Jewish Performers in Rock and Roll/R&B

The following definition, courtesy of that rigorous Talmudic site, Jewornotjew, is a helpful start, but need not be followed, unless anybody feels like it.

Me, I just want to up some K numbers in unusual professions, based on whatever the remotest link or unsubstantiated guess can be made, like in sports, or even (weirdly, as some modern Jews will do), in gangster history.

[The…] I Score tends to refer to birth history with some adjustments for how we imagine they see/saw themselves. The O Score is for how Jewish they look and act. The K Score stands for Kvell (pride) and is subject to the whims of the creators of this website. Each score ranges from 0 to 5.
Big Zimmy is out.

So far, I got:

Kinky Friedman (presumably and all his Texas Jewboys)
Billy Joel
That guy from Kiss, who’s born in Israel, I think (doesn’t he have a Ph.D., or something?)
Paul Butterfield
Carole King
ETA: I could scour the above mentioned site, or see what Wiki has, but that’s no fun. They can be consulted when fistfights break out.

I generally don’t keep track of such things, but I do know that for Kiss, it should be “those guys from Kiss” since both Gene Simmons (Chaim Witz) and Paul Stanley (Stanley Bert Eisen) are ethnically Jewish. The only reason I know/remember this is that I’ve heard rumors that the perennial split between the members has been divided along those lines.

The lingo in your OP is a bit incomprehensible … but here’s something I just read the other day about Dave Mustaine of MegaDeth / Metallica. Also, David Lee Roth of Van Halen and I read somewhere (in a Slate article or something) that lots of early punk musicians were Jewish.

Mike Bloomfield was Jewish.

Les Paul.

Peter Green(baum)

Why not Dylan/Zimmerman?

Doc Pomus, the songwriter. Ellie Greenwich. Neil Diamond.

Marc Bolan
Perry Farrell

Mick Jones of the Clash
Lou Reed
Howard Kaylan & Mark Volman (The Turtles, Flo & Eddie)
Derek, Ray, and Phil Shulman of Gentle Giant

Lenny Kravitz

And, of course, Adam Sandler

Here’s a lengthy list. It’s a little TOO complete as a “rock” list (Andrew Dice Clay? Benny Goodman?).

Obvious names not yet mentioned:

Simon & Garfunkel
Slash

I don’t think so but I understand they call him Dr. Love.

Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are both Jewish.

If Adam Sandler is to be trusted, you can add Sammy Davis Jr. who evidently converted and Bowzer from Sha Na Na.

I’m guessing because of his becoming a born-again Christian.

Anyways, more Jewish rockers from “The Book of Rock Lists”:

The Beastie Boys (Ad-Rock, Mike D and MCA)
Leonard Cohen
Billy Joel
Al Kooper
Manfred Mann (the keyboardist, not the whole band)
Phil Ochs
Joey Ramone
Rick Rubin
Phil Spector
Chris Stein of Blondie
Leslie West of Mountain
Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band
Zal Yanovsky of the Lovin’ Spoonful
Warren Zevon

I can’t believe no one has mentioned Geddy Lee of Rush.

I would have said Al Yankovich, but apparently not.

Scott Ian of Anthrax’s real full name is Scott Ian Rosenfeld. And he’s from New York.

Seriously.

Exhibit A: real name is Gary Lee Weinrib.

Exhibit B: he’s so Jewish his grandma pronounced his first name “Geddy,” which is why he goes by that to this day.

I wouldn’t call her a rock performer, but Paula Abdul is Jewish.

Eric Bloom, lead singer of Blue Oyster Cult

Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits

Passenger

How could I forget him? He was in my high school graduating class (Bronx Science)!

Elvis’ favorite songwtiters, Lieber and Stoller.