# Jewish Musicians to Crack the Top 40 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2002, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644 "2002-06-18T03:49:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/1 "2002-06-18T03:49:27Z")
Have there been any besides **The Beastie Boys**? TIA ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/2 "2002-06-18T04:02:48Z")
How about Bob Zimmerman? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/3 "2002-06-18T04:08:57Z")
Paul Simon comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/4 "2002-06-18T04:10:10Z")
What about Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky” Is he Jewish? Was it a top 40 hit? ---
**Author:** ![Qwertyasdfg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ecc23a/32.png) [@Qwertyasdfg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertyasdfg)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/5 "2002-06-18T04:10:35Z")
Barbara Streisand? ---
**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:** [June 18, 2002, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/6 "2002-06-18T04:12:53Z")
Sammy Davis Junior _Mr Bojangles_ and maybe Benny Goodman if they had a top 40 then. Though not the recording artist who had the hits what about the body of work by Burt Bacharach. Many of the songs he arranged and played on the hit. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/7 "2002-06-18T04:25:47Z")
How could I forget **Neil Diamond**? And **Leonard Cohen** and **Joey Ramone**? [Lou Reed](http://www.salon.com/people/bc/2000/05/16/reed/), too. Does **Zal Yanovsky** of the Lovin’ Spoonful count? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/8 "2002-06-18T04:44:39Z")
ANY??? Try hundreds. Just a few who come to mind: Carole King Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley of Kiss Susannah Hoffs of the Bangles Mark & David Knopfler of Dire Straits Kenny G Eric Bloom of Blue Oyster Cult Marc “Walking in Memphis” Cohn Billy Joel Mel Torme ---
**Author:** ![Ell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@Ell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ell)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/9 "2002-06-18T05:26:44Z")
Lenny Kravitz (Half) ---
**Author:** ![dead0man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@dead0man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dead0man)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/10 "2002-06-18T05:58:46Z")
I think a member or 2 of the Bloodhound Gang is jewish. Far far from the top 40, but still notoriously jewish is NOFX with an album called “White trash, 2 heebs and a bean” and the song “the Brews”(about a jewish gangs). dead0man ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/11 "2002-06-18T06:41:11Z")
How far back do “Top 40” compilations go? Al Jolson and Benny Goodman were certainly popular in their day. And you can add: Irving Berlin Leonard Bernstein Aaron Copland George Gershwin Philip Glass Ernest Gold Oscar Hammerstein Lorenz Hart Jerome Kern Erich Wolfgang Korngold Gustav Mahler Richard Rodgers … all of whom were major musical successes. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/12 "2002-06-18T07:22:19Z")
Bob Dylan (_né_ Robert Zimmerman) Dinah Shore (_neé_ Rose Shore) Steve & Edyie Gorme Janis Ian (_neé_ Janis Fink) Barbra Streisand Neil Diamond Lou Reed Iggy Pop (_né_ James Osterberg) Simon & Garfunkel Norman Greenbaum (_Spirit in the Sky_) David Lee Roth Marvin Hamlisch (_The Entertainer_) Kenny G (Kenny Gorelick) Jerry Lewis (_Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody_)Steven Greenberg (Lipps, Inc.)Andrew Gold (_Lonely Boy_) Eddie Fisher Carole King (_neé_ Carol Klein) Jon Moss (Culture Club) Lisa LoebMarc Cohn Manfred Mann (_né_ Manfred Lubowitz) Peter Wolf (J. Geils Band) (_né_ Peter Blankfield) Elliot Easton (The Cars) (_né_Elliot Steinberg) Phoebe Snow (_neé_ Phoebe Laub) Mel Torme (_né_ Melvin Howard) Henry Gross (_Shannon_) Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors) Christopher Barron (Spin Doctors) Eron Tabib (Spin Doctors)Bette Midler Melissa Manchester Barry Manilow ---
**Author:** ![Skip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@Skip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skip)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/13 "2002-06-18T10:00:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Walloon \* > \*\* > Manfred Mann (_né_ Manfred Lubowitz) > \*\* One of my only claims to fame - my ex girlfriends father shared a tent with Manfred Mann at summer camp… and now back to your regular programming. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/14 "2002-06-18T12:01:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ell \* > \*\*Lenny Kravitz (Half) \*\* [Adam Sandler] Lenny Kravitz is half Jewish. Courtney Love is half too. Put them together, What a funky, bad-ass Jew! [/Adam Sandler] ---
**Author:** ![Opengrave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/919ad9/32.png) [@Opengrave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opengrave)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/15 "2002-06-18T13:53:22Z")
Gene Simmons from **KISS**. There is even a book about this. See [Jews Who Rock](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312272677/qid%3D1024408178/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F0%5F1/103-6976687-0735856#product-details). NP: **Six Feet Under** - _True Carnage_ ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/16 "2002-06-18T14:02:35Z")
Saul “Slash” Hudson has hit the Top 40 both with Guns ‘n’ Roses and on Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana.” ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/17 "2002-06-18T17:28:32Z")
Elvis Presley! ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/18 "2002-06-18T19:20:39Z")
Norman Greenbaum is Jewish. [Jewhoo.com](http://Jewhoo.com) had a story on him. Good to see my Uncle Irving was mentioned here. I know Gene Simmons’s nephew, he’s an A-student at Andover who wants to go to Harvard in 2003. Gene was the oddball in the family. Mama Cass of The Mamas and the Papas and Carly Simon (she’s related to the guy who founded Simon & Schuster) were Jewish too. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/19 "2002-06-18T20:27:49Z")
Not only is Gene Simmons Jewish, he was born in my home town - Haifa, Israel. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644/20 "2002-06-18T21:52:18Z")
I don’t think anyone has mentioned Ray Manzarek of the **Doors** yet nor two or so members of the **Jefferson Airplane**. I think both Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman of the **Turtles** were also. **Blood, Sweat and Tears** had at least two jewish members as I remember, Steve Katz and Jerry Weiss. Two members of **Country Joe and the Fish** “Chicken” Hirsch and David Cohen were. Peter and Paul of **Peter, Paul and Mary** were. Most of this is operating from memory so I could be a bit off on one or two. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-musicians-to-crack-the-top-40/114644.md?page=2)