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You Don't Have to Be Jewish

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You Don't Have to Be Jewish
Studio album by
Various
Released1964 (1964)
Recorded14 June 1964
GenreComedy
ProducerBob Booker
George Foster
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Record Mirror[1]

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]

Production

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The 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

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The 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

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A 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

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"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

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Side one
No.TitlePerformersLength
1."A Call From Long Island[9]"Walker, Golonka2:43
2."Home From the Office"Jacobi, Walker0:50
3."The Reading of the Will"Gilford, Jacobi, Kannon, Golonka, Walker3:22
4."The Diamond"Golonka, Walker1:20
5."Quickies: The Astronaut / The School / The Confession"Gilford, Walker, McFadden, Golonka, Kannon, Jacobi1:36
6."The Jury"Gallop, Jacobi, Golonka, Walker1:55
7."The Presidents"Silver, McFadden, Gilford1:28
8."The Cocktail Party"Gallop, Jacobi0:37
9."Final Discussion"Jacobi, Walker1:24
10."More Quickies: Cry for Help / Panic / Two Husbands"Jacobi, Walker, Gallop, Kannon1:21
Side two
No.TitlePerformersLength
11."The Convicts"McFadden, Kannon, Silver, Gilford1:31
12."The Housewarming"Golonka, Gilford, Walker1:03
13."The Luncheon"Golonka, Walker1:47
14."Still More Quickies: The Storm / The Newspaper Reporter / The Home Remedy"Gilford, Jacobi, Kannon, Gallop, Walker1:41
15."Conversation in the Hotel Lobby"Jacobi, Walker1:13
16."The Agony and the Ecstacy"Walker, Golonka0:31
17."My Son, the Captain"Kannon, Jacobi, Walker0:58
18."Secret Agent, James Bondstein"Gallop, Gilford, Jacobi, Silver, Walker, Kannon5:46
19."Enough Already With The Quickies: Dinner / The Elevator / Classified Ad, Israeli Style"Walker, Kannon, Golonka, Gilford1:34
20."Goldstein"Silver, Gilford, Gallop1:47

References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Marvin Randolph. "'Jewish' sketch made in '65, 'Tiger Rag' in 1918," Sun-Sentinel, October 6, 1996, page 3F.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Walter Winchell. "Walter Winchell in New York," High Point Enterprise, October 22, 1965, page 7A.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "A Phone Call From Grandma". New York Jewish Week. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. July 24, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2022.