Throwback Thursday Musical Showcase: Neil Sedaka Sings on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963

Today we're going back 60 years to watch Neil Sedaka sing As Long as She Needs Me on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Sedaka was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Mordechai "Mac" Sedaka, was a taxi driver of Sephardi Jewish descent from Turkey. Sedaka's paternal grandparents came to the United States from Istanbul in 1910. 

Sedaka's mother, Eleanor (née Appel), was an Ashkenazi Jew of Polish and Russian descent. He grew up in Brighton Beach. Sedaka (the name is a variant of the Hebrew word Tzedaka - charity) is a cousin of singer Eydie Gorme.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

 

   #Throwback Thursday    #TBT

A Mother's Day Special: "A Yiddishe Momme" with Neil Sedaka, Itzhak Perlman, and Yitzchak Meir Helfgot

Today is Mother's Day and we're dedicating today's post to our mothers - past, present, and future - with a beautiful rendition of the classic A Yiddishe Momme.

The song  was written by Jack Yellen (words and music) and Lew Pollack (music) in 1925. It was first recorded by Willie Howard, and was made famous in Vaudeville by Belle Baker and by Sophie Tucker, and later by the Barry Sisters. 

Sophie Tucker began singing My Yiddishe Momme in 1925, after the death of her own mother. She later dedicated her autobiography Some Of These Days to Yellen, "A grand song writer, and a grander friend". Sophie Tucker made `Mama' a top 5 USA hit in 1928, English on one side and Yiddish on the B-side. Leo Fuld combined both in one track and made it a hit in the rest of the world."

The song, in English and Yiddish, sadder in the original Yiddish than in the English translation, the mother implicitly symbolizes a sense of nostalgia for the "old world", as well as guilt for having left it behind in assimilating into American society.

In this video, violinist Itzhak Perlman and Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot perform this popular Yiddish classic with vaudeville roots with a preface by singer and composer Neil Sedaka explaining the song's history. 

We wish a happy Mother's Day to all of our subscribers and casual viewers.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)