The Jewish Past as Told by the Records We Have Loved and Lost

 

Roger Bennett and Josh Kun have embarked on a thrilling journey, scouring the world to collect thousands of vinyl LPs from attics, garage sales and dusty archives. These scratched, once-loved and now-forgotten audio gems tell a vibrant tale: the story of Jews in America. And You Shall Know Us by the Trail of Our Vinyl spans the history of Jewish recorded music from the 1940s to the 1980s, weaving an account that begins with sacred songs and ends with the holy trinity of Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand and Barry Manilow. These LPs are also a love letter to forgotten moments in Jewish-American pop history, celebrating cantors singing Christmas tunes, Long Island suburbanites dancing the mambo and Chassidic prog-rockers.

The music, much of which is no longer available in any format, is brought to life through commentary by such writers as: Aimee Bender, Etgar Keret, Michael Wex and Shalom Auslander; performers Sandra Bernhard and Motown legend Lamont Dozier; music critics Oliver Wang and Anne Powers; and TV pioneer Norman Lear.

 

Hardcover

240 pages