# Best Jewish Rock Musicians? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 16, 2005, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258 "2005-08-16T13:25:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/1 "2005-08-16T13:25:58Z")
I saw the thread **Why do some Jews rock back and forth during prayer?** and was going to write a reply along the lines of _Well the only Jew who really rocks is…_ and then I realised that I couldn’t name one. Surely there are plenty?? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/2 "2005-08-16T13:27:36Z")
Gene Simmons of Kiss. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/3 "2005-08-16T13:33:05Z")
Bob Dylan (Robert Zimmerman) Gene Simmons (Chaim Witz) The Beastie Boys Billy Joel David Lee Roth Slash (Saul Hudson) Joey Ramone (Jeff Hyman) Paul Simon Art Garfunkel Lou Reed Adam Duritz (from Counting Crows) Perry Farrell Max Weinberg (from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and Conan O’Brien’s bandleader) ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/4 "2005-08-16T13:37:11Z")
Howie Epstein, The Heartbreakers ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/5 "2005-08-16T13:40:11Z")
Mike Bloomfield Leslie West Mark Knopfler ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/6 "2005-08-16T13:40:27Z")
Lenny Kravitz (at least, he’s officially Jewish according to the Chapelle Show). ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/7 "2005-08-16T13:41:01Z")
And Paul Stanley from KISS and Lenny Kravitz And Carole King And can we include producers Rick Rubin and Phil Spector? ---
**Author:** ![parthenokinesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@parthenokinesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parthenokinesis)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/8 "2005-08-16T13:41:40Z")
Madonna [snerk] ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/9 "2005-08-16T13:47:11Z")
IIRC, a Jewish Rock Hall of Fame just opened recently. Among the first members were Lou Reed, Billy Joel and The Knack. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/10 "2005-08-16T14:16:11Z")
Bruce Springstein! Seriously, um, Marc Bolan. Donald Fagen. Leonard Cohen! Norman Greenbaum. Laura Nyro. Members of Sleater-Kinney. Randy Newman. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/11 "2005-08-16T14:24:13Z")
Danny Elfman, film score composer and Oingo Boingo leader. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/12 "2005-08-16T14:27:32Z")
So I was right there isn’t one who actually rocks. Except for Lou Reed. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/13 "2005-08-16T14:47:13Z")
What about Joey Ramone? Warren Zevon was half-Jewish but I believe he actually was a practicing Christian. Phil Ochs, Paul Simon. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/14 "2005-08-16T15:08:08Z")
Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (ne Kaplan) of the Turtles, Mothers, and Flo & Eddie Derek, Ray, and Phil Shulman of Gentle Giant Robbie Krieger of the Doors Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles Al Kooper, along with most if not all of the original Blood Sweat & Tears lineup Eric Bloom and Donald Roeser of Blue Oyster Cult Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/15 "2005-08-16T15:11:13Z")
IIRC, David Draiman of Disturbed is Jewish. Relevant link: [http://www.jewsrock.org/](http://www.jewsrock.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/16 "2005-08-16T15:25:42Z")
Iggy Pop, Carly Simon, Manfred Man (Manfred Lubowitz), Janis Ian (Janis Fink), Elliot Easton of The Cars (Elliot Steinberg), Arlo Guthrie. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/17 "2005-08-16T15:28:44Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > Arlo Guthrie. I had no idea that he was Jewish. I guess we’ve got the folk side of music covered with both Bob and Arlo. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/18 "2005-08-16T15:32:05Z")
Me. Ha ha, I wish. Rami Jaffee, keyboard player of the Wallflowers. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/19 "2005-08-16T15:38:01Z")
> [@Rufus Xavier](#): > > Rami Jaffee, keyboard player of the Wallflowers. And lead singer Jakob Dylan! Also Jonathan Richman, a recent favorite of mine. Cool! ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258/20 "2005-08-16T15:38:36Z")
> [@Rufus Xavier](#): > > Me. Ha ha, I wish. > > Rami Jaffee, keyboard player of the Wallflowers. What’s the last name of the lead singer in the Wallflowers- itn’t it Dylan, as in Son’o’Bob? (So help me I can’t think of his first name.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-jewish-rock-musicians/317258.md?page=2)