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From Billy Joel to Vampire Weekend, these Jewish musicians created NYC’s soundtrack

JL;DR SUMMARY The Museum of the City of New York's exhibit "Songs of New York: 100 Years of Imagining the City Through Music" highlights the influential role of Jewish musicians in shaping the musical tapestry of New York from the 1920s to the present. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

New York CityCultural IdentityJewish MusiciansBob DylanSongwritingMusic HistoryTin Pan AlleyBeastie BoysBilly JoelMuseum Exhibit

Places mentioned

New York City, New York, United States
"The interactive exhibition, which opened this month and is paired with iconic photography from the museums collection, spotlights the sounds of New York City from the 1920s until the present, showcasing everything from be-bop to K-pop, across genres, boroughs, and musical movements, according to the museums website, reflecting on topics like the subway, apartments, nightlife, and neighborhoods."
Queens, New York, United States
"MC Serch, born Michael Berrin was raised in a Conservative Jewish family in an Orthodox neighborhood in Far Rockaway, Queens."
Bronx, New York, United States
"the Great American Songbook all the way up to present-day Jewish icons of hip-hop, which of course originated 50-plus years ago among Black performers in the Bronx. 25400;"
Brooklyn, New York, United States
"Al Kooper, born Alan Kuperschmidt, was born in Brooklyn and raised by his Jewish family in Queens."
Lower East Side, New York, United States
"In 2023, they were honored with the renaming of a Lower East Side street to Beastie Boys Square, at the corner where the shop featured on their second album,Pauls Boutique, once stood."
Greenwich Village, New York, United States
"He may have gone through a Christian phase, but Bob Dylan the Minnesota-born folk and rock legend who made his name in Greenwich Village has had plenty of Jewish moments, including holding his sons (not Jakobs) bar mitzvah at the Western Wall, playing Hava Nagila at a Chabad telethon and holding a seder with Marlon Brando."
Chelsea, New York, United States
"Jorma Kaukonen, who was credited for writing Third Week in the Chelsea after the band spent you guessed it three weeks in the Chelsea Hotel; and Spencer Dryden and Martin Balin, whod recently left the band before the recording of this album."
Forest Hills, New York, United States
"The Ramones formed in 1974 in Forest Hills, Queens, and were formative in establishing the punk rock movement."
Harlem, New York, United States
"Sammy Davis Jr., the Harlem-born cultural icon who called himself the only Black, Puerto Rican, one-eyed, Jewish entertainer in the world, famously converted to Judaism in 1960, four years after recording this song though as early as 1953, hed been wearing a mezuzah around his neck after receiving it from Eddie Cantor."
Jamaica, New York, United States
"The New York-ness on this track really comes from Nicki Minaj (Young Money raised me, grew up out in Baisley / Southside Jamaica, Queens, and its crazy / Cause Im still hood, Hollywood couldnt change me), but Drake, the Jewish rapper from Toronto, is along for the ride. 25400;"
Rockaway Beach, New York, United States
"Its not hard, not far to reach / We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach, go the lyrics of Rockaway Beach, about the boroughs sandy summertime playground."
Bleecker Street, New York, United States
"Bleecker Street (1964)"

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Retrieved 2025-02-26 05:30:50 UTC
Curated 2025-02-26 08:30:55 UTC