himself since the inception of his act-the majority of American Jewish musicians have kept their identity to themselves. As a result, something in the legacy of King David has been lost. Imagine how he would kvell today with the likes of Randy Newman, Billy Joel and Marc Cohn following in his wake.

With the writing skill of the best biographers of our time and a true love of the subject, Benarde walks the reader through the musical growth of the 1950's and 1960's, the 70's, 80's, 90's, and beyond. He writes: "The depth and breadth of the Jewish contribution to rock 'n' roll may come as a surprise [that is as singers, songwriters and musicians], but the fact that Jews and music get along so famously should not. Music has been an essential part of Judaism since Moses sang a song of thanks to God for leading the Hebrews out of Egypt." (Note: The Torah was written to be sung!)

His conclusion, based on the collective interviews with the subjects of this anthology, proves a worthy message: "Pious Jew, angry Jew, atheist Jew, assimilated Jew or cultural Jew, all validate what I inferred from David Lee Roth in 1986-being Jewish mattered."

---Corinne Joy Brown