Connie Francis Sings Jewish Favorites
Encyclopedia
Connie Francis sings Jewish Favorites is a studio album
of Jewish Songs recorded by U. S. Entertainer Connie Francis
.
After the success of her 1959 album Connie Francis sings Italian Favorites (which remained on the album charts for 81 weeks and peaked at # 4), Francis decided to release more albums which appealed to immigrants in the United States.
In July 1960, Francis was in Hollywood for the interior shots of her first motion picture Where The Boys Are
which made it impossible for her to record the album during live sessions at E.M.I.'s famous Abbey Road Studios
in London as she had done with Connie Francis sings Italian Favorites. Hence, the playbacks to these songs were pre-recorded in London under the supervision of Francis' British producer Norman Newell
and were conducted by Brian Fahey. The tapes containing these playbacks were shipped to Hollywood where Francis overdubbed
her vocals.
According to Ron Roberts, all the recording dates and titles included in the 1975 edition of his series of Connie Francis discographies were faithful copies of sessions logs compiled at the time by Connie herself. The entire Jewish album was recorded at EMI's Abbey Road studios, together with her preceding release, "Connie Francis Sings Spanish & Latin American Favorites", and subsequent album "More Italian Favorites". It was the latter album that could not be completed during the July sessions, and final tracks by Connie were cut in September 1960.
Francis, who had grown up in an Italian-Jewish neighbourhood in Brooklyn
, spoke Yiddish fluently and was familiar with songs in Hebrew which prompted her to record the songs either entirely in Yiddish or Hebrew or bilingual with a few lines sung in English.
The album was originally released in October 1960 under the catalogue numbers E-3869 (mono pressings) and SE-3869 (stereo) on MGM Records
. The album consisted of 12 songs, although 13 playbacks had been produced. But conflicts with Francis' busy schedule of filming, recording for other markets and public appearances had led to the fact that she did not overdub vocals for her rendition of Eli, Eli.
According to Ron Roberts, Connie did record Eli Eli in London during the Jewish album sessions and it had not been deferred because of other schedules. The backing track to this and several tapes of Connie's London sessions were discovered in the EMI vaults when the MGM Records label was taken over by Polydor. Connie eventually utilised the backing track in 1983 when she recorded a new vocal.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
of Jewish Songs recorded by U. S. Entertainer Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
.
After the success of her 1959 album Connie Francis sings Italian Favorites (which remained on the album charts for 81 weeks and peaked at # 4), Francis decided to release more albums which appealed to immigrants in the United States.
In July 1960, Francis was in Hollywood for the interior shots of her first motion picture Where The Boys Are
Where the Boys Are
The kind of cool modern jazz popularized by such acts as Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, and Chico Hamilton, then in the vanguard of the college music market, features in a number of scenes with Basil...
which made it impossible for her to record the album during live sessions at E.M.I.'s famous Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
in London as she had done with Connie Francis sings Italian Favorites. Hence, the playbacks to these songs were pre-recorded in London under the supervision of Francis' British producer Norman Newell
Norman Newell
Norman Newell, OBE was born in Plaistow, Essex , and was a successful British record producer in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as co-writer of many notable songs...
and were conducted by Brian Fahey. The tapes containing these playbacks were shipped to Hollywood where Francis overdubbed
Overdubbing
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
her vocals.
According to Ron Roberts, all the recording dates and titles included in the 1975 edition of his series of Connie Francis discographies were faithful copies of sessions logs compiled at the time by Connie herself. The entire Jewish album was recorded at EMI's Abbey Road studios, together with her preceding release, "Connie Francis Sings Spanish & Latin American Favorites", and subsequent album "More Italian Favorites". It was the latter album that could not be completed during the July sessions, and final tracks by Connie were cut in September 1960.
Francis, who had grown up in an Italian-Jewish neighbourhood in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, spoke Yiddish fluently and was familiar with songs in Hebrew which prompted her to record the songs either entirely in Yiddish or Hebrew or bilingual with a few lines sung in English.
The album was originally released in October 1960 under the catalogue numbers E-3869 (mono pressings) and SE-3869 (stereo) on MGM Records
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
. The album consisted of 12 songs, although 13 playbacks had been produced. But conflicts with Francis' busy schedule of filming, recording for other markets and public appearances had led to the fact that she did not overdub vocals for her rendition of Eli, Eli.
According to Ron Roberts, Connie did record Eli Eli in London during the Jewish album sessions and it had not been deferred because of other schedules. The backing track to this and several tapes of Connie's London sessions were discovered in the EMI vaults when the MGM Records label was taken over by Polydor. Connie eventually utilised the backing track in 1983 when she recorded a new vocal.
Side A
| # | Title | Songwriter | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena Tzena, Tzena, Tzena "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena" is a song, originally written in Hebrew by Issachar Miron , a Polish emigrant to what was then The British Mandate of Palestine but is now Israel, and Jehiel Hagges .-History and development:... " |
Issachar Miron, Yechiel Chagiz | 1.54 |
| 2. | "My Yiddishe Momme" | Jack Yellen Jack Yellen Jack Selig Yellen was an American lyricist and screenwriter.-Life and career:Born in Poland, Yellen emigrated with his family to the United States when he was five years old. The oldest of seven children, he was raised in Buffalo, New York and began writing songs in high school... , Lew Pollack Lew Pollack Lew Pollack was a song composer active during the 1920s and the 1930s.Pollack was born in New York. Among his best known songs are "Charmaine" and "Diane" with Ernö Rapée, "Miss Annabelle Lee", "Two Cigarettes in the Dark", "At the Codfish Ball" , and Go In and Out The Window, now a... |
4.08 |
| 3. | "I love you much too much (Ich hob dich zifeel lieb)" | Alexander Olshanetsky Alexander Olshanetsky Alexander Olshanetsky was a Jewish-American composer, conductor, and violinist of Russian Jewish descent. He was a major figure within the Yiddish theatre scene in New York City from the mid 1920s until his death in 1946.-Life and career:... , Chaim Towber |
3.16 |
| 4. | "Shein vi di Levone" | Joseph Rumshinsky | 2.01 |
| 5. | "Mein Shtetele Belz Belz Belz , a small city in the Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, is located between the Solokiya river and the Rzeczyca stream.... " |
Alexander Olshanetsky Alexander Olshanetsky Alexander Olshanetsky was a Jewish-American composer, conductor, and violinist of Russian Jewish descent. He was a major figure within the Yiddish theatre scene in New York City from the mid 1920s until his death in 1946.-Life and career:... |
3.03 |
| 6. | "O mein Papa" | Paul Burkhard Paul Burkhard Paul Burkhard was Swiss composer. He wrote primarily Oratoria, Musicals and Operettas.His probably most famous artistic creation was the song Oh mein Papa , about the death of a beloved clown-father, written for the musical "Der Schwarze Hecht" that premiered in April 1939... , John Turner John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984.... , Geoffrey Parsons Geoffrey Parsons Geoffrey Parsons may refer to:* Geoffrey Parsons , British lyricist* Geoffrey Parsons , Australian classical pianist* Geoff Parsons , Scottish high jumper... |
3.24 |
Side B
| # | Title | Songwriter | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Anniversary Song Waves of the Danube "Waves of the Danube" is a waltz composed by Iosif Ivanovici in 1880, and is one of the most famous Romanian tunes in the world. In the United States, it is frequently referred to as "The Anniversary Song", a title given by Al Jolson when he and Saul Chaplin released an adaptation of the song in... " |
Iosif Ivanovici, Al Jolson Al Jolson Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer".... , Saul Chaplin Saul Chaplin Saul Chaplin was an American composer and musical director.He was born Saul Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York.He had worked on stage, screen and television since the days of Tin Pan Alley... , Chaim Tauber |
2.56 |
| 2. | "Oifen pripetchik" | Mark Warshawsky Mark Warshawsky Mark Markovich Warshavsky was a Yiddish-speaking folk poet and composer from the Russian Empire.He graduated from the Law school of Kiev University and practiced law in Kiev. By the influence of Abraham Goldfaden Warshawsky started to write songs and sing them in his circle of friends accompanied... |
2.48 |
| 3. | "Havah Negilah" | traditional | 2.56 |
| 4. | "Yossel, Yossel" | Nellie Casman, Samuel Shteinberg | 2.29 |
| 5. | "Wus geven is geven" | David Meyerowitz | 3.16 |
| 6. | "Mom-e-le" | Aaron Goodhart, Mitchell Parish Mitchell Parish Mitchell Parish was an American lyricist.-Early life:Parish was born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky to a Jewish family in Lithuania. His family emigrated to the United States, arriving on February 3, 1901 on the SS Dresden when he was less than a year old... |
3.58 |