You Don't Have to be Jewish is a 1965 comedy album written by Bob Booker and George Foster, the team behind the 1962 comedy album The First Family.[2]
| You Don't Have to Be Jewish | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by Various | |
| Released | 1964 |
| Recorded | 14 June 1964 |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Producer | Bob Booker George Foster |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Record Mirror |   [1] |
Production
editThe album features Lou Jacobi, Betty Walker, Jack Gilford, Joe Silver, Jackie Kannon, Bob McFadden, Frank Gallop, and Arlene Golonka,[3] in a variety of roles, mostly Jewish, performing a mixture of jokes and comedy sketches. The album was recorded with a live audience, as the cast performed a script, like a radio play.[4]
Reception
editThe album was highly successful, with syndicated columnist Walter Winchell calling the album "the No. 1 seller in Suburbia" and noting that as a popular gift "it has replaced the fountain pen at Bar Mitzvahs."[5]
Sequel
editA sequel, When You're in Love, the Whole World is Jewish, largely reunited the original cast but replaced the unavailable Golonka with her roommate,[6] Valerie Harper.[7]
Name
edit"You Don't Have to be Jewish to love Levy's" was an advertising campaign for Levy's rye bread that began in 1961 and ran through the 1970s.[8]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Performers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Call From Long Island[9]" | Walker, Golonka | 2:43 |
| 2. | "Home From the Office" | Jacobi, Walker | 0:50 |
| 3. | "The Reading of the Will" | Gilford, Jacobi, Kannon, Golonka, Walker | 3:22 |
| 4. | "The Diamond" | Golonka, Walker | 1:20 |
| 5. | "Quickies: The Astronaut / The School / The Confession" | Gilford, Walker, McFadden, Golonka, Kannon, Jacobi | 1:36 |
| 6. | "The Jury" | Gallop, Jacobi, Golonka, Walker | 1:55 |
| 7. | "The Presidents" | Silver, McFadden, Gilford | 1:28 |
| 8. | "The Cocktail Party" | Gallop, Jacobi | 0:37 |
| 9. | "Final Discussion" | Jacobi, Walker | 1:24 |
| 10. | "More Quickies: Cry for Help / Panic / Two Husbands" | Jacobi, Walker, Gallop, Kannon | 1:21 |
| No. | Title | Performers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "The Convicts" | McFadden, Kannon, Silver, Gilford | 1:31 |
| 12. | "The Housewarming" | Golonka, Gilford, Walker | 1:03 |
| 13. | "The Luncheon" | Golonka, Walker | 1:47 |
| 14. | "Still More Quickies: The Storm / The Newspaper Reporter / The Home Remedy" | Gilford, Jacobi, Kannon, Gallop, Walker | 1:41 |
| 15. | "Conversation in the Hotel Lobby" | Jacobi, Walker | 1:13 |
| 16. | "The Agony and the Ecstacy" | Walker, Golonka | 0:31 |
| 17. | "My Son, the Captain" | Kannon, Jacobi, Walker | 0:58 |
| 18. | "Secret Agent, James Bondstein" | Gallop, Gilford, Jacobi, Silver, Walker, Kannon | 5:46 |
| 19. | "Enough Already With The Quickies: Dinner / The Elevator / Classified Ad, Israeli Style" | Walker, Kannon, Golonka, Gilford | 1:34 |
| 20. | "Goldstein" | Silver, Gilford, Gallop | 1:47 |
References
edit- ^ Jones, Peter; Jopling, Norman (January 15, 1966). "Various Artistes: You Don't Have To Be Jewish" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. 253. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 1, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
- ^ William D. Laffler. "What's new in records: famed Tijuana Brass given 'Jewish' takeoff" (review of Al Tijuana and His Jewish Brass), Simpson's Leader-Times, October 8, 1966, page 1, 4 TV section: under the direction of Bob Booker and George Foster, the pair responsible for the success of the phenomenal "First Family" and "You Don't have to be Jewish" albums.
- ^ Marvin Randolph. "'Jewish' sketch made in '65, 'Tiger Rag' in 1918," Sun-Sentinel, October 6, 1996, page 3F.
- ^ Kustanowitz, Al (August 5, 2015). ""The Reading of the Will" and "The Housewarming" - Two Classic Comedy Gems From Our Favorite Album". Jewish Humor Central. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
- ^ Walter Winchell. "Walter Winchell in New York," High Point Enterprise, October 22, 1965, page 7A.
- ^ Molseed, Megan (October 12, 2021). "'The Andy Griffith Show' Star Lived with Valerie Harper, Put 'Rhoda' Actor on Fast Track to Success". Outsider. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- ^ Kustanowitz, Al (February 8, 2015). "Comedy Flashback: Greetings from Miami Beach". Jewish Humor Central. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
When You're in Love the Whole World is Jewish
- ^ Margalit Fox (January 12, 2014). "Judy Protas, Writer of Slogan for Levy's Real Jewish Rye, Dies at 91". The New York Times. p. A22.
- ^ "A Phone Call From Grandma". New York Jewish Week. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. July 24, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2022.