Podcasts about Sedaka

Welcome to our new Haggada series. We started with Ha Lachma Ania and the second stanza is כל דכפין ייתי ויכול, כל דצריך ייתי ויפסח let all those who are hungry come and eat, all those who are in need, come and partake That's a strange statement. We're inviting everyone in to eat. It's a nice, open house, if someone gets stuck last minute. But, how real is this? How honest and sincere are we? If someone were to actually knock at your door, would you let them in? If a family comes, will you let them in? The sefer Hochmat Shlomo by Rav Shlomo Kluger, in his commentary on Shulchan Aruch, siman 429, discusses Minhag L'K'not Hitim / the custom of buying wheat to distribute to the poor for Pesach . It's called kimcha D'Pischa , which literally means kemach/flour for Pesach, flour for the Matzot on Pesach. Why is this more relevant to Pesach than Shavuot or Succot? Succot is an expensive holiday. What's special about this holiday? Rav Shlomo Kluger says that on the night of the Seder, we are going to say Ha Lachma Ania, and we're going to invite in all those who are poor, and say anyone that wants to come in can come in, but will we really take them in? If not, it's like we're lying in front of God. Therefore, he says, the rabbis established to give out Maot Hittim. That way, if someone knocks at the door, you say can " Look, I said anyone that's hungry, anyone that's needy, but you shouldn't be hungry and needy. We have a community pot. If you were aware of it, and we gave you the money, and you spent it, then technically you caused it. I'm ready to take in anybody that didn't do it themselves, " so to say. We want to make sure that we're clean, so we give Kimcha D'Pischa so that the statement shouldn't be a false statement, but we have to go a step further. Why don't we make the same statement on Succot and invite everyone into our Succahs? And if we did that, we'd have to say Ha Lachma then as well. So we shifted the question a little further. We have Kimcha D'Pischa , we're raising funds for the wheat because we don't want to make a false statement when we invite the guests. Well, why don't we invite the guests on Succot also? The answer goes a little further. We go to the שער Shaar Hatziyun, also known as the Mishna Berurah Chafetz Chaim, in the same chapter in letter 10. He says, Pesach is special in that is we call it Zman Herut/ A time of freedom . And everybody sits by their table, הוא וביתו ברוב שמחה, he's there with his household full of happiness. אין זה כבוד לה׳, it's a lack of respect to God that His children, the poor, are hungry and thirsty. And therefore we give them flour, not just day by day, but for the כל ימי פסח, all the days of Pesach , enough to last them through the holiday, that he can also tell the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim B'Simcha. This is important. Not only do I want to be happy at the Seder , but it's my responsibility to make others happy as well. It's interesting that the concept of giving the Kimcha D'Pischa/wheat or flour for the poor, is not necessarily a Sedaka concept. It's not about charity, but it has to do with your responsibility to make people happy. And the Rambam in the laws of Yom Tov , chapter 6, Halacha 18, tells us that when you're eating and happy on the holiday, you also have to make the convert, the widow and the orphan happy along with other poor, unprivileged people. He says that if a person doesn't do that, then his simcha is not truly the simcha of a holiday. It's a simcha of his own stomach. So it ends up that in order for your holiday simcha to be a proper simcha , you have to make the poor people happy as well. Thhat's why the Rambam doesn't mention this in the laws of charity. It's in the laws of the holiday. To properly fulfill your holiday and have the true Simchat Chag, you have to make other people happy. That's why the sefer Mishneh Yaavetz says, an explanation why, if you look at Mishna Berurah, letter 6 this concept of קמחא Kimcha D'Pischa, says that even someone that's exempt from other types of charities has to give this charity . Because this is not a charity law, it's a happiness law. Literally one of the first laws, if you go through volume 5 of Mishna Berurah one of the first laws is this law of making sure to give קמחא דפסחא Kimcha D'Pischa. How does one fulfill this? There are different customs. Kemach means flour . Why flour? Why not money? Why not give them actual Matzot ? I saw an explanation once that it's because in those days it was considered normal and respectable to go to the Matzah bakery, like today you have חבורה מצה. Getting a box of finished matzot was not the way respectable people acted. We want to give him his provisions in a respectable fashion and let him go like everyone else (not stand out) and be able to actually bake his own I matzot . Fascinating. With this, we go a step further. What do we fulfill this mitzva with? Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach in sefer Arichat Shlomo Letter 2 in the laws of Nissan says that it's not only food. He says, כל צרכי החג, all needs, including clothing. Why? Because that's what he needs. And again, דרך חרות, if everyone is sitting around the table with their new clothing, shouldn't he also have new clothing? So when it says anything you need , that doesn't just mean, as we said, whoever's hungry, come and eat. כל דצריך, means whoever has needs , Rav Dovid Feinstein ztl says it means, any Pesach need. That means if you need clothing, come now. But what if I don't have any clothing to give? You can give out clothing cards before the holiday? And with that, we switch gears into our annual Lev Chana appeal. We do this every single year at this time of the year, where we reach out to you to give out clothing cards for families in need. The families receive a card that works like a gift card for multiple stores, so they can shop like everybody else. Not, " Oh, we're going to send you some clothing and see if it fits your children." They can be a person and walk into a clothing store like anybody else, shop in dignity and be happy. And as always, we end off with powerful words of רש״י in Parashat Re'eh , where Hashem says, , אם אתה משמח את שלי, אני משמח את שלך/ If you make My children happy, I'll make your children happy. And that's what we're doing. We're selling happiness insurance. If you want to be insured that you're going to have happiness over the holiday. Rav Chaim Pilaggi says he knows many people who spent a lot of money and the house is full of arguments and contention, because they didn't follow this Rashi. So we're giving you that opportunity to buy happiness insurance. It's very easy. You can: Send an email to Rabbisutton@gmail.com with a pledge and I'll bill you, or send a donation via Zelle to Rabbisutton@gmail.com , or go to https://www.rayze.it/levchanazm/ If you're a JCF person, search CON506. Lastly, if you're a person that likes to write checks, you can send a check to Rabbi David Sutton 1059 East 10th Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11230 and make the check out to Lev Chana Tizke Lemitzvot

**Today's Halacha is dedicated f or the refuah and haslacha of Ronnie, Sharon, Eli and all the children of CARE** On Purim morning, one should make an effort to wake up extra early and recite Tehilim. This is based on the Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1807), who writes in his "Devash L'fi" that there are five special days during the year that one should arise at "Hashkama"-extra early: Tisha B'ab, Shabuot, Rosh Hashana, Hoshana Rabba and Purim. He says that this is alluded to in the word "AVRaHaM" in the verse "Vayashkem AVRraHaM BaBoker"-Avraham arose early in the morning. The letter "Aleph" of Avraham, hints to "Echa" which is read on Tisha B'ab; the "Vet" refers to Shabuot on which the Torah was given, and the Torah begins with the letter "Bet;" the "Resh" refers to Rosh Hashana; the "Heh" alludes to Hoshana Rabbah; and the "Mem" hints to the Megillah of Purim. *** The special Tefila of "Al Hanisim" is inserted into the Amidah of Purim. If one forgot to do so, he does not have to go back and repeat the Amidah. Nevertheless, it is preferable to recite the "Al Hanisim" at the expense of prolonging his Amidah and missing the Kedusha with the Sibbur, than to skip it and finish earlier. *** The Torah reading for Purim is "VaYavo Amalek," in Parshat B'shalach. Since it only has nine verses, the accepted custom is to read the last verse twice to complete the requisite ten verses need for a public Torah reading. It is important for everyone to hear this Parasha. Those who missed hearing Parashat Zachor can fulfill the Misva with this reading, if they have intent to do so. The Kaf HaHaim (Rav Yaakob Haim Sofer, Baghdad-Israel, 1870-1939, Ch. 693:25) writes that if someone cannot attend Bet Knesset on Purim day, he should read this passage by himself at home with the Ta'amim (cantillation). After reading the Torah, the Tefila continues with "Ashreh" and the beginning of "Uva Lesion." The Megillah is read before the Pasuk "V'atah Kadosh." In the morning, "Shehecheyanu" is not recited on the Megillah, according to the practice of the Sepharadim. The Sefer Torah is kept out until after the Megillah is read, because the Megillah states, "LaYehudim Hayta Orah V'simcha, V'saon V'y'kar"-the Jews had light and joy and happiness and glory. The Gemara understands that Orah (light) refers to the light of the Torah. One should not take off his Tefilin before the completion of the Megillah, because the same verse says that the Jews had "Y'kar"-glory. The Gemara understands that it is referring to Tefilin. In fact, the custom is to kiss the Tefilin when that word is read. If there is a Brit Mila, some say that it is performed prior to the Megillah reading to correspond to a word in that same Pasuk "Sason"-joy, which the Hachamim understand to be Brit Mila. However, the accepted practice is to conduct the Mila after Shaharit. *** There is no obligation to recite Hallel on Purim. One reason for this is that the reading of the Megillah, which tells the story of the miraculous events, takes the place of Hallel. Therefore, if one cannot hear the Megillah, there are Poskim who hold that he should recite the complete Hallel. This should be done without a Beracha, as there is a difference of opinion on the matter. After the Shir Shel Yom (Psalm of the Day), the Mizmor (Tehilim 22) "Al Ayelet Hashachar" is added. Esther was referred to as "Ayelet Hashachar," and this was the prayer she offered upon approaching the King's private chamber. *** It is prohibited to eat even a small amount before hearing the Megillah on Purim morning, even if one has already prayed. Therefore, one should insure that his wife and children hear the Megillah promptly, so that they can eat. *** Immediately after Shaharit, the Matanot LaEvyonim are distributed. Performing this Misva early is not only a fulfillment of "Zerizim Makdimim L'Misvot," but it also enables the recipients to use the money to buy what they lack for the holiday. *** The Shulhan Aruch rules that the Beracha of Shehecheyanu is not recited before reading the Megillah in the morning. This applies even if one did not fulfill the Misva of Megillah the previous night. One should have in mind to include the other Misvot when he hears the Beracha at night. *** The Hida (Lev David, Ch. 30) brings a custom for both men and women to light two candles in honor of Mordechai and Esther on Purim. After lighting the candles, one should give Sedaka and offer heartfelt prayers and requests in their merit. There is a widespread custom to don costumes on Purim. The Hida mentions this specifically regarding the Seudah. The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909, Ateret Tiferet) brings a custom for women to adorn themselves with their fanciest jewelry, even more than Shabbat and Yom Tov. This custom has its origins in the Kabbalah. This should only be done within the confines of her own home and not to go out publicly, so as not to breach the standards of modesty.

If a person keeps a charity box in his home and occasionally places money in the box on behalf of a charitable institution, may he borrow money that had been placed in the box and then return it later? It occasionally happens that a deliveryman comes and a person needs small change for a tip. Is it permissible to take some money from the Sedaka box and then repay the money at a later point? Some authorities allow taking money from the Sedaka box if one immediately writes a check for that amount to the institution on whose behalf he keeps the box in his home. In this way, he is not considered borrowing Sedaka, since he right away gives the same amount as he takes. Others, however, disagree, arguing that a check is not equivalent to cash, and therefore in such a case one does, indeed, take money from charity even if he writes a check right away. The Pitchei Teshuva (commentary to the Shulchan Aruch that cites rulings of later authorities), in Hilchot Sedaka (259), cites the work "Chamudei Daniel" as permitting one to borrow money from a charity box. The Chamudei Daniel explains that since this has become accepted, there is a presumed condition that the money placed in the box does not transfer ownership until it reaches the intended recipient. What more, it is common for people who borrow money from a charity box to return more than they took, and the Shulchan Aruch explicitly allows investing charity money if it will likely yield a profit on behalf of the needy recipients. Thus, by allowing people to borrow money from the charity box we increase the amount of charity distributed to the needy and to charitable institutions, and it should therefore be permissible. Nevertheless, the work "Sedaka U'mishpat" recommends that one stipulate when he begins placing money in the charity box that the money does not attain the formal status of Sedaka money until it reaches the intended recipient. In this way, there is no concern at all if one wishes to borrow money from the box and repay it in the future. Some authorities have noted, however, that if one makes such a stipulation then he does not fulfill the Misva of Sedaka immediately when placing the money in the box; since the money becomes Sedaka money only upon reaching the intended recipient, one fulfills the Misva only at that point. Some authorities claim that one can overcome this problem by stipulating that the money indeed becomes Sedaka money when it is placed in the box, but that it does not enter the ownership of the recipient until the money actually reaches him. In any event, according to strict Halacha, it is permissible to borrow money from a Sedaka box even if one had not made such a stipulation. It should be noted that according to all views, one may exchange bills and larger coins for small coins in a Tzedaka box. Since one gives the precise equivalent of what he takes, this is entirely permissible according to all opinions. Therefore, one may, for example, place a dollar bill in a Tzedaka box and take four quarters. Summary: One may borrow money that had been placed in a charity box and then repay the money at a later point. Some authorities advise making a stipulation when one first begins placing money in a Tzedaka box that the money becomes Tzedaka money only when it reaches the intended recipient. According to all authorities, one who needs small change may exchange bills and large coins for the equivalent in small coins taken from a Tzedaka box.

Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg (a contemporary Halachic authority in Israel), in his Tzitz Eliezer (16:29), addresses two interesting questions relevant to the practice that many people have to keep a charity box in their home and from time to time place money in the box. Firstly, he raises the question of whether a person bears responsibility in the event that the box is lost. Must he pay the lost amount to the institution to which he had been donating? Rabbi Waldenberg rules that the individual does not bear responsibility to replenish the lost funds. When a person is given a charity box to keep in his home, he does not assume responsibility for it. His status with respect to the box is not even that of a "Shomer Chinam" (somebody who guards another person's item without pay), the lowest level watchman, who is responsible to pay only in cases of loss or damage caused by his negligence. In our case, the individual does not assume any responsibility for the charity box, not even at the standard expected of a "Shomer Chinam," and thus he is not required to replenish the lost sum of money should the box be misplaced. Secondly, Rabbi Waldenberg deals with a case where the institution that gave the person the charity box neglected to come collect the money for an extended period of time. May the individual use the money he had placed in the box for a different charitable cause? Rabbi Waldenberg writes that a person in this situation must endeavor to contact the institution and have a representative come collect the money from the box. If this is not possible, then he may perform Hatarat Nedarim – a formal annulment of his "vow" in the presence of three men, whereby he declares that he wishes to use the donated funds for another charitable cause. This procedure effectively annuls his initial donation of the funds, allowing him to now designate them for a different cause. Summary: If a person loses a charity box that he had kept in his home, he is not responsible to replenish the lost funds. If the institution that gave him the box does not come to collect the donated money, he must try to contact the institution. If he cannot, then he may perform Hatarat Nedarim to annul his initial donation, and then donate the money to a different charitable cause.

King David proclaims in Tehillim (17:15), "Ani Be'sedek Eheze Fanecha" – "I shall behold Your countenance in righteousness." The Gemara in Masechet Baba Batra (10) explains this verse as revealing a fundamental precept relevant to Sedaka (charity) – that whoever involves himself in charity earns the privilege of beholding the Divine Presence. King David here teaches us that "Be'sedek," through the great merit of Sedaka, "Eheze Fanecha" – one is rewarded with the privilege of beholding a revelation of Hashem. This concept is seen in other sources, as well. Parashat Vayera begins by telling us that Hashem revealed Himself to Abraham Abinu: "Vayera Elav Hashem." The Sages explain that G-d came to Abraham to perform "Bikur Holim" (visiting the sick), as Abraham was recovering from the painful procedure of circumcision. Of course, Hashem does not visit every ailing righteous person. Why, then, did He appear to Abraham Abinu at this time? The answer is provided in the continuation of the verse, which tells us that Abraham was sitting outside his tent, in the heat of the day, looking for wayfarers in need of hospitality. As Abraham made a special effort to involve himself in Hesed (kindness), he was worthy of beholding a revelation of G-d. This can be seen also in the Misva of Aliya Le'regel, which requires making a pilgrimage to the Bet Ha'mikdash every Pesah, Shabuot and Sukkot with special sacrifices. The Torah commands that on these three occasions, "Year'eh Kol Zechurcha" ("all your males shall be seen" by G-d), and the Gemara interprets the word "Yera'eh" to mean not only that we are seen by Hashem on these occasions, but also that we see Him. (The word "Yera'eh" can be read as "Yir'eh" – "will see.") However, the Torah adds, "Lo Yera'u Fanai Rekam" – we cannot come to the Bet Ha'mikdash on the festivals "emptyhanded." In order to behold the Shechina (Divine Presence), we must offer sacrifices. We earn the great privilege of seeing G-d's presence only by giving. For this reason, the Arizal (Rav Yishak Luria of Safed, 1534-1572) taught that nowadays, when we do not have the Bet Ha'mikdash, we must give charity before every Yom Tob. Just as we needed to bring sacrifices in the Bet Ha'mikdash to behold the Shechina on the holidays, nowadays we must give charity in order to have this special privilege. The Ba'al Shem Tob (1698-1760) taught that the Shechina descends upon a person when he gives charity because the Divine Name is symbolically formed through the act of giving. The small coin, or bill, which one gives represents the first letter of Hashem's Name, the letter "Yod." One takes the coin or bill in his hand, which has five fingers, and thus corresponds to the letter "Heh" (which has the numerical value of 5). The outstretched arm as one gives the money represents the tall, straight letter "Vav," and the needy person's hand which receives the charity symbolizes the final letter "Heh," thus spelling the Name of "Havaya" ("Yod"-"Heh"-"Vav"-"Heh"'). Therefore, by giving charity, we bring Hashem's presence. In light of this teaching, the Kabbalists instruct that if one is placing Sedaka money in a charity box, instead of giving it directly to a needy individual, he should first transfer the money from one hand to the other. If one is placing the money into a box, there is no final "Heh," as the recipient does not receive the money directly from the donor. Therefore, in order to form the final letter, one should move the money from one hand to the other and then place it in a box. This practice is alluded to in the verse which commands giving charity, "Naton Titen" ("you shall surely give" – Debarim 15:10). The phrase "Naton Titen" alludes to two acts of giving – moving the charity money from hand to the next, and then placing it in the Sedaka box. Moreover, the Kabbalists teach that in order to create the Name, one must initiate the process of giving. If one waits for the needy individual to come and outstretch his arm, requesting assistance, then the sequence of the letters is distorted. The Name must begin with the letter "Yod," which, as mentioned, corresponds to the money which one gives. Therefore, one must not wait for the person in need to come and ask for help, and should instead approach the poor person and outstretch his arm with the donation, in order to spell the Name the right way. This is alluded to in the aforementioned verse in Tehillim, in which David says, "Ani Be'sedek" – "I, through charity," referring to his initiating the donation of charity. The verse continues, "Esbe'a Be'hakitz Temunatecha" (literally, "I shall be satiated by Your image when I awaken"), which can be understood to mean that if we must be "awakened" by a needy person asking for help, rather than initiating the donation, then we see only "Temunatecha" – a vague image. If we give only after we are approached, then we form the Name, but the letters are jumbled, so we do not behold Hashem clearly. It is only when "Ani Be'sedek," when we initiate the giving of charity, that "Ehezeh Panecha," we see Hashem's countenance clearly. This verse also teaches us another vitally important concept relevant to charity. The Gemara tells that Rabbi Eliezer would make a point of giving charity before prayer, based on this verse in Tehillim – "Ani Be'sedek Eheze Fanecha," which could be read to mean that David came to "see G-d" in prayer after fulfilling the Misva of charity ("Be'sedek"). The great merit of this special Misva helps ensure the prayer's acceptance. Indeed, the Pele Yoetz (Rav Eliezer Papo, 1785-1828) writes that synagogues should place a charity box near the entrance so that everyone can give money to charity immediately upon entering. Even if not, one should try to at least set money aside for charity before each prayer, and this will help the prayer achieve the desired result. This concept may be explained in light of the Arizal's teaching that before one prays, he should declare that he accepts upon himself the Misva of "Ve'ahabta Le're'acha Kamocha" ("You shall love your fellow as yourself"), and proclaim his love for all his fellow Jews. This has been explained based on a parable of two brothers who lived in different countries, one of whom was very wealthy, and the other underprivileged. One day, the underprivileged brother decided to sell the little he had to fund a trip to his wealthy brother, certain that his brother would generously assist him. After the long, grueling journey, the impoverished man came to his brother's home and knocked on the door. "Who are you?" the brother asked. "What do you mean? I'm your brother." "Sorry, I have nothing for you. Good luck." He slammed the door. Sometime later, the wealthy brother went to visit his aging father, whom he had not seen in quite a while. When he arrived, he knocked on the door. The father opened the door and asked, "Who are you?" "Who am I?! I'm your son!" "If you don't recognize your brother as your brother," the father said, "then why should I consider you my son? If you're not his brother, then you're not my son." If we want a loving relationship with our father, then we need to treat our brothers like our brothers. When we pray, we come to G-d as a child coming before his loving father, asking for what we need. In order to do this, we must first affirm our commitment to fulfill the command of "Ve'ahabta Le're'acha Kamocha," to regard all our fellow Jews as our brothers – for only then can we come before G-d and say that we are His children. This is why it is important to give charity before prayer, too. By giving charity, we are showing that we care about our fellow Jews like our brothers. And once we have made it clear that they are all our brothers, we can then stand before Hashem and ask Him to care for us like a loving father.

Fast facts about teen idols of the early rock and roll era. 

Today we will study the song of the pomegranate. The Pomegranate says, כְּפֶלַח הָרִמּוֹן רַקָּתֵךְ מִבַּעַד לְצַמָּתֵךְ: (שיר השירים ד ג) Like a piece of a pomegranate are (what Rashi calls) your cheeks…. Shlomo Hamelech in Shir Hashirim is talking about physical features, saying that part of the face, the high part of the cheek, is pomegranate-like. We're going to focus on the word רקתך rakatech , which literally means cheek . The root of the word is / רק Reik - which means empty A famous Gemara tells us in Sanhedrin 37A Afilu, Reikim , shebachem/Even the empty ones of the Jewish people are full of Mitzvot like a Rimon That's what Rashi brings down from the Gemara in Sanhedrin . The obvious question is, if they're full of mitzvot, why are we calling them empty ? Why does it say , "The empty ones are full of mitzvot like Rimon ?" If they're empty, how can they be full of mitzvot? The Kli Yakar on Shemot 30,34 says that the rule is that when a person does teshuva , his sins turn into mitzvot , and the sin itself is like a korban , because the sin causes him to do teshuva and come closer to God. So, The people were empty doesn't mean that they are currently empty; but rather, through teshuva , they turned into full . That is one explanation. Based on this, a question is asked-Why do we say, in our Rosh Hashanah request, when we eat the Rimon , that we should be full of mitzvot k'Rimon/we should be full of mitzvot like a Rimon if we just saw a statement that all Jews, even the empty ones, are full of mitzvot like a Rimon? We can answer based on this Kli Yakar that, No, you're only full of mitzvot after you do teshuvah . The depth of the Yehi Ratzon of Rosh Hashanah is that we should be full of mitzvot like Rimon, meaning that all of our sins should turn to Zechuyot , and that way we'll be full of mitzvot; This is one of many explanations of the contradiction of how can one be empty and full at the same time. Interestingly, the Gemara in Berachot 57A says, If you dream of pomegranates, that is a sign that you will be successful in your religion. If you're a Talmid Chacham , you'll be successful in your learning, and if you're an unlearned person, you'll be successful with mitzvot . Why? Because the pomegranate is a symbol of being full of mitzvot. The Emek D'Avar has a different answer. He says, there are two kinds of mitzvot . There are mitzvot that we do between man and God and mitzvot that we do between man and his fellow. So when we're saying Even the ones that are empty, we mean even the Jew who is empty of mitzvot Ben Adam l'Makom - meaning he might not be the most religious person, but he's still full of mitzvot, because even the Jew who's empty is still involved in acts of Sedaka and Chesed . So he's full, due to his benevolence that comes from those deeds. The Siftei Hachamim, Masechet Megillah says something very interesting. He asks what it means to be Malei - He says when you do a mitzvah , you can be empty of emotions . Maleh , to be full means to be full of passion. So we are asking that we should be full , that our mitzvot should be done with passion . And he brings a proof, because the Gemara in Mesechet Pesachim 74A says that when they would roast the korban pesach , they would specifically use pomegranate wood for the pole of the rotisserie, and no other wood, because pomegranate wood is very, very dry. It doesn't have any moisture and therefore it's very good for cooking. So when we say we should be full of Mitzvot like a Rimon, we mean that we should be doing the mitzvot in a full way, like the firewood that's created from pomegranate wood. The Maharal Diskin, in his commentary on Tetzaveh , has a beautiful explanation of full of mitzvot like a Rimon. He says a Rimon is full of pits, but you don't see them. They're covered. So too, the rasha is full of mitzvot . That means he has a lot of potential, he's full of mitzvot, but he's like a Rimon -covered with a thick shell, and therefore we don't see them. We don't appreciate his mitzvot , because they're covered up with his sins or whatever else it may be. But deep down inside, he's full of mitzvot , like the Rimon . When you look at the Rimon from the outside, it doesn't look like anything. But even the empty people are really full with mitzvot , like the Rimon is full, although you don't see it. And as to our question Why, on Rosh Hashanah, do we say we should be filled with mitzvot, like a Rimon, if we said, it sounds like all Jews are empty that way? The Pri Hadash in Or HaChaim 683 answers that it means a person is full of mitzvot over a lifetime . We are requesting that this year, our mitzvot should increase in such a way. That's our song of the pomegranate, that sings the song of the beauty of the Jewish people.

It is customary to conclude the Selihot service with "Kaddish Titkabal," the Kaddish which is normally recited after the repetition of the Amida. This Kaddish includes the phrase, "Titkabal Selot'hon U'ba'ut'hon De'chol Bet Yisrael," in which we ask the Almighty to accept the prayers we had just recited. It is therefore normally reserved for after the Hazzan's repetition of the Amida, and the question arises as to why we recite it following the Selihot service. The Lebush (Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe, 1530-1612) suggests that "Kaddish Titkabal" is indeed an appropriate conclusion to the Selihot service because this service is structured in a manner resembling the normal prayer service. We introduce Selihot with "Ashreh," and some communities add other chapters from Tehilim, as well. This introductory section of Selihot thus parallels "Pesukeh De'zimra," the series of chapters from Tehilim which we recite as the first stage of our daily prayer service. The main body of the Selihot service is the recitation of the "Yag Midot," or thirteen attributes of divine compassion, which, according to the Lebush, parallels the Amida prayer. Thereafter, we recite "Le'David," just as we do following the Amida prayer. Thus, since the Selihot service was structured in this manner, it is only fitting to conclude Selihot with "Kaddish Titkabal," just as we conclude the regular prayer service with this Kaddish. Divergent customs exist concerning the recitation of "Va'ya'abor" and the thirteen attributes of divine mercy in the Selihot service. The practice in the Bet-El Yeshiva in Israel, based on the teachings of Kabbala, is to recite this section four times during the Selihot service, corresponding with the four letters in the Divine Name of "Havaya." We, however, follow the custom to recite this section five times, corresponding with the five books of the Humash. We recite during the Selihot service, "Re'eh Be'oni Amecha Yisrael, Refa Kol Holeh Amecha Yisrael" – "Behold the destitution of Your nation Israel; heal all the ill of Your nation Israel." What connection is there between these two clauses – "the destitution of Your nation Israel," and the request that God "heal all the ill of Your nation Israel"? Rabbi Haim Palachi (Turkey, 1788-1869) explained the connection based on a comment in Masechet Derech Eretz that if one does not give money to charity, then he will ultimately be forced to give money to a physician. The money that a person failed to give to charity, the Sages teach, will be given to cover extra medical costs, Heaven forbid. Accordingly, we cry to the Almighty to "behold the destitution of Your nation Israel," to look upon the charitable donations that we have made. In that merit, we beseech Him to "heal all the ill of Your nation Israel," as the great merit of Sedaka has the power to save us from illness. Summary: It is customary to recite "Kaddish Titkabal" at the conclusion of the Selihot service, since Selihot is structured just like the daily prayer service, in which "Kadidsh Titkabal" is recited after the Amida. The custom in our community is to recite the section of "Va'ya'abor" and the thirteen attributes of mercy five times over the course of the Selihot service.

On this episode of Empower Hour, Gina welcomes Samantha Parker Sedaka, owner, president and CEO of Doctors On Liens, who talks entrepreneurship, surrogacy, and journey to becoming a successful woman founder ✨ Like this episode of Empower Hour with Gina? Don't forget to subscribe! ‪@empoweredwithgina‬ Follow Gina on Social Media

In this episode of Ear and Loathing, your hosts Aaron, Damon and George (The Gitmo Bros) talk about nuts on Clark, fuck everyone in 1980, neither pop nor craft, and creating a situation for social services. In the Torture Chamber segment, Aaron and Damon compete for meaningless points by making George listen to his most hated music. Will George survive the Torture Chamber long enough to play one of his favorite songs? Tune in and find out! Songs featured in this episode: "When the Radio Is On" (Paul Shaffer), "Change" (John Waite), "Should've Never Let You Go" (Neil and Dara Sedaka)

Sedaka says he has "balls and substance" and that Manilow doesn't. You decide! 

We are now in Pesukei Bitachon starting with a zayin . Tehilim 4,6: זִבְח֥וּ זִבְחֵי־צֶ֑דֶק וּ֝בִטְח֗וּ אֶל־יְהֹוָֽה׃ Slaughter offerings of righteousness, rely on Hashem . What does slaughtering offerings have to do with relying on Hashem? The Alshech says this refers to people who believe in learning Torah, but say, I can't learn Torah right now because I don't have the money. First I'll work, and when I have enough money, then I'll be able to set a time for learning… at whatever level of learning that is. To this, the Tehilim tells us, First make the sacrifice (that's what the slaughter refers to) and then rely on Hashem and He'll come through. In the words of the Alshech, “ Start learning Torah under duress and trust Me, and I'll take care of you.” First do yours and then I will follow. This is a fundamental rule for everything- not only learning Torah. The Chida learns the pasuk as referring to Sedaka ( sedek and sedaka have the same root) which counts like a korban . And when you give Sedaka, you have to give first, then believe that Hashem will fill in. Towards the end of Shaar Bitachon , the Hovot Halevavot dedicates a full chapter to people that he calls Baalei Mishkonot/ people that want take a collateral from Hashem- like when you give person money on credit, but you don't really trust him, so you take a collateral. So too, this person wants to take a collateral from Hashem. He says, “ First give me and then I'll give You. ” The Hovot Halevavot goes through a few reasons why this doesn't make sense. One reason that you ask someone for a collateral is because you're afraid he won't be able to pay you back. He may lose his money. The second reason is, maybe he'll renege or change his mind He may leave the country, disappear or die. When it comes to Hashem, however, none of these concerns exist. Hashem will never run out of money. He'll never renege, He will never disappear. Like the Navi Hagai says, “ Mine is the silver and mine is the gold , so there's nothing to worry about. You can , so to say, lend God. I can take the risk and Hashem will come through for me. It's interesting that this happens quite often to people collecting money for organizations. They often have to give out the money before they get the money. One such organization is Lev Chana , which I am currently trying to raise money for. I gave out clothing cards to over 250 families before I got all the money. Why does it work that way? Because you start collecting after Purim, when people need to start shopping. You have to put your neck out and hope it happens. My father-in-law Rabbi Nosson Scherman draws a nice analogy from a relative of his; before she went on a diet, she would buy the dress that she wanted to fit into. That way she knew that she had to make it. Similarly, sometimes when a person commits to something, he just has to do it. You force yourself into the situation, because otherwise, you might not do it. I therefore remind everyone out there once again that if you still have any money to give out, Lev Chana is ready and able to receive your donation. You can send an email with your pledge, or a QuickPay to rabbisutton@gmail.com Or mail it to: 1059 East 10th St, Brooklyn NY 11230 The pasuk says, Betach B'Hashem V'Aseh Tov”/Rely on Hashem and do good. Why does it say rely on Hashem first and then do good? The Rambam says it's because you can't say, “ I'll do good when I have everything set up… then I'll give.” No, you have to first rely on Hashem, and that will help you in doing the Mitzvot. Then you go ahead and do it. There are limitless examples of people who take that step. They don't have the funds; they don't have the money. When Rabbi Moshe Malka a'h from Bnei Brak first opened his yeshiva, he didn't know anything about money. He didn't have enough money to start. He had to buy mattresses and whatever it may be, and he overheard someone say, “check dachui, ” Hebrew for a post-dated check . He asked what that was and the person explained that you write the check for a later date, when you'll have money in the account. He said, “ Wow, that's an unbelievable invention.” And he went and bought everything he needed, all with postdated checks. But now what would happen? That's where the bitachon comes in. Baruch Hashem, he filled it in. He started his Yeshiva with postdated checks. That's this concept of Betach B'Hashem V'Aseh Tov”/Rely on Hashem and do good and our pasuk, זִבְח֥וּ זִבְחֵי־צֶ֑דֶק וּ֝בִטְח֗וּ אֶל־יְהֹוָֽה׃ First, go ahead and sacrifice the sacrifice and rely on Hashem that He will fill in and the sacrifice. will be repaid. Don't be like those people that ask God for collateral. Have a wonderful day.

We continue in Pesukei Bitachon starting with a Vav . We're now in Yeshaya 32, וְהָיָ֛ה מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה הַצְּדָקָ֖ה שָׁל֑וֹם וַֽעֲבֹדַת֙ הַצְּדָקָ֔ה הַשְׁקֵ֥ט וָבֶ֖טַח עַד־עוֹלָֽם / The activity of charity brings peace, and the work of Sedaka brings serenity and reliance and security forever . This pasuk talks about Sedaka and mentions the word bitachon . The first point is that there are two kinds of charity. One, the Malbim says, is the Ma'aseh/ the action and, the other, Avodat Hasedaka means harder work . The simple action of charity brings shalom , and when it takes a little bit more effort, which requires bitachon on your part, it brings with it serenity and bitachon. One has to believe when you give Sedaka. The Rambam, in Yad Hazaka , in the laws of charity, chapter 10, says, No one ever gets poor from charity, and nothing bad can come from Sedaka, and he quotes our pasuk . This doesn't only apply to giving, but the Rambam quotes, based on the Gemara, that making others give Sedaka is even bigger than you yourself giving Sedaka! That's what Ma'aseh me ans- you cause others to give. We have to understand that when it comes to giving Sedaka, you have to believe . The Ramban says that one of the Lo Ta'asehs is that when a person gives charity, he shouldn't feel bad about giving charity and he shouldn't think he's going to lose out. He should look at it like he's making an investment, and making money on his investment. Because God is going to pay him back multiple times, and that's what it means- Give charity, and don't feel bad when you do it, for God will bless you in all your actions. Regarding the need for bitachon when it comes to charity, the Hovot Halevavot (chapter seven), says something fascinating. He says that the reason people don't rely on Hashem is that they don't know that Hashem commanded them to rely on Him. Where did Hashem command us to rely on him in the Torah? The first source he cites is the Navi Malachi, 3,10 where he says, “ Give charity, and test Me. ” We know that you can't test God when it comes to other Mitzvot, but when it comes to giving charity, Ma'aser , we can test God. and the Hovot Halevavot learns that this “Test Me,” means rely on Me, and believe that when you give Sedaka you're going to see success. Therefore, the beracha that comes from the charity, according to the Hovot Halevavot, comes from the bitachon of relying on Hashem, and believing that the charity is going to bring you beracha. This is especially true, says Rav Chaim Pilaggi in the introduction to his sefer Me'od L'Kol Chai , when it comes to holiday times. There's an extra inyan to give charity to the poor at holiday times. He quotes the Rashi in Chumash that says “ Be happy in the holiday, you, your son, your servant, and your maid servant.” That's four. And he lists another four- the Levi (which is the clergy today) the convert , the orphan , and the widow . And God says, My four correspond to your four. If you make My four happy, I'll make your four happy.” Rav Chaim Pilaggi says this is a segula that a person is happy in the holiday season. When he gives to and makes other people happy, his children will be happy. He says, that's what our pasuk means. וְהָיָ֛ה מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה הַצְּ דָקָ֖ה שָׁל֑וֹ ם / Sedaka brings shalom. That means shalom in your own household. Shalom bayit. You're going to get along with each other. There won't be fights or arguments in your household. Rav Pilaggi says, “I witnessed many successful people that had houses full of everything and had a miserable holiday.” And he said, “I showed them this Rashi, I showed them that in order to be blessed, you have to make sure that you make other people happy.” That's what it means וְהָיָ֛ה מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה הַצְּדָקָ֖ה שָׁל֑וֹם But it takes bitachon. You have to believe it. I believe it. I've seen it work. Therefore, every holiday season I make my Lev Chana appeal, because I believe that not only does the one that gives get beracha , but the one who asks others to give gets blessed as well. So I believe and rely that it's going to bring peace, and that no one will get upset at me for asking a second time. Not everyone has responded yet. I am trying to reach my budget to be able to clothe many families in our community. Before the holiday season, we give clothing cards to many families. We have a list of 60 widows with many orphans under them, lo alenu, besides another 200 families. So, we are asking you to please give generously. You can- -click this link, https://www.rayze.it/levchana/ -Send an email to rabbisutton@gmail.com and request to be billed, -QuickPay or Zelle to rabbisutton@gmail.com -mail a check to: 1059 East 10th Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11230. Please give generously and believe that it will bring peace to your home.

There is no obligation to recite Hallel on Purim. One reason for this is that the reading of the Megila, which tells the story of the miraculous events, takes the place of Hallel. Therefore, if one cannot hear the Megila, there are Poskim who hold that he should recite the complete Hallel. This should be done without a Beracha, as there is a difference of opinion on the matter. After the Shir Shel Yom (Psalm of the Day), the Mizmor (Tehilim 22) "Al Ayelet HaShachar" is added. Esther was referred to as "Ayelet Hashachar," and this was the prayer she offered upon approaching the King's private chamber. It is prohibited to eat even a small amount before hearing the Megila on Purim morning, even if one has already prayed. Therefore, one should insure that his wife and children hear the Megila promptly, so that they can eat. Immediately after Shacharit, the Matanot LaEvyonim are distributed. Performing this Misva early is not only a fulfillment of "Zerizim Makdimim L'Misvot," but it also enables the recipients to use the money to buy what they lack for the holiday. The Shulhan Aruch rules that the Beracha of Shehechiyanu is not recited before reading the Megila in the morning. This applies even if one did not fulfill the Misva of Megila the previous night. The Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1807, Lev David, Ch. 30) brings a custom for both men and women to light two candles in honor of Mordechai and Esther on Purim. After lighting the candles, one should give Sedaka and offer heartfelt prayers and requests in their merit. There is a widespread custom to don costumes on Purim. The Hida mentions this specifically with regard to the Seudah. The Rama even permits men to dress up in women's clothing. He argues that since it is in the Purim spirit, it does not constitute a violation of the Torah prohibition of cross-dressing. Nevertheless, Hacham Ovadia and Hacham ben Sion both rule that one should not rely on the Rama's leniency. Although Hacham ben Sion does permit children to wear the other gender's clothes, Hacham Ovadia was opposed even to that. The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909, Ateret Tifferet) brings a custom for women to adorn themselves with their fanciest jewelry, even more than Shabbat and Yom Tov. This custom has its origins in the Kabbalah. This should only be done within the confines of her own home and not to go out publicly, so as not to breach the standards of modesty.

National Good Samaritan day.  Entertainment from 1977.  Uranus discovered, Ear muffs invented, Army killed 6,000 sheep, Pope Francis takes over.  Todays birthdays - Neal Sedaka, Donald York, William H. Macy, Charo, Dna Delany.  JP Morgan died.Intro - Pour some sugar on me - Def Leppard    http://defleppard.com/Geico hump day commercialAngels among us - AlabamaEvergreen - Barbara streisandSouthern nights - Glen CampbellBirthdays - In da club - 50 CentBreaking up is hard to do - Neal SedakaRomeo & Juliet - Sha Na NaOle ole - CharoExit - Its not love - Dokkenhttps://coolcasts.cooolmedia.com/

Today we discuss pasuk in tehilim 37,3 בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭יהֹוָה וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב שְׁכׇן־אֶ֝֗רֶץ וּרְעֵ֥ה אֱמוּנָֽה׃ Rely on Hashem and do good. Dwell in the land and graze Emunah. In his commentary on this pasuk, the Chida says, based on the Zohar , that when a person comes to give Sedaka, he could say, “ Hold on, if I give Sedaka, what am I going to eat tomorrow?” Therefore, we tell him, Rely on Hashem, he'll give you tomorrow. And today, do what you have to do. In Shaar Bitachon, the Hovot Halevavot talks about the 8 advantages of the Baal Bitachon over the alchemist. The alchemist was the man that was able to create gold out of silver and silver out of copper. It was believed, at the time, to be a kind of magical moneymaking technique, and seemingly, that man was guaranteed his income. Advantage number eight of the Baal Bitachon is that this alchemist could not spend a long period of time in any given place, because he was afraid that his secret would get out. On the other hand, the one who relies on Hashem is safe and serene in his land. He's calm and relaxed in his place. He quotes this pasuk and gives a beautiful explanation. בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭יהֹוָה וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב שְׁכׇן־אֶ֝֗רֶץ וּרְעֵ֥ה אֱמוּנָֽה׃ It says, Rely on Hashem and do good, and Dwell in the land. That is one of the advantages of bitachon. You'll dwell in the land. What are you going to live off? וּרְעֵ֥ה אֱמוּנָֽה׃ You will graze Emuna. That means Emunah is your pasture. What if there's no food left in the land? Don't worry about it. I always have pasture. My grazing is on Emunah . This is an extremely pashut / simple way of reading the pasuk. The Hovot Halevavot does this with another pasuk as well, in the introduction to Shaar Bitachon . It says, Yirshu Sadikim Eretz/ the righteous inherit the land…and will forever dwell on it . This land could be understood as Olam Haba , or other such meanings. But the Hovot Halevavot's explanation is simply, Sadikim (which in this case, and a lot of cases, refer to the Baalei Bitachon), are capable of staying in the land . Another explanation that the Hovot Halevavot says on this pasuk is, בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭יהֹוָה וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב You have to do good. That doesn't mean that only righteous people can rely on Hashem and someone that's wicked cannot. We know that there are sources that say otherwise. But the Hovot Halevavot explains, “If you rely on Hashem but you're a rebel, that's foolish. Because if you ask someone to do something and the person doesn't do what you ask him, do you think he's going to come back to you and ask you to help him out? Well, Hashem asks us to do things and we rebel against Him. We ignore Him. So how can we possibly rely on Him? The key word over here is mamrei . He's a rebel . There is a certain level of Asei Tov that you need for your bitachon. The midrash Tehilim Mizmor 37 has an interesting way of reading this pasuk. בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭יהֹוָה וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב Rely on Hashem and Do good means that sometimes you're doing good, and you don't see anything coming out of it. You're doing good, you're doing good, you're doing good, and you're waiting for the wonderful fruits of your labor. On that we say, בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭יהֹוָה Rely on Hashem. He will pay you back very well. וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב And Do good . David Hamelech says that if I really believe Hashem and I rely on Him, that he's a good boss and He's going to take care of me, when I see those people that are not as good, those wicked people being paid off, that makes me happy. Why? Because I say to myself, if this is what's happening to them, imagine what's going to happen to me . In Tehilim 4,8 David Hamelech says, נָתַ֣תָּה שִׂמְחָ֣ה בְלִבִּ֑י מֵעֵ֬ת דְּגָנָ֖ם וְתִירוֹשָׁ֣ם רָֽבּוּ “ You put happiness in my heart. When I see their grain and their wine multiply, that makes me happy.” When am I happy ? W hen I see what you do to the wicked, that makes me happy. This is a beautiful reframe. We have a similar thing at the end of Masechet Makot , when Rabbi Akiva sees all the negative things happening. Akiva Nichamtanu . Akiva sees all the negative things happening and says, “ If that's what happens to the wicked, imagine what happens to the good people! ” That's what David Hamelech says, בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭יהֹוָה וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב שְׁכׇן־אֶ֝֗רֶץ Rely on Hashem, Keep doing good. And Dwell on the land. And what are you living off of? What's going keep you going? וּרְעֵ֥ה אֱמוּנָֽה׃ G raze on your Emunah. That's going to keep you going, that's going to keep you feeding until the time comes when Hashem pays you back in full. Have a wonderful day.

There is a famous explanation of Vayikhu Ali Terumah/ Take for me a Terumah (type of donation). Why doesn't it say, Give me a donation? The lesson is that when you give something to God, you're really taking it for yourself, because we benefit when we give Sedaka. That is an important belief that we have to have. The Baal HaTurim in Shemot 30,12 points out that the word ונתנו VeNatnu can be read the same way backwards and forwards. W hat's the lesson? That whatever you give to Sedaka comes back to you- you will not be missing anything. In the Ramban's Sefer HaMitzvot , the 17th Mitzvah Lo Taaseh , is that we should not get upset when we give charity, and we shouldn't give it with an Ayin Ra'ah as if we just gave away money. Rather, we should look at charity like I'm putting money into high-yield bonds. God will pay us back many times. That's what it means. Give Him , and it shouldn't bother you when you give it to Him, because God will bless you in all your deeds. So we see that this concept that you're taking when you're giving is not just a mussar concept. According to the Ramban, this attitude, or the lack of such, is one of the 613 mitzvot in the Torah. There is no difference between shaving with a razor and giving charity and feeling that you're losing. It's a Lo Taaseh/ negative commandmen. In a related topic, there are many lessons that we learn from the Shulchan in the Mishkan . The Shulchan represents our own personal table; we invite guests to our table. The Rabbenu Bachye in Terumah 25,23 mentions the custom of the Hasidim of France who used the wood of their tables (that they used to serve their guests on) to create caskets for their burials. This was to show that there's nothing that you're take with you, from all your food and all your drink and all your hard work, except the the Sedaka that you did and the guests you had at your table. That is what you're taking that with you. That's why they would literally create caskets out of their tables. The sefer Sivtei Kohen Al HaTorah, written by a student of the Arizal, says that letters of the word Shulchan/ שלחן are an acronym for ש מור ל קבורה ח סד נ דבתך which means guard for your burial the kindness of your generosity- Because all that money that you gave and all the guests that you have, that's what's going with you. That's what you are actually saving for yourself. The money you give is really what you take . This is an important outlook and an attitude. The story is told about the great Kapishnitzer Rebbe. He once saw a poor man wearing a hat that was all smashed up, so he took his own new hat and gave it to this poor man. One of the Hasidim asked, “ You have many hats. Why do you have to give him a new hat? ” The Rebbe told him, “ I saved myself a new hat because what I give away is what is really is coming back to me.” There's a similar story with Rabbi Sholom Schwadron. A poor man came to before him before Pesach. Rabbi Schwadron had a shirt that he had brought back from America to save for the holiday, and he gave that shirt to the poor person. So that is our lesson of the Parasha, on the proper hashkafa of Emunah to have when you give Sedaka, B'Ezrat Hashem.

The Electric Light Orchestra, also known as E.L.O., was formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood, and by percussionist Bev Bevan.  Wood was in a band called the Move in 1968 and had the idea of a new band which would feature classical instruments more prominently than the guitars, hoping to "pick up where the Beatles left off."  He recruited Lynne to the cause in 1970.  Wood would leave the band in 1972 at which point Lynne would be the leader of the band, producing and arranging all the albums and writing most of the songs.Face the Music was ELO's fifth studio album, and the one which would be their real worldwide breakthrough.  The album moved away from the large-scale orchestral pieces and contained more single-friendly material.  It would be the first ELO album to go Platinum.   The band at the time consisted of multi-instrumentalist and creative heart Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan on percussion, Richard Tandy on keyboard, Kelly Groucutt on bass and vocals, Mik Kaminski on violin, Hugh McDowell on cello, and Melvyn Gale on cello.  Louis Clark was the conductor of the orchestra and did some of the orchestral and choral arrangements along with Lynne and Tandy.We're catching ELO on their way up with this album.  The band would hit the pinnacle of their success with 1977's double album "Out of the Blue."  In 1986 Lynne would leave the group to pursue other projects, while Bevan would form the group "ELO, part II," eventually renamed "The Orchestra."  Lynne would reform the group as Jeff Lynne's ELO  along with Richard Tandy in 2014.Bruce presents this symphonic rock album in this week's podcast. Fire On HighThe opening track is a largely instrumental piece.  Drummer Bev Bevan is vocalizing the backward lyrics, "The music is reversible but time is not.  Turn back, turn back, turn back, turn back!"  Lynne had received criticism from some fundamentalist groups about backward masking on the El Dorado album, and this is his joking response.  The song's mix of symphony with rock and roll was played at home games for the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team.Strange MagicThis was the second single from the album and features keyboardist Richard Tandy playing the guitar part while Lynne plays a 12-string acoustic fed through a phase shifter.  It went to number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.NightriderWhile this is a deeper cut, it actually was released as a single and just didn't chart.  Bassist Kelly Groucutt takes turns with Jeff Lynne to provide lead vocals on this song.  The title was also the title of Lynne's first major band prior to forming ELO. Evil WomanThis song about a bad woman is the first single and the big hit off the album.  As seems common with many hit singles, it was originally written as a filler track to give the album a longer runtime with no thought to its being a hit.  Lynne wrote it in about 30 minutes.  It went to number 10 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK singles charts. ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To) (from the motion picture "Mahogany")Diana Ross stars in this film about a woman torn between a life in Rome as a fashion designer and life in Chicago with the man she loves.  Ross sane the theme as well. STAFF PICKS:Fool for the City by FoghatWayne launches the staff picks with this rocking tribute to the city from the Platinum-selling album of the same name.  "I'm ready for the city, air pollution, here I come."  The album cover features the drummer fishing in a manhole in New York City.  New York City policemen on patrol stopped at the scene and jokingly asked if they had a fishing license.  Foghat came out of the remnants of a group called Savoy Brown. They Just Can't Stop It (Games People Play)  by The SpinnersRob features a crossover success that hit the number 1 spot on the US Hot Soul Singles chart and number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.  The song was recorded at Philadelphia's Signa Sound Studios, and the female vocals are provided by the studio backing vocal group called Sweethearts of Sigma - Carla Benson, Evette Benton, and Barbara Ingram.  Evette Benton is the lead female voice on the song.Lyin' Eyes by the EaglesCalifornia country is the focus of Lynch's staff pick.  Lyin' Eyes appeared on the Eagles' 1975 album "One of These Nights," and was written by Henley and Frey.  Don Henley took lead vocal duties on this one.  It went to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.  The origin of the song was observing young attractive women in Hollywood dating older rich guys.Bad Blood by Neil SedakaBruce brings us a lost number 1 hit.  Sedaka was better known for his work in the 1950's and early 60's, but had a revival during the mid-70's.  This song about a woman who is trouble also features an uncredited vocal by Elton John.  Sedaka sings and plays piano on this song, while David Foster provides the keyboard work. INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:Will o' the Wisp by Leon RussellWe finish off with a brief piano instrumental from singer-songwriter Leon Russell's album of the same name. Thanks for listening to “What the Riff?!?” NOTE: To adjust the loudness of the music or voices, you may adjust the balance on your device. VOICES are stronger in the LEFT channel, and MUSIC is stronger on the RIGHT channel.Please follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/whattheriffpodcast/, and message or email us with what you'd like to hear, what you think of the show, and any rock worthy memes we can share.Of course we'd love for you to rate the show in your podcast platform!**NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.

Sedaka's claim in that headline will be disputed on all counts! But every since I was a kid I've admired the man and his music, from the early days of Oh Carol to 70s LPs such as The tra-La Days Are Over. It may not be hip to like Sedaka, but to hell with hip! We should all define hip for ourselves. 

Dedicated in Honor of Jack Terzi There are hundreds of thousands of Jews in danger at this moment- Mothers who said goodbye to their children going to battle, not knowing if they will ever see them again. People being held hostage by the cruelest beings on the planet. Tens of thousands of people mourning the losses of their loved ones. Frantic parents continue to search for their children, and thousands of people are injured, many of whom are fighting for their lives. It is incumbent upon us to do whatever we can to help. Baruch Hashem, people from all over the world are sending supplies and food, and in most cases it's Pikuach Nefesh . People who are home-bound are literally out of food. Ashrechem Yisrael ! People are doing everything in their power to help those in need. Rabbi Menashe Reisman quoted from the Chatam Sofer in Parashat Baha'alotcha that the first Sedaka everyone has to perform is giving of their hearts to their fellow Jews. We have to be Noseh B'Ol Im Havero and feel the pain that our brothers are suffering. How can we enjoy ourselves with the regular pleasures of life when so many people are suffering? When it comes to things as simple as sitting in the car and listening to music, a person should say, How can I relax and enjoy myself when my brothers and sisters are worried about their very lives? Every moment of enjoyment and relaxation that we give up, to share in their pain, goes a very long way. Taking time out to go to tehilim gatherings and chizuk gatherings rather than going out for dinner, are wonderful things that show that we are sharing in their pain, aside from all of the zechuyot that they are bringing about. The Chatam Sofer writes in Bamidbar יא that although every person who experiences difficulties is supposed to accept them with love and happiness, everyone else around them is supposed to feel pain for them. And even if we see that the people suffering are accepting it with joy, we don't say, ‘ Baruch Hashem, they're accepting it, so everything is fine.' No! Everybody else's Avodah is to feel the pain that they should be experiencing. From the words of the Chatam Sofer, it sounds like the more others feel the pain, the easier it becomes on the ones going through the difficulty. If, Lo Alenu , a missile hit a certain area, a parent whose child is there will call to see if the child is okay. When the child answers the phone, the parent will breathe a sigh of relief. But the parent can't just go back to sit on the couch like before, because many others have been affected by that missile. Many whose lives will never be the same. The more our hearts feel for others, the less they will have to suffer. The pasuk says, when Hashem called to Moshe from the burning bush, He said, “ Moshe Moshe ,” andis there is no break between the first Moshe and the next one as there is when Hashem called to Avraham twice. The Midrash explains this with a mashal of a man who is carrying an extremely heavy load, and calls out to a friend walking by, to help him. When he calls him, he calls his name twice “ Yosef, Yosef, please! I need your help !” If the Midrash didn't use this mashal , we wouldn't be able to say it, but kal v'yachol, the nimshal is that Hashem was in such pain over the slavery of the Jewish people that He was calling to Moshe to help Him relieve some of the burden. When someone shares the pain, it takes away from the one experiencing it. Our family is hurting. It's up to us to remove some of their pain. This is a great form of Sedaka . B'Ezrat Hashem, if Hashem sees us uniting in such a deep way, it will arouse Him to bring the Geula . Let us all keep this upcoming Shabbat the best we ever did. And may the zechut of Shabbat stand for us and protect us. Shabbat Shalom. URGENT APPEAL From iTorah.com https://itorah.com/campaigns/ special "Kol Yisrael Arebim Zeh La'zeh" All Jews are responsible for one another. Please donate to and provide for your brothers and sisters in Israel who are suffering and need your help! Our campaign will be used to fund purchases of… • Providing 2,000 meals PER DAY to IDF Soldiers around the country • Sisiyot and Siddurim for the soldiers • Supplies for the displaced • Battle Gear for families for protection • Food & Necessities • Financial Aid to Families whose wage earners have been taken from work and deployed into battle.

Ilana Sedaka is an ice skater and entrepreneur. Sedaka started ice skating at the age of 5, and her coach saw some true potential in her and encouraged her to consider dive deeper into the sport. She has done several competitions and live performance shows over the course of her career. A few years back, she got the chance to perform alongside ice skating legend, Nancy Kerrigan. Outside of ice skating, Sedaka loves fashion and clothes. She has her own clothing brand and store called Rare Wear, and it can even be seen being sported by celebs on social media. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jayme-starr/support

Paul Folwell talks about his ownership journey with Mick and Louis on the Mail Run ahead of Sedaka's run in the NZ Oaks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Nate Wilcox welcomes Ken Emerson, author of "Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era." Buy the book and support the show. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. SAVE THE LET IT ROLL PODCAST We're $100 from our goal to fund a year's worth of production on the Let It Roll podcast (that's 104 episodes)! The outpouring of support for the show has been really exciting to see. If you already gave, thanks so much! If you don't have the funds to give anything, no worries, enjoy the show. Click here to support the show Here's the link if you need to cut and paste: https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-the-let-it-roll-podcast-alive Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's 1975. Meet Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes. America was Lonely, Sedaka was rainy, The water ran black with Doobies. Grand Funk? No bunk. The Average White Band and Eagles, an above average white band. Stevie, Linda and pure Fire. Enjoy the show, rockers.

Moshe Rabbenu, in Shemot 33,16 says וְנִפְלִ֙ינוּ֙ אֲנִ֣י וְעַמְּךָ֔ We ( the Jewish people) should be separated from the rest of the world. And right after that, God introduces the 13 Attributes of Mercy, which is a special covenant called the Covenant of the 13 Attributes that is made specifically for the Jewish people. This is what bothered the Greeks. They were bothered by anything that made the Jewish people stand out, apart from the rest of the world. These 13 attributes are what separate us. The way we describe our keeping the 13 attributes of mercy is to ‘ Go in the ways of God .' Just like He is Rachum , we have to be be Rachum, just like He is Hanun we have to be Hanun . We must act in those ways, but why? Because of the rule that a son emulates his father. The Jewish people are called children of God, and therefore we are the ones that emulate God. We are the ones that live up to the Tzelem Elokim / image of God. The Tomar Devorah tells us that this why we have to live up to and emulate those 13 traits of God. With this, the sefer Yerach L'Moadim, from Rabbi Yerucham Olshin, the Rosh Yeshiva of Lakewood explains a custom brought down by the Magen Avraham, on Shuchan Aruch, brought down by the Mishna Berura and the Kaf HaChaim, that it's customary for young, poor children to go collect money on Hanukah. That's really where the famous Hanukah gelt comes from. Some people want to say it's a Gentile custom, but it's not. It was really for the poor. The custom might have been to just give it as gifts, but there was a concept of giving money to children. Of course, they didn't want to differentiate wealthy and poor when giving money to children. And what's the reason? It's based on Rambam in Hilchot Matanot Ani'im , chapter 10, Halacha 2, which says, all Jewish people are like brothers, like it says, you are children of God. If we're children of God, we're all brothers. And if a brother doesn't have mercy on his brother, who will have mercy on him? And who are the poor of the Jewish people looking up to? To their Jewish brethren, that are going to help them. Therefore, the Rambam says that the Mitzvah of Sedaka clearly comes from the concept of being children of God, and therefore being brothers to each other. And if the point that the Greeks were trying to obliterate was the fact that we are children of God (and therefore brothers to each other), we must go out of our way and strengthen ourselves in the trait of being brothers and children of Hashem, by specifically giving Sedaka during the holiday of Kislev. That's an important Ahavat Yisrael connection to the holiday of Hanukah. Have a wonderful day.

This is our final class before Yom Kippur, The Meshech Hochma in Vayikra (8,7) tells us how the process of the Kohen Gadol/ the high priest, brings the Kapara/atonement on Yom Kippur. He says that when the Jewish soul is disconnected from its physicality, automatically it connects to its source, which is God and this purifies, just like the law that impure waters that connect themselves to pure waters in a mikveh become purified (there's a concept called hashaka - they sort of say, kiss each other or meet together). So too, the Jewish people are connected to God. Bu how do we connect ourselves to God on Yom Kippur? He says, “ We have to connect ourselves to the Jewish people at large ,” because, (and this is a tremendous Hiddush) “ the Jewish people as a whole are constantly connected to God.” You, the Jewish people, are connected to God and you're all alive today. So, in order for me to get my Kapara , I must connect myself to God. But how do I do that? I have to connect myself to the Jewish people. And he says, That's why we give Sedaka and do acts of Hessed during Aseret Yeme Teshuva. Because that's the way to connect yourself to the Jewish people. And he says, it's like you're grafting a new sapling to an old tree.. (there's a law of Orla that within the first three year of a fruit tree, the fruit is called Orla , and it's forbidden to eat. But if you take a new sapling and graft it to an older tree that's more than three years old, the new sapling becomes part of the old tree). And so too, when we, as individuals, connect ourselves to Jewish people, we become purified, because we're connected to Jewish people that are constantly connected to God. That's what it signifies when the Kohen Gadol walks into the Holy of Holies. He's representing the Jewish people at large, and connecting them to God. What an unbelievable thought. Chacham Ben Sion brings down that especially on Erev Yom Kippur, a person is supposed to give charity. Everyone can find someone to give charity to today. There are many organizations. There are people that need money for Yom Tov. But if you're looking for somebody ( if it's not too late) call the Yad Yosef Torah Center and find Rabbi Ozeri. He always has a list of people to help. He's been giving out cards for Moisha's, a local, supermarket. This is not an appeal, but if you're stuck, you can always come to the Yad Yosef …we'll find somebody for you to help. The bottom line is that we must connect ourselves to the Jewish people. It's not just about me and you . It's about us . That's the secret to the purification process. And that's why you must ask forgiveness before Yom Kippur, because, as Chacham Ben Sion says, it's not just that if you don't ask forgiveness, you don't get forgiven on the man- to- man sense. There will be something lacking for your entire Yom Kippur; your whole Yom Kippur will be missing if you don't ask forgiveness from somebody; if you're not getting along with someone, it impacts your entire Yom Kippur.That's why it's a big thing to do today, Erev Kippur, to forgive people- even that guy that really wronged you. Great things happen when people forgive other people. Rabbi Spiro tells a beautiful story in his book, A Touch of Purity . He tells of a man who had a business partner who swindled him terribly. He was extremely upset and wanted to press charges, defame him, and really go to war. Not long after that, there was a Hatzalah ambulance in front of his neighbor's house, whose young wife, a mother of three children, was very sick with the disease. The neighbor came over and said, “ We're going to the hospital now. Could you please follow with my children in the car? I think they need to be near their mother.” So he takes the children to the hospital, and after a while they see that really there's no need for the children to be there. She's not going to need them. They stay a little bit longer, and then he ends up taking the children back home, giving them supper and helping them out. And he is just so overtaken by the horrible situation of this young family with a sick mother, that he bursts out crying and says to Hashem, “ I'll make a deal with You. This man wronged me. I'll forgive him. I'll forget it like it never happened. I won't press charge. I won't do anything. But please, grant this lady a refuah shelemah.” Not long afterwards, her condition started to improve. And almost miraculously, she eventually pulled out of it and was given a clean bill of health. That's the power of forgiving- It's not an easy thing, but that's what makes us part of the Jewish people. That's what gives us power. We see here that when you forgive somebody, you can ask for something for somebody else- What a powerful tool. Let us take advantage of becoming part of the Jewish people on the special, final day before Yom Kippur and make that difference. *The 10 Commandments correspond to the 10 days of Teshuva. The last commandment is Lo Tachmod/Thou shall not covet, don't want what other people have. Care about other people, forgive other people. Get along with other people. And that's the secret to our success. Have a wonderful, meaningful fast.

The Rama (Rav Moshe Isserles of Cracow, 1530-1572) mentions the custom to give charity to the poor on Ereb Rosh Hashanah. This practice is based on the verse in the Book of Nehemia (8:10) in which the prophet instructed the people on Rosh Hashanah to enjoy fine foods and drinks, and to give food packages to the poor so they can enjoy the Yom Tob. Since we cannot give food packages on the Yom Tob, it is proper to give either food or money to the poor on Ereb Rosh Hashanah. This custom is mentioned also by Rav Haim Palachi (Turkey, 1788-1868) in Mo'ed Le'kol Hai (12:2).Rav Haim Vital (1543-1620) had the practice of making "Pidyon Nefesh" – the "ransom of the soul" – on Ereb Rosh Hashanah. He would count 160 coins and put them in a safe location on Ereb Rosh Hashanah, and then declare the "Pidyon" on Ereb Yom Kippur. He would distribute the money to the poor on Ereb Sukkot. It is taught that those who follow this practice are guaranteed to remain alive through the coming year. Hacham Natan Ben-Sanior (contemporary) writes that as this money is given as a "ransom," it may not be counted towards one's Ma'aser Kesafim (tithing of income). We observe this practice in our community, with members donating $100 for the Pidyon, and the money is distributed to the Rabbis of a local Kollel before Sukkot.It is customary also to perform Hatarat Nedarim – the annulment of vows – on Ereb Rosh Hashanah.There is a special Misva for women to bake bread on Ereb Rosh Hashanah and perform "Hafrashat Halla" – separating a portion of dough. The reason for this custom is because Adam and Hava were created on Rosh Hashanah, and on that same day, Hava ate from the forbidden tree and shared the fruit with Adam. Adam is called "Halato Shel Olam" – "the Halla of the world," and thus, as Hava caused Adam's downfall, women correct this mistake by separating Halla on Ereb Rosh Hashanah, the anniversary of that sin.One should try to recite Minha on Ereb Rosh Hashanah – the last prayer of the year – with extra special concentration and intensity. Tradition teaches us that prayers which are recited without Kavana (concentration) do not have "wings" with which to rise to the heavens and achieve their intended purpose. Therefore, all the prayers which we've recited over the course of the year without proper concentration are pending, in a sense, unable to rise to the heavens. These "pending" prayers can reach the heavens either through the prayers of a righteous Sadik who is connected to the individual who recited these prayers, or by the person himself, if he prays again with special feeling and concentration. It is therefore worthwhile when reciting the last prayer of the year to pray with special concentration, which will have the effect of elevating all the prayers which were recited during the year without proper concentration. This point is made by the Ben Ish Hai, in Parashat Nisavim (2).One should make every effort to immerse in the Mikveh on Ereb Rosh Hashanah. The Ben Ish Hai taught that one when immerses in the water the first time, he should have in mind simply that he immerses for the purpose of purity. The second time, he should have in mind that he immerses to repair the damage caused through his anger. The third immersion is to "sweeten" harsh judgments. The fourth and fifth immersions are to divest ourselves of our weekday soul and to receive the special soul of Yom Tob. During the final immersion one should also have in mind "Tahel Shana U'birchoteha" – that the new year should bring new blessings.It is also worthwhile to recite Tehillim on Ereb Rosh Hashanah.By observing all these customs on Ereb Rosh Hashanah, we involve ourselves in Teshuba (repentance), Tefila (prayer) and Sedaka (charity), which, as we know, have the effect of eliminating harsh decrees, so we will be worthy of a year of blessing, Amen.Summary: There are several meaningful customs that should be observed on Ereb Rosh Hashanah:1) Giving charity to the poor;2) Hatarat Nedarim;3) Baking and separating "Halla";4) Immersing in the Mikveh;5) Reciting Tehillim.In addition, it is proper to make a special effort to recite Minha on Ereb Rosh Hashanah – the final prayer of the year – with special concentration and intensity.

On the first day of Rosh Hashana, the Minhag of Aram Soba is to sing a Pizmon upon taking the Torah out of the Aron Kodesh. The song, "Ozreni El Hai," is connected to the Aseret Yemeh Teshuva (Ten Days of Repentance), as Rosh Hashana is the first of these days. On the second day, the song "Raba Sav'ah Lah Nafshi", is sung. There are also other Pizmonim, and one should follow the custom. One should make an effort to view the letters of the Torah from close enough to read the words. This draws a great spiritual light onto the person. Ideally, he should focus on a word that begins with the same letter as his name does. One should bow before the Sefer Torah. Some bow the amount of times as there are Aliyot to the Torah. Therefore, on Yom Tob, they bow five times, on Yom Kippur six times and so on. On the first day, the Torah portion is the passage dealing with the birth of Yishak, because he was conceived on Rosh Hashana. When the Oleh approaches the Torah, he should look at the place from where the reading will begin. Some have the custom to take their Sisit and kiss that spot. This is considered endearment of the Misva. Even if the Oleh is not reading out loud from the Torah, he is required to read quietly with the Ba'al Koreh, in order that his Beracha not be in vein. He is also prohibited from interrupting with talk until after he recites the final Beracha. The custom is not to close the Torah between Olim, just to cover it. On Shabbat it is permissible to add Olim, beyond the standard seven, if there is a good reason to do so. On Yom Tob, the Rambam and Maran rule that one may also add Olim. The custom of the Bet El Mekubalim was never to add Olim, in order to preserve the mystical significance of the original number of Olim. The Ba'al Tokea is customarily called to the Torah. The custom is to sit during the Torah reading, in accordance with the teachings of the Rabbenu HaAri. The duration of Torah reading, as long as the Torah is open, is considered an Et Rahamim (time of mercy), in which prayers are answered. One may offer his prayers in between the Olim. This is why the Olim customarily pledge large sums to Sedaka at that time, and the MiSheberach for the sick and the Ashkava for the deceased is recited. The Oleh should also make a personal request on his own behalf. It goes without saying that talking during Torah reading is strictly prohibited. Moreover, doing so squanders a tremendous opportunity for Yeshuot.

Words and Music by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield 1975"Love Will Keep Us Together" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It was first recorded by Sedaka in 1973. American pop duo Captain & Tennille covered the song in 1975, with instrumental backing almost entirely by “Captain” Daryl Dragon, with the exception of drums played by Hal Blaine; their version became a worldwide hit. (Wikipedia)Cover by Franco Cianflone at GS studios Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maybe you're familiar with the old Neil Sedaka song from 1966 called “Breakin' Up is Hard to Do.” If you have ever gone through a breakup, you know Mr. Sedaka's words are true. Breaking up is anything but easy. It's not easy if you're the one who did the breaking up, or if you were broken up with. Even though breaking up isn't easy, it can work for good—and for betterment of your future relationship—when you take time to reflect on what happened. In this episode of the Single Over 30 podcast, I share 16 questions to ask yourself after a breakup so that it grows you and makes you better, rather than robs from your future relationships. 

Devarim talks about the words of rebuke that Moshe Rabbenu gave towards the end of his life. T he entire Sefer is dedicated to words of rebuke . But before Moshe Rabbenu started to give them rebuke, he spoke of Hashem's mercy on the Jewish people. In the Ramban's words, “ As many times as they rebelled against H im, even so, Hash e m acted with Midot HaRachamim . Firstly, because Hashem wanted to say His kindness and secondly, because He wanted to strengthen their hearts. Because sometimes when a person gets rebuked, he says, “ There is no hope for me. I'm just going to go back to s inn ing. ” Therefore the Ramban says, “ God will forever act towards us with the trait of mercy. .” A person should not say, “ How can we inherit the land? We're going to sin, and if we sin God‘s justice will come down against us and we will be wiped out.“ Therefore , Moshe Rabbenu wanted to tell us, “ God is merciful. He is full of mercy. God forgives and God atones. ” God does that to help people out . If you would only focus on what you did wrong, you would never move forward. So you have to remember that God forgives. As it says in Tehilim 130,4 “ F orgiveness is with you, so that we should fear Him.” What does this mean? It means God knows that if we don't believe in forgiveness, we will never fear Him, because we will give up and throw in the towel. It is no coincidence that we read about this in Devarim , on the Shabbat before Tisha B'Av, b ecause after all of the three weeks and Tisha B'Av, a person could just walk out and throw in the towel. Therefore , Hashem wants to tell us that with everything, His M idd at Hadin/ trait of justice is not the overpowering trait. God 's trait is the trait of mercy. This is a fundamental in Bitachon and relying on Hashem. One has to realize and know ( and this is one of the fundamentals that the Hovot Halevavot tells us ) , that we don't understand how much Hessed Hashem has , we don't understand His k indnes s. The Hovot Halevavot, in Shaar Bitachon (chapter 7) says that one of the reasons that people don't rely on Hashem is because of their foolishness in understanding God's good traits. “ One who does not understand God‘s mercy on his creations, and His protection and guarding over them, and His supervision and His control over them, and that they are totally tied in His shackles (i.e. no one can do anything to him without God's say so ) , can't have a heart that is calm and he can't rely on Him . So in order to rely on Hashem, you have to really understand God‘s mercy. This is something that we don't fully understand, because we see the Middat Hadin , and we don't understand that , as we say, Hashem Echad/ Hashem is O ne. There is only one God. And when Hashem acts with justice , that is not God's essence. God is called Rachum V'Hanum, in the thirteen attributes of mercy. God is not called HaDayan/ The Judge. That is not the attribute that He is known as. Of course, He will use justice, but that is not God's essence. God essence is all goodness and mercy. The Gaon of Vilna wants to contrast Avraham Avinu with Yaakov Avinu. It says on Avraham, “ A fter God promised him , he trusted in Hashem. And he considered a righteousness. ” But is not a clear who m the “ he ,” is referring to. The Gaon o f Vilna understands it as, “ And Avraham considered to Him /to God , a righteousness.” This means that Hashem sometimes comes with Midat HaDin . Yaakov Avinu was very afraid , in case the sin would cause the promise not to come through. Yaakov Avinu, for various reasons, was going with Hashem 's trait of justice. He said , “ If God's justice is with me.” But the Gaon of Vilna says that Avraham Avinu, on the other hand, was relying on Hashem's Sedaka, His charity- and not because of justice, he wasn't afraid of the sin. Because God's kindness is forever. Even if he sins. That is what it means, “ Hineh El Yeshuati, ” El is the name of God that is Middat HaHessed. God 's kindness will save me - Not because of my deeds. Rather , because of God's kindness . Therefore, I am not afraid that my sins will cause God's promises not to come through. Because I'm not relying on my deeds, I'm not going with God's trade of Justice, I am relying on God's kindness . This this is the introduction to Dev arim . With all the mussar, and all the rebuke, the Ra mban says that Moshe wanted to tell us, in the name of God, not to forget that His mercy is forever. God is merciful, and full of mercy. Even on a Tisha b'Av. Because with God is forgiveness, and God has that trait of forgiveness. That is why, in Sephardic communities, in the Minhal of Tisha b'Av , we have a custom to read the beginning of the Selic hot , to remind us that after all the justice, we are ready for Selic hot , for the high holiday season to be forgiven. Have a wonderful day, A Shabbat Shalom and a meaningful Tisha BAv .

As we know, everything that the Torah tells us to do is ultimately for our own good. As it says, L'Tov Lach/ for your own good. Giving Sedaka is no different. We know that when a person gives ma'aser, it brings wealth. But someone recently shared a very beautiful thought on an additional benefit of giving ma'aser. When a person has money, he's never satisfied. As it says, “Yesh Lo Maneh/if he has 100, Rotzeh Matayim/he wants 200.“ This means that if a person is in the acquisition mode, in the “have“ mode, it's never enough. As it says about Esav, “Yesh Li Rav/I have a lot.“ The Chafetz Chaim famously explains that this means that he has a lot, but there's always room for more- he's never satiated. And actually, the more you have, the more you are missing. If you have 100 you want 200, if you have 200 you want 400. But when a person gives Sedaka, he's training himself not to have. It puts him in the giving mode rather than the taking mode. And more than that, he now realizes that it is not his. It's no longer Yesh Lo Maneh, because its not his money. He's not in the acquisition mode. The problem of Yesh Lo Maneh is that you think it's yours, because you think you acquired it. But when a person is in the giving Sedaka mode, they realize it is not theirs. The money was given to them as a deposit, as the Hovot Halevavot tells us, to spend as God said to. The Rambam says that the more you do, the more it impacts you. So when giving Sedaka, it brings you to realize that it is not yours, and it takes you out of the “having” mode. You are now actually able to spend more money on yourself, and enjoy what you have, because you're not in the “having” mode. You are in the giving mode. When you have 100, you want 200, but when you give 100 you actually have 100, because the more that you are in the giving mode as opposed to the having mode, the more you actually have. It's counterintuitive that the giving actually causes you to have, because you are no longer in the having mode. And you can actually enjoy yourself more this way. You can enjoy your car! The giving actually causes you to have. This is one of the wonders of Sedaka. You will actually enjoy your own things more, because now you really have. When you think you have, you don't have, but when you realize that it's yours to give away, then you do have. I heard this concept from somebody who actually lived this concept and gave it over with enthusiasm. I'm trying to explain it intellectually, secondhand. It makes sense, and it is rooted in the words of our rabbis. Yesh Lo Maneh- The Panim Yafot gives this explanation- When you realize that it is not yours, that's when you really have it. Have a wonderful day.

The Torah commands in Parashat Kedoshim (19:15), “Lo Ta'asu Avel Ba'mishpat” – which forbids judges from perverting judgment, issuing a ruling that runs in opposition to the legal precepts outlined by the Torah and the oral tradition. The Sefer Ha'hinuch writes that peace and stability in society require a just and effective legal system, and such a system, quite obviously, depends upon judges who rule fairly and honestly. The Torah therefore strictly forbids judges from perverting judgment by knowingly issuing incorrect rulings. This prohibition includes “Inui Ha'din” – unnecessarily delaying judgment. Certainly, judges must be patient and deliberate in reaching a decision, in order to ensure a correct ruling, as the Mishna in Pirkeh Abot (1:1) famously exhorts, “Hevu Metunim Ba'din” – “Be patient in judgment.” However, once a judge has reached his decision, he is not permitted to delay issuing his ruling. The Poskim apply this rule also to Rabbis who are asked Halachic questions. Once the Rabbi has done the research and analysis, and has arrived at a decision, he should present his ruling immediately, without delay. The Maharshal (Rav Shlomo Luria, Poland, 1510-1573) extended this notion further, maintaining that a Rabbi is required to answer every question brought to him, and may not refuse to hear a halachic question. In fact, the Maharshal instructed his family that if somebody came looking for him with a question, then no matter what he was doing – even if he was eating or sleeping – they should interrupt up to hear the question. According to the Maharshal, the prohibition of “Inui Ha'din” means that a Rabbi needs to stop whatever he is doing to hear a question, so that the individual asking the question will not have to wait to receive his answer. Most other Poskim, however, maintain that a Rabbi must not unnecessarily delay answering a question that he had agreed to address once he has determined the answer, but is not required to accept every question. Another law relevant to this prohibition requires less experienced judges to consult with older, more learned judges before issuing a ruling. Moreover, judges are required to approach each and every case with the same degree of interest and concentration, and treat each one seriously. The rule of “Din Peruta Ke'din Me'a” requires a judge to accord a case involving a single coin the same degree of importance as a case involving one hundred coins. No matter how much money is at stake, the judge is to preside over the case with the same level of seriousness. A judge is required to try to suggest a Peshara (compromise) between the two parties. The Sages inferred this requirement from the verse in the Book of Shmuel II (8:15) which describes King David as “Oseh Mishpat U'sdaka Le'chol Amo” – “doing justice and charity for his entire nation.” The word “Mishpat” (justice), of course, refers to adjudicating, and the word “Sedaka” implies that the justice was conducted in a “charitable” manner, meaning, through making compromises between the two parties. This prohibition applies in all times and in all places, but of course, it applies only to judges. A judge who intentionally issues an incorrect ruling transgresses this prohibition, but is not liable to Malkut, for two reasons. First, this prohibition is violated verbally, and not through committing an action, and Malkut are administered only for violations committed through an action. Secondly, this prohibition has the status of a “Lav Ha'nitan Le'tashlumin” – a violation which can be rectified through payment. If a judge issued an incorrect ruling, and the party that he wrongly found guilty paid the other party, then the judge must pay out of pocket to compensate the litigant. A violator is not liable to Malkut if the violation can be corrected by paying the victim, and thus a judge is not liable to Malkut for issuing an incorrect ruling.

Parashat Hukat says, “ Zot Hukat HaTorah/ This is the Hok the non - understandable part of the Torah , and it goes on to talk about the contamination of the dead, and how we undo it by sprinkling the ashes of the red heifer. It talks about a man who dies in a tent and that is where we learn the concept that there is something c alled Tumat Ohel . If a person is in a tent with a dead body , he becomes contaminated. But that law only applies to a Jewish corpse. A kohen is not permitted to enter a Jewish funeral home because there is Tumah there But these laws do not apply to a non-Jew ish corpses . The contamination of a Jew is on a higher level than that of a non- Jew. But why is that? Why should the re be more contamination for a Jew, who is seemingly holier than a non-Jew? The Or HaChaim Ha Kadosh answers that although Tumah/Contamination is a negative thing, God gives everything life, including contamination. Tumah lives off of holiness. As long as a person is alive, his Neshama is so powerful that there is no room for the Tumah to creep in. But when he passes away, the Or HaChaim HaKadosh says that it's like an empty jar with a little bit of honey leftover . Flies go after the jar with the honey in it. They don't go after the jar with the water in it. The remnants of the Jewish soul attract flies, so to say. The reason that we pray at a Sadik‘s kever/ grave is because there are still some remnants of his so ul . That is the power of a Jewish soul , even after a person passes away. That is a fundamental in our belief - We believe in souls and neshamot , both when a person is here, and when a person passes on. When a person does it's not just another one bites the dus t. Rather, their soul continues on. One of the Rashba's students asked him a question- Is it important to light a candle on y arzheit ? He answered that a nything that you do in memory of somebody has a benefit, even if you do some thing that technically doesn't work. For example, if you decided , for arguments sake , to stand on your head to uplift someone's soul, you have accomplished something . The act of standing on your head is a testimony to the fact that you believe that the person who passed away's soul still exists, and furthermore , you believe that you can do something for that person 's soul . Those two statements of belief were caused by the person that passed away. When you do something in someone's memory, r egardless of what it is that you do, you are making a statement of faith, and that is the biggest thing you could do for them. That is what Kaddish is all about . When a son says Yitgadal V'Yitkadash Sheme Rabbah… God's name should be great, for a parent, it is a great support , because you brought Emuna into the world. That is the greatest thing that you can do for somebody who passes away. Anything that you do … l earning and Sedaka , and of course, lighting a candle helps too . But even if what you did doesn't help inherently , it helps because you have made a statement of Emuna. That statement is that : A , you believe that soul s continue, and B, we can do something down here to help somebody upstairs. I recently spoke at an ar ayat of somebody that passed away 70 years ago , and I mentioned a story that I heard recently at the shiva of a young mother of 8 children who passed away tragically at age 36, after a six month illness. She told her family the following story: In the times of World War II , R av Aharon Kotler was in America , but many of his old students, from his Yeshiva in Kletsk, were in Siberia. Throughout the war, was no official postal service or UPS, but they found ways to send packages on the black market. T hroughout the war years, Rav Kolter w ould send packages to his students in Siberia. But he had no communication and he never know if the packages got there. However, just in case, he kept on sending the packages. After the war, many of his students that did survive came to him and told him that they had survived on his packages. Before this young lady passed away, she told her family th at story and she told them, “ You see from th is story that you can send people packages , and keep sending them packages , even though you never get a return card or thank you note. Please keep sending me packages when I pass away .“ That is a powerful line. I feel personally connected to this young lady , because her sister is married to my brother's son, and I wanted to do something for this young lady. I wanted to send a package up to her. So I felt it befitting to give out some USBs on a series of 10 classes on Ahavat Yisrael. If anyone is interested, you can email me your pledge to rabbisutton@gmail.com , send a QuickPay to rabbisutton@gmail.com or mail a check to Rabbi Sutton 1059 East 10 th Street Brooklyn NY 11230 Tizku lemitzvot

I would like to share an interesting concept of Ahavat Yisrael. It doesn't only mean loving people that you know, as we said when we began this series. You don't even have to know the person; you have to love any Jewish person, and express your love for them- it's a positive command. One of the greatest things people can do for someone else is called a Hessed Shel Emet/ a true kindness . Rashi says this is a kindness that you do for the dead, because you aren't anticipating any reward from that person. The first example of this is when Yaakov asks Yosef to bury him. In Israel, the burial societies are called GaHSha , an acronym for Gemilut Hasadim Shel Emet. The burial society does this kindness without the expectation that that person will bury them someday, unlike other kindnesses- If you go to someone's wedding, they 'll come to yours, if you go to their Bar mitzvah they'll come to yours . But when you bury someone, they cannot bury you. That's why a kindness that is done for the deceased is called Hessed shel Emet. The Pele Yoetz says that the main kibud av v'em/ honoring parents that a person does is after the parent passes away. Those are his words. In this world, they could survive without the cup of coffee you bring them, and if you give to them, chances are they'll give you back one day. But when you say a Kaddish , or give Sedaka in their name, nothing is coming back, and that's where they really need you. That's Hessed Shel Emet . It's an interesting concept- the Hessed we do with Metim/the deceased is the Hessed shel Emet. How do we do Hessed with metim ? One way is what the Zohar says, by going to cemeteries.. But many d ifferent things that we do are considered a kindness to the deceased. This week I went to a shiva home, for a young mother of eight children, Mrs Gitty (Wohl) Goldberg a'h. She was 36 years old and was diagnosed with a disease this past January. She had a baby this past Succot, and she struggled with a terminal illness for less than a year before passing away this past week. At the home, they told different stories about this great lady, her tremendous bitachon, and her acts of kindness and purity… a book could be written about her. One thing I heard really hit me. In the times of World War II , R av Aharon Kotler was in America , but many of his old students, from his Yeshiva in Kletsk, were in Siberia. There was no official postal service or UPS, but they found ways to send packages on the black market. T hroughout the war years, Rav Kolter w ould send packages to his students in Siberia. But he had no communication and he never know if the packages got there. However, just in case, he kept on sending the packages. After the war, many of his students that did survive came to him and told him that they had survived on his packages. Before Gitty passed away, she told her family th at story and she told them, “ You see from th is story that you can send people packages , and keep sending them packages , even though you never get a return card or thank you note. Please keep sending me packages.“ That is a powerful line, from a lady who was clear, knew she was dying and knew what is important in the world. She told her family, “ I am not scared of dying, I just feel bad that I'm leaving behind so many sad people.” This is not meant to be a eulogy on this young lady, but to stress this concept, which I heard from Rav Wolbe. A rabbi once came to Rav Wolbe, who had started the Arachim movement. He was a Baal Teshuva and very disturbed. He didn't know what to do for his parents. Rav Wolbe told him, “ Were you ever in camp ; did your parents ever send you care packages?” The rabbi answered that they had always sent boxes of candy or licorice. So Rav Wolbe explained that it was now his chance to send his parents care packages. “ Every time you do something good for them, you are sending them a care package.” I felt personally connected to this young lady, Gitty . Her sister is married to my brother's son. And within a few minutes of Gitty's passing, her sister, my niece, went into labor and a baby girl was born. She named the baby after her sister. One soul left and one soul came in. This had a certain meaning in my family, and I felt wanted to do something for this young lady. When she was sick, we gave out about 1,000 USBs on Bet HaLevi and Bitachon. So I felt it befitting to give out some USBs on Ahavat Yisrael, and in this way, we can do a Hessed shel Emet. Many of the lessons included come from the venue where these lessons you have been receiving were given. If anyone is interested, send a QuickPay to rabbisutton@gmail.com or mail a check to 1059 East 10 th Street Brooklyn NY 11230 I would like to raise a few thousand dollars, so 50 donations of $100 would be great. This is a chance for everyone to do a Hessed shel Emet for someone you never knew, and send a care package to a beautiful soul. We should only hear good things. Have a wonderful day.

There's a story told in Rav Chaim Kanievsky's Sefer Orchot Yosher, ( Artscroll, page 98) which is a lesson in both Hashem's hashgacha and the concept of Middah K'Neged Middah/ measure for measure, how a person is exactly rewarded for what they do based , on their deeds. Hashem, in His infinite wisdom is able to reward someone for what they did, even while at the same time punishing them for what they did wrong . God does not mix the two accounts. The T omer Devorah says that human beings can't do this. If two people aren't on speaking terms for whatever reason, they can't remember the one good thing the other person did . Rav Chaim tells the story of an ir religious woman who once died suddenly in Bnei Brak . Normall y in Israel , like in other countries, when somebody suddenly dies, they do an autopsy. But when someone passes away in Bnei Brak or Yerushalayim, or from some other religious community, there's an understanding that they don't do autopsies. This woman was not religious, and technically she could've been sent to the regular morgue. But since she had died in Bnei Brak, the people (Rav Chaim and his friends) decided to consider her as a religious woman from Bnei Brak and wanted to avoid the autopsy. In order to avoid the autopsy, they arranged for all the respectable people of the city to come to her funeral, just as they w ould do for one of the rabbis.. S o she got an extra respectable funera l, as if this woman was one of theirs, from a distinguished family, in order to avoid the autopsy. When Rav Chaim return ed home and told his mother what happen ed, his mother said that she had known this woman in Moscow. She had desecrated Shabbat in public and ate on Yom Kippur. The woman was obviously not religious , and R av Chaim's mother was surprised that she merited such a distinguished funeral. To avoid an autopsy is one thing, but to have all the distinguished rabbis of Bnei Brak come to the funeral, as if she was distinguished Rebitzen , was another matter . Rav Chaim explained that it was ultimately discovered that this woman had been in the concentration camps during the war. She was in charge of burying the dead, and she attended to her job with devotion. Therefore, he said , she was given the honor and pleasure that was acc orded to her , at her death . Rav Chaim explained that a dead person does sense the honor that they get at their funeral ; and in th is way, she received reward for what she did . He said that we see from this, Middah kneged Middah. The lady had de voted herself to tending to the bodies of the dead, and this merited her body being sa feguarded from an autopsy . So although , on one hand , this woman was an extremely ir religious person, even before the concentration camps, nonetheless she received reward that she deserved for the deed that she did. In another story, Rav Chaim wrote about a Jewish widower who had hired a non-Jewish woman to help raise his children , and the woman took devoted care of the children. Many years later, one of the boys whom she had cared for happen ed upon the funeral of an elderly non-Jewish woman. He overheard them saying that the woman had always boast ed about how she took care of Jewish children. After investigating, the son realized that this had been the very woman that cared for him in his childhood. Hashem worked it out that he should be present at her funeral, in order to give her the honor she deserved. This is fascinating. One of the fundamentals of our Emuna system is Schar VOnesh/ reward and punishment . These stories illustrate that not a deed goes by unnoticed. R av Shach , when he was in the town of Vilna, saw a book with a record of all the events that happened in Viln a (it was later destroyed) . In the book, he read of how the Gaon of Vilna's relative ( wife, or mother possibly) used to go collecting Sedaka with her friend. They made a deal with each other that whoever passed away first would come back in a dream and describe the next world to her friend. Then, one of them passed away and came back and explained that she could not reveal what was going on, that she was sworn to secrecy , but that she could tell her one thing . She reminded her friend of the time, way back, when they were collecting money on a Friday afternoon, and they had exhausted all of their usual sources . They then decided to go collect in the market place. The friend noticed someone across the street and picked up her finger and pointed, and said, “ Hey there is so-and- so , let's go ask him.“ The friend explained, “ You followed me , and we went there . And in the next world , it says that when I picked up my finger in pointed, and you followed, I got a little more reward for that .” From this we see how exact Hashem's appreciation is , for all of our deeds, regardless of our misdeeds. Every deed is vibrant, and God rewards i t, as we see from th ese stories. Have a wonderful day.

Yesterday's Daily Bitachon Message We continue with the theme that when one accepts upon himself to toil in Torah and religion, that eliminates other toil. The source for this is the Zohar, which explains a pasuk in Shemot ( א,יד ) ‎ וַיְמָרְר֨וּ אֶת־חַיֵּיהֶ֜ם בַּעֲבֹדָ֣ה קָשָׁ֗ה בְּחֹ֙מֶר֙ וּבִלְבֵנִ֔ים וּבְכׇל־ עֲבֹדָ֖ה בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה אֵ֚ת כׇּל־עֲבֹ֣דָתָ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־עָבְד֥וּ בָהֶ֖ם בְּפָֽרֶךְ They made their lives difficult with Avodah Kasha/hard work, with mud and bricks, and all the work of the field, and all the work that they gave them, backbreaking work. The Zohar explains that the word kasha/hard can also be related to kushya/ question. So when it says, “They made their lives difficult with Avodah Kasha /Hard work, it can also mean, they made their lives difficult with questions in the Gemara. When it says חמר Homer , which means mud or clay, it can also refer to a Kal V' Homer , a term used in the Gemara for learning something easy from something hard. לבנים Lebanim , which are bricks , can also be understood as Libun Halacha, Clarifying the Halacha . Avodah B'Sadeh/ work on the outside refers to a Baryata , which is outside (the regular text )of the mishnayot… Rabbi Gedalia Schorr explains that, as we said yesterday, a person must toil. Either they can toil in the field, with backbreaking work, or they can toil in the Bet Midrash, working through a difficulty in their learning. This principal applies to both learning and Mitzvot. There's a famous story about the Chafetz Chaim. There was a God-fearing Jew from Germany who decided that from now on he would like to focus half of his day on business and the other half of his day on acts of Hessed. He did so, but his business was not going as well as it should, and his family was concerned. They asked him to go see the Chafetz Chaim. When he got there, hundreds of people surrounding the Chafetz Chaim. As the man got closer, he was able to hear that the Chafetz Chaim was giving an explanation on Mizmor L'David Lo Echsar, where it says, ‎ אַ֤ךְ ט֤וֹב וָחֶ֣סֶד יִ֭רְדְּפוּנִי כׇּל־יְמֵ֣י חַיָּ֑י Goodness and kindness should chase me my whole life What does this mean? The Chafetz Chaim explained that sometimes when a person begins doing acts of Hessed, people start chasing after and bothering him. He might think, “ Why am I doing this? Do I need this hassle?” But the Chafetz Chaim says that if, in Shamayim, it is decreed that a person is going to be chased, isn't it better that the chasing should take place because of the goodness that he is doing, and not from other things? If you're going to get knocks on your door, would you rather get knocks on the door because people are collecting Sedaka from you, or because the IRS, has v'shalom , is coming after you? A person has to work and a person has to toil. It is up to him to choose where it is going to happen. Similarly, Rabbenu Yona, in Shaare Teshuva, quotes the midrash that says that if a person commits terrible sins, and he is supposed to get all kinds of horrible punishments, he should add to his learning regimen. Put your toil in Torah, and put your difficulty into it. How does this work? Sometimes when you learn, your eyes hurt, and it counts for suffering. Some people that stay up all night on Shavuot say a prayer afterwards, that says, “ May the pain that I had in my eyes count for any suffering that I might have deserved which would cause my eyes to hurt.” A person can have all kinds of difficulties (eg cataracts) but staying up on Shavuot night can replace that. That is the power of putting your toil into the right things. We can never avoid toil. Man was born to toil. But we choose where we are going to toil. As we said yesterday, we should not think that having Bitachon means being lazy. We must toil in this world. כי אדם לעמל יולד Man was born to toil. Have a wonderful day.

GGACP's celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month continues with this classic interview from 2019 featuring rock ‘n' roll icon Neil Sedaka, who discusses growing up in Brooklyn, his apprenticeship at the famed Brill Building, his chart-topping collaborations with lyricist Howard Greenfield and his memories of Bobby Darin, Elvis Presley, Carole King, Richard Rodgers and Paul McCartney (among others). Also, Bob Dylan offers praise, John Lennon provides inspiration, Mick Jagger buys a Sedaka record and Neil remembers his cousin Eydie Gorme. PLUS: "My Yiddishe Momme"! The Captain & Tennille! Elton John to the rescue! The late, great Len Maxwell! Billy Joel “borrows” a melody!"And Neil demonstrates his songwriting process! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is a Torah command upon each and every Jew to write a Sefer Torah (or to hire somebody to write one for him). The Sages inferred this Misva from the verse in the Book of Debarim (31:19), "And now, write for yourselves this Shira [literally, ‘song']." Even if a person inherited a Torah scroll from his father, he is nevertheless obligated to write his own Sefer Torah.One does not recite a Beracha over this Misva. If somebody hires a Sofer (scribe) to write a Sefer Torah for him, he does not recite a Beracha "Al Misvat Ketibat Sefer Torah" when the Sofer completes the Torah. Likewise, one does not recite the Beracha of "Shehehiyanu" on the completion of a new Sefer Torah. Nevertheless, it is customary at a dedication ceremony for a new Sefer Torah that the donor who funded the project wears a new suit and recites "Shehehiyanu" over the suit, having in mind for the Beracha to apply as well to the new Torah scroll.The work "Me'il Sedaka" rules that one may count the money expended on writing a Sefer Torah toward his "Ma'aser Kesafim" (the ten percent of his income given to charity). This ruling, at first glance, seems surprising, given that writing a Sefer Torah constitutes a Halachic obligation, and obligatory expenditures for Misvot generally do not count toward "Ma'aser Kesafim." The "Me'il Sedaka," however, distinguishes between the Misva of writing a Sefer Torah and other Misvot in this regard, and allows using money of "Ma'aser Kesafim" for writing a Sefer Torah, and this ruling is cited as Halacha in the work Yalkut Yosef.If a group of people get together to share in the cost of writing a Torah scroll, do they fulfill their obligation to write a Sefer Torah?Hacham Ovadia Yosef, in one of his responsa, cites many authorities who rule that one does not fulfill the Misva if he joins with partners in sponsoring the writing of a Sefer Torah. As for the final Halacha, however, Hacham Ovadia rules leniently in this regard, based upon the ruling of the Hesed Le'Abraham. The Hesed Le'Abraham notes that according to the Rosh (Rabbenu Asher Ben Yehiel, 1250-1327), the Misva is to write a Sefer Torah from which one will study. (For this reason, the Rosh held that nowadays, we fulfill the Misva through the purchase of Torah study texts, such as Humashim, Gemariyot, works of Halacha, and so on.) When a group of people collectively sponsor a Sefer Torah, the "Hesed Le'Abraham" writes, it is implicitly understood that when any member of the group is called to read from the Torah, the Torah belongs to him at that moment. Thus, since they have each written a Torah from which they can learn, they each fulfill the Misva. Although it is certainly preferable to sponsor a Sefer Torah individually, people who join together as partners in sponsoring a Sefer Torah fulfill the Misva. This is also the ruling of Rav Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor of Kovno (Lithuania, 1816-1895).Summary: There is a Misva to write (or commission the writing of) a Sefer Torah, and one may use money from "Ma'aser Kesafim" for this purpose. This Misva can be fulfilled by getting together with other people to cosponsor the project.

The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in Parashat Vayigash, presents a number of guidelines concerning the preferred way to give charity (listen to audio recording for precise citation). He writes that whenever one gives charity, he should do so while standing, for reasons related to Sod (Kabbalistic teaching). Additionally, when a poor person comes to one's home to collect charity, it is preferable not to give him directly, but rather to give the money to another member of the household who should then give it to the person collecting. Giving charity has a certain "Tikkun," an effect in the upper worlds, which occurs through an intermediary. It is therefore proper to give charity through an intermediary to correspond to the effects that charity has in the upper worlds.When a person gives charity, the coin corresponds to the letter "Yod" at the beginning of the Divine Name of "Havaya." The donor's hand – which contains five fingers – corresponds to the letter "Heh," his arm corresponds to the letter "Vav," and the recipient's hand corresponds to the letter "Heh," such that by giving charity one completes the divine Name, so-to-speak. The question arises as to how one can fulfill this aspect of charity when placing money in a charity box, as is customary each morning during Pesukeh De'zimra, when one recites the words "Ve'Ata Moshel Ba'kol." How can one complete the divine Name if he does not place the money in the recipient's hand, which corresponds to the final letter "Heh" in the divine Name? The Ben Ish Hai writes that one should carry with him at all times a special charity pouch, and he should give charity by placing the money with his right hand into the pouch which he holds in his left hand. In this manner, the left hand serves as the hand of the poor person, to complete the divine Name. If a person does not have a pouch, then he should simply place the money directly into his left hand, and then place the money into the charity box.The Ben Ish Hai mentions in this context the practice of his father, Rabbi Eliyahu of Baghdad, who carried around a special charity pouch and placed money in the pouch several times every day. The Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1204) wrote that it is preferable to perform a Misva more frequently in small installments, rather than to perform a Misva more intensively at less frequent intervals. Thus, it is preferable to give small amounts to charity frequently throughout the day, rather than give larger amounts less frequently, and therefore it is an admirable practice to carry around a special charity pouch and place coins in it several times a day.The Arizal (Rav Yishak Luria of Safed, 1534-1572) made a point of giving charity each day before the Shaharit prayer – while reciting the words "Ve'Ata Moshel Ba'kol" in Pesukeh De'zimra - and also before the Minha prayer. He would not, however, give charity before Arbit, because he maintained that the nighttime hours are not an appropriate time for giving charity. The nighttime period is a time of harsh judgment, and it is therefore not suitable for charity. This custom is recorded by the Hid"a (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806), in his Birkeh Yosef (Orah Haim 235:1, Yoreh De'a 247:2). The Sha'ar Ha'kavanot likewise writes that the primary time for giving charity is in the morning, before Shaharit, and that giving charity in the afternoon is acceptable, though not as a crucial as in the morning. Nighttime, however, is not an appropriate time for charity. This Halacha is codified in Yalkut Yosef (Shulhan Ha'ma'arechet, p. 394; listen to audio recording for precise citation).The Hid"a, in his work Kiseh Rahamim, writes that even if a person prays Arbit before sundown, he should not give charity before Arbit.Summary: It is preferable to give charity while standing, and to give the money to another person who then gives it to the person collecting. If one places charity in a charity box, he should first place the coins with his right hand into his left hand, and then place the money in the box. It is an admirable practice to carry around a special charity pouch and place coins into the pouch several times every day. It is preferable to give charity during the daytime hours, and not during the nighttime hours.

I would like to quote from the Chafetz Chaim's sefer Ahavat Hesed (vol 2, chapter 5): “ We are in a time that God's justice is extremely strong in the world, and there is no way to get out of the problems that are constantly arising ( he was referring to the era between World War I and World War II), How much more so do we have to strengthen ourselves in the trait of Hesed, because through this, when we do kindness down here, we arouse God's kindness above.” He continues to quote from the Tanna D'Vei Eliyahu, a Midrash from the great Eliyahu HaNavi (end of 23rd chapter), that says, “ When the Jews were in Egypt they held a meeting and said that they should all be together. And they made a deal, before they left Egypt, to do Hesed with one another.” The Chafetz Chaim explains that the purpose of that was in order to arouse God's kindness above. He said that it worked- they got out! Their Hesed is what caused the decrees of Paroah to be annulled. He quotes a source that we say in Az Yashir every day (from Shemot 15,13), ‎ “ נחית בחסדך עם זו גאלת You guided this nation, the Yehudim, with kindness,” Which means in the merit of kindness, they got out. He continues and says, “ Whoever is consistent in this Middah of kindness, you will have children that are wise and successful. He quotes a Gemarah in Bava Batra to that fact. Then, the Chafetz Chaim, the Gadol HaDor of his generation and many generations to come, says, “ It's a wonder on people that look for Segulot for children, and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars ( depending on their finances)… it's better to do the segula that Chazal tell us- Do the trait of Sedaka, do as much as you can for the poor, and if you don't have the money, raise money for them … be of those that fundraise for people that don't have. It's greater to fundraise than to give, because you're the one that causes others to give. And he says that it must be done consistently, he has to condition his body, to be, as the pasuk says, “A chaser of Sedaka.” In that merit God will do kindness to him, and fulfill his needs. It says that many people in his time, that needed children, have done this, and they were successful. He adds that if Heaven forbid, for some reason, God doesn't want the person to have children, at the least the Sedaka that he spent will become like his children. Like it says, “His deeds are his children.” Whereas if a person spends money on segulot that aren't like this, then he doesn't ending up reaping the benefit. He quotes again from Tanna D'Dvei Eliyahu, (end of chapter 26) where the pasuk in Devarim ( 28,2) says that “ All these blessings will come upon you, will catch up to you, because you listen to the voice of Hashem, your God.” The Midrash continues, “ They will come if listen to His voice, and go in His ways. What are God's ways? That He is merciful.. even on the wicked. Eventually He accepts them in Teshuva, if they do Teshuva. God gives everyone parnasa…those are the ways of Shamayim.” The ways of Shamayim are that God is a Hanun and gives Matnat Hinam, says the Tanna Dvei Eliyahu, even to people that don't deserve it. You too can give Matnat Hinam to people you don't even know, and for no reason. These are the ways of Shamayim, and he says that if you act like that, you arouse God's kindness. So there is a direct connection between acts of kindness and Yetziat Mitzrayim. It's no wonder that there is such an abundance of kindness done at this time of the year. Because, as we say, every year there is a Yetziat Mitzrayim. We got out in Nissan, and we will get out in Nissan. The only way to do that is by doing acts of Hesed. As a reminder, if you have not yet given to Lev Chana, an organization that uses donation to purchase clothing cards, now is your chance. Anyone who wishes to participate in this special mitzvah can write a check made out to Lev Chana, and mail it to Lev Chana c/o Rabbi David Sutton 1059 E. 10th St. Brooklyn, NY, 11230. To be billed, email me directly at rabbisutton@gmail.com For Quickpay, use rabbisutton@gmail.com Or click on this link: https://www.rayze.it/levchana/

The rule is, if you do a Hesed, it comes around. I was in a sefarim store and I saw a Haggadah shel Pesach by Rabbi Baruch Rosenblum. I knew a friend of mine, Mr. Steven Ashear, had a tremendous love for this rabbi, so I bought the Hagadah for him. He returned the Hesed by sharing a beautiful Dvar Torah with me, on the concept of Kimcha D'Pischa (lit. Flour for Pesach , sedaka and food provided for the needy for Pesach). Why is it that we don't have a term for the Sedaka collected for other holidays? Why only Pesach? He cites the sefer Kol Eliyahu from the Gaon of Vilna, which says there is a hint to this in the Torah, where says, “ Seven days you should eat Matzot… Matzot should be eaten the seven days .” Why does it first say, “ You should eat,” and then say, “ Should be eaten,” which means to cause others to eat? He explains that this hints that Not only do you have to eat matzot, but you have to make sure that others eat matzot. And furthermore, he notes that the first time it says מצת matzot , it's written without a vav , whereas the second time, matzot מצות is spelled with a vav . This is to indicate that for yourself , you can skimp, but when it comes to others, you have to make sure they have a lot. That's a beautiful thought. Anytime we give Sedaka, we have to think about this concept, about giving the prime to the Ani/poor. Furthermore, he quotes Rav Chaim Palagi in his sefer Sedaka L'Chaim, which quotes from another sefer called Shimon V'Levi, (with a commentary on the Hagadah) that questions why we have to start giving Sedaka 30 days before Pesach. He answers that the poor person sees that others are buying, and that is the greatest suffering. He quotes a Rashi in Iyov (36,21) that says when a poor person sees other people shopping and he can't shop, he has tremendous pain and he complains to Hashem, “ Why is it that everyone else is shopping while I can't shop?“ The Arizal says that when a poor person complains to Hashem, that can arouse the trait of Judgment in heaven, as the poor person complains to God about why He isn't taking care of him. When we give Sedaka to the poor, we make peace between the poor man and God, and we bring peace to the world. And in order to make sure that the poor person does not have any complaints, we give 30 days before, so that when everyone else is shopping, he can shop too. As to why the word Matzot is written without the vav , he says that the word Matzot מצת without the vav can be an acronym for Sedaka Tatzil MiMavet ‎ צדקה תציל ממות Sedaka saves from death. When you give Matzah to the one who's lacking, (which is why the vav is missing) that will save you from death. The צ in מצת is for Sedaka . When you give Sedaka it saves from death. He goes in to explain the four steps involved in the baking of matzot, and how they save the person from the four types of death penalties. -Grinding the wheat -saves the person from being stoned to death -Baking the matzot saves the person from burning -Plucking or patting the Matzah saves a person from the strangulation, -And when they make the holes, that saves the person from the sword. So every step of the process will save from a possible death penalty. That is how great Sedaka is. He says it will save someone even from the most strict of sins. Rav Chaim Palagi adds to his words, “… His words are alive and established, they are trustworthy and coveted.” These are beautiful words on the power of Sedaka that a person gives before Pesach- and not just before Pesach, but early . I'm happy to say that thanks to our listeners, the Lev Chana cards are currently in the mail. They were sent to close to 200 families, widows orphans and the like. Baruch Hashem we don't have the money yet. We haven't covered it yet, but we have to send it out. We can't wait until we have the money. B'ezrat Hashem the money will come in. Everyone here is part of the great mitzvah of making sure that there is still time to shop with everybody else. Have a wonderful day and Tizku Lemitzvot.

Yesterday, we spoke about the Rasha of the Hagada, who separates himself from the Jewish people. This was actually a quote from the Artscroll Sephardic Heritage Haggadah , page 57 (This is a beautiful Hagada to have for Seder preparation). I saw a similar thought, with a deeper explanation, in the Hagadah, Living Our History, written by Rabbi Reuven Leuchter, a student of Rav Wolbe and a deep thinker. He also says that the Rasha did not commit any sins, but he adds that when Hashem freed us from Egypt, He took us for Himself to be His nation, which means that Hashem's relationship ceased to be focused on righteous individuals, and became centered on the nation as a whole. So our job now is in our role in the national mission. The famous mashal is given that every musician in the orchestra contributes to the symphony. So too, every individual is indispensable, but only in the framework as part of of the symphony. He says that the Rasha fails to understand that. When we spoke about this yesterday, we described the Rasha as a fellow who doesn't go to Shul, and cuts himself off from others. But Rabbi Leuchter describes him as a fellow who regularly attends his local synagogue, and gives Sedaka generously. His problem, he says, is in his mindset. He views his service to Hashem as his own personal matter. He doesn't realize that the Jewish people is one single organism. In his words, In one body, the head and the toe don't merely have something in common, but rather , they are both part of one whole. That is the mistake of the Rasha . He doesn't realize that he is part of the whole. It's not just that he has something in common with other Jews, that they all perform Mitzvot together. That's his mistake. Rabbi Leuchter says that those that viewed themselves as distinct individuals died in Egypt, for , as individuals, they did not merit redemption. This is a very powerful added depth. Initially, we were just talking about the fellow that separates himself from the group in a physical sense, in that he doesn't show up in shul or in times of Jewish gatherings. However, this is more about what his mindset is. It's really more of an internal question. How do I view myself? And this is the deciding factor of whether one is part of, or not part of, the Jewish people. B'ezrat Hashem, we, who are working on our Ahavat Yisrael, will have the proper outlook. Have a wonderful day.

This week is Parashat Para. The question is asked-how can it be that it says, VeAhavta LeRe'echa Kamocha, Zeh Klal Gadol B'Torah/ Every Mitzvah in the Torah traces back to loving your friend like you love yourself. How does the purification process of sprinkling ashes of the Para Adumah/Red Heifer connect to VeAhavta LeRe'echa Kamocha? One of the rabbis answers that one of the idiosyncrasies of the Para Adumah is the fact that the Kohen, who is involved in the process, starts off pure, and becomes impure, whereas the person that walked in impure becomes pure. (Incidentally, the Kohen's impurity only lasts for one day, whereas the other fellow has a 7 day period of Tumah) So the Kohen is willing to cause himself to become impure, in order to save his fellow brother, who needs to be purified. This is a classic case of VeAhavta LeRe'echa Kamocha. The Kohen takes the hit for his fellow Jew There is another connection though, as Rav Chaim Palagi says, in the name of the Sefer Maaseh Sedaka (pg 128a, letter 41) ‎והיתה לכם לחוקת עולם, שענין פרה נוהגת לעולם ועד, בין בדיבור בין במעשה, הדיבור הוא לקרות פרשת פרה בציבור, והיא מצות עשה לקצת פוסקים, והמעשה שלם יהיה על ידי מצות הצדקה בערב שבת זו Parah Aduma is everlasting mitzvah. How so? Firstly by reading it in shul ( as we do this week), and secondly by the action of giving Sedaka this Friday. Furthermore, Rav Chaim Palagi says, ‎ואין דבר המטהר את האדם מן הקליפות שהם אבי אבות הטומאה דרגא דמותא, כמו מעשה הצדקה, כי אין עבירה מכבה מצות הצדקה, כמו שאין מכבה את התורה, ועל ידי זה הוא זוכה לפתוח את שער החמשים של חמשים שערי בינה. שבא משם הגאולה, עד כאן לשונו There is nothing that purifies a person from these imperfections which are the sources of the worst possible Tumah (worthy of death) like giving charity. When you do an Averah/sin, it does not extinguish the Mitzvah of Sedaka, whereas averot can temporarily extinguish other Mitzvot. This is the power of Sedaka, which brings purification to this very day. The Chida says that the Mitzvah of tzedaka opens up the gates of understanding, and is the source of the future Geulah. Even in our times, without a Parah Aduma, we have a replacement: Tzedakah Tatzil MiMavet/ Sedaka saves one from death. When you give Sedaka, the letter צ Sadi drops into the word מות/Mavet/death, and turns it into מצוות Mitzvot. That is the power of Sedaka. Of course, there are many great causes, but at this time of the year, I am personally pushing Sedaka for Lev Chana, an organization that gives out clothing cards to families in need. If you haven't already done so, you can write a check made out to Lev Chana, and mail it to Lev Chana c/o Rabbi David Sutton 1059 E. 10th St. Brooklyn, NY, 11230. To be billed, email me directly at rabbisutton@gmail.com For Quickpay, use rabbisutton@gmail.com Or click on this link: https://www.rayze.it/levchana/ JFC link: https://jcfny.donorfirst.org/node/add/grant?orgid=1348332 Tizku lemitzvot Have a wonderful day and a Shabbat Shalom.

There is no obligation to recite Hallel on Purim. One reason for this is that the reading of the Megila, which tells the story of the miraculous events, takes the place of Hallel. Therefore, if one cannot hear the Megila, there are Poskim who hold that he should recite the complete Hallel. This should be done without a Beracha, as there is a difference of opinion on the matter.After the Shir Shel Yom (Psalm of the Day), the Mizmor (Tehilim 22) "Al Ayelet HaShachar" is added. Esther was referred to as "Ayelet Hashachar," and this was the prayer she offered upon approaching the King's private chamber.It is prohibited to eat even a small amount before hearing the Megila on Purim morning, even if one has already prayed. Therefore, one should insure that his wife and children hear the Megila promptly, so that they can eat.Immediately after Shacharit, the Matanot LaEvyonim are distributed. Performing this Misva early is not only a fulfillment of "Zerizim Makdimim L'Misvot," but it also enables the recipients to use the money to buy what they lack for the holiday.The Shulhan Aruch rules that the Beracha of Shehechiyanu is not recited before reading the Megila in the morning. This applies even if one did not fulfill the Misva of Megila the previous night. The Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1807, Lev David, Ch. 30) brings a custom for both men and women to light two candles in honor of Mordechai and Esther on Purim. After lighting the candles, one should give Sedaka and offer heartfelt prayers and requests in their merit.There is a widespread custom to don costumes on Purim. The Hida mentions this specifically with regard to the Seudah. The Rama even permits men to dress up in women's clothing. He argues that since it is in the Purim spirit, it does not constitute a violation of the Torah prohibition of cross-dressing. Nevertheless, Hacham Ovadia and Hacham ben Sion both rule that one should not rely on the Rama's leniency. Although Hacham ben Sion does permit children to wear the other gender's clothes, Hacham Ovadia was opposed even to that. The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909, Ateret Tifferet) brings a custom for women to adorn themselves with their fanciest jewelry, even more than Shabbat and Yom Tov. This custom has its origins in the Kabbalah. This should only be done within the confines of her own home and not to go out publicly, so as not to breach the standards of modesty.

Halacha forbids conducting business affairs, such as buying and selling, and making any sort of transactions, on Shabbat. The question arises as to whether this also applies to waiving a debt. As Hacham Ovadia Yosef discusses, there are two ways we can view the legal act of waiving a debt. One could view it as simply withdrawing oneself from the money, announcing that he no longer is interested in the money owed to him. From this perspective, waiving a debt is not a transaction at all; the creditor simply takes himself out of the picture, and the debtor can then keep the money. Alternatively, however, can view the creditor as granting the debtor rights to the money in question. And if we view it from this perspective, then this is, in fact, a transfer of property from one person to another, which is forbidden on Shabbat.Hacham Ovadia rules stringently on this issue, noting that besides the possibility that waiving a debt constitutes a transaction, it also falls under the category of forbidden speech, as one may not speak about financial matters on Shabbat. The Hacham does, however, make an exception in the case of a poor person. If one waives a loan owed by somebody who is poor, this is considered Sedaka which is allowed on Shabbat. Otherwise, however, one should not waive a loan on Shabbat.Summary: One should not waive a debt on Shabbat, unless the debtor is a person in need, such that it would be a charitable act.

Episode 144 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Last Train to Clarksville" and the beginnings of the career of the Monkees, along with a short primer on the origins of the Vietnam War.  Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a seventeen-minute bonus episode available, on "These Boots Are Made For Walking" by Nancy Sinatra, which I mispronounce at the end of this episode as "These Boots Were Made For Walking", so no need to correct me here. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Resources As usual, all the songs excerpted in the podcast can be heard in full at Mixcloud. The best versions of the Monkees albums are the triple-CD super-deluxe versions that used to be available from monkees.com , and I've used Andrew Sandoval's liner notes for them extensively in this episode. Sadly, though, the only one of those that is still in print is More of the Monkees. For those just getting into the group, my advice is to start with this five-CD set, which contains their first five albums along with bonus tracks. The single biggest source of information I used in this episode is the first edition of Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees; The Day-By-Day Story. Sadly that is now out of print and goes for hundreds of pounds. Sandoval released a second edition of the book last year, which I was unfortunately unable to obtain, but that too is now out of print. If you can find a copy of either, do get one. Other sources used were Monkee Business by Eric Lefcowitz, and the autobiographies of three of the band members and one of the songwriters -- Infinite Tuesday by Michael Nesmith, They Made a Monkee Out of Me by Davy Jones, I'm a Believer by Micky Dolenz, and Psychedelic Bubble-Gum by Bobby Hart. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript We've obviously talked in this podcast about several of the biggest hits of 1966 already, but we haven't mentioned the biggest hit of the year, one of the strangest records ever to make number one in the US -- "The Ballad of the Green Berets" by Sgt Barry Sadler: [Excerpt: Barry Sadler, "The Ballad of the Green Berets"] Barry Sadler was an altogether odd man, and just as a brief warning his story, which will last a minute or so, involves gun violence. At the time he wrote and recorded that song, he was on active duty in the military -- he was a combat medic who'd been fighting in the Vietnam War when he'd got a wound that had meant he had to be shipped back to the USA, and while at Fort Bragg he decided to write and record a song about his experiences, with the help of Robin Moore, a right-wing author of military books, both fiction and nonfiction, who wrote the books on which the films The Green Berets and The French Connection were based. Sadler's record became one of those massive fluke hits, selling over nine million copies and getting him appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, but other than one top thirty hit, he never had another hit single. Instead, he tried and failed to have a TV career, then became a writer of pulp fiction himself, writing a series of twenty-one novels about the centurion who thrust his spear into Jesus' side when Jesus was being crucified, and is thus cursed to be a soldier until the second coming. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he lived until he shot Lee Emerson, a country songwriter who had written songs for Marty Robbins, in the head, killing him, in an argument over a woman. He was sentenced to thirty days in jail for this misdemeanour, of which he served twenty-eight. Later he moved to Guatemala City, where he was himself shot in the head. The nearest Army base to Nashville, where Sadler lived after his discharge, is Fort Campbell, in Clarksville: [Excerpt: The Monkees, "Last Train to Clarksville"] The Vietnam War was a long and complicated war, one which affected nearly everything we're going to see in the next year or so of this podcast, and we're going to talk about it a lot, so it's worth giving a little bit of background here. In doing so, I'm going to use quite a flippant tone, but I want to make it clear that I'm not mocking the very real horrors that people suffered in the wars I'm talking about -- it's just that to sum up multiple decades of unimaginable horrors in a few sentences requires glossing over so much that you have to either laugh or cry. The origin of the Vietnam War, as in so many things in twentieth century history, can be found in European colonialism. France had invaded much of Southeast Asia in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, and created a territory known as French Indo-China, which became part of the French colonial Empire. But in 1940 France was taken over by Germany, and Japan was at war with China. Germany and Japan were allies, and the Japanese were worried that French Indo-China would be used to import fuel and arms to China -- plus, they quite fancied the idea of having a Japanese empire. So Vichy France let Japan take control of French Indo-China. But of course the *reason* that France had been taken over by Germany was that pretty much the whole world was at war in 1940, and obviously the countries that were fighting Germany and Japan -- the bloc led by Britain, soon to be joined by America and Russia -- weren't very keen on the idea of Japan getting more territory. But they were also busy with the whole "fighting a world war" thing, so they did what governments in this situation always do -- they funded local guerilla insurgent fighters on the basis that "my enemy's enemy is my friend", something that has luckily never had any negative consequences whatsoever, except for occasionally. Those local guerilla fighters were an anti-imperialist popular front, the Việt Minh, led by Hồ Chí Minh, a revolutionary Communist. They were dedicated to overthrowing foreign imperialist occupiers and gaining independence for Vietnam, and Hồ Chí Minh further wanted to establish a Soviet-style Communist government in the newly-independent country. The Allies funded the Việt Minh in their fight against the Japanese occupiers until the end of the Second World War, at which point France was liberated from German occupation, Vietnam was liberated from Japanese occupation, and the French basically said "Hooray! We get our Empire back!", to which Hồ Chí Minh's response was, more or less, "what part of anti-imperialist Marxist dedicated to overthrowing foreign occupation of Vietnam did you not understand, exactly?" Obviously, the French weren't best pleased with this, and so began what was the first of a series of wars in the region. The First Indochina War lasted for years and ended in a negotiated peace of a sort. Of course, this led to the favoured tactic of the time, partition -- splitting a formerly-occupied country into two, at an arbitrary dividing line, a tactic which was notably successful in securing peace everywhere it was tried. Apart from Ireland, India, Korea, and a few other places, but surely it wouldn't be a problem in Vietnam, right? North Vietnam was controlled by the Communists, led by Hồ Chí Minh, and recognised by China and the USSR but not by the Western states. South Vietnam was nominally independent but led by the former puppet emperor who owed his position to France, soon replaced by a right-wing dictatorship. And both the right-wing dictatorship and the left-wing dictatorship were soon busily oppressing their own citizens and funding military opposition groups in the other country. This soon escalated into full-blown war, with the North backed by China and Russia and the South backed by America. This was one of a whole series of wars in small countries which were really proxy wars between the two major powers, the USA and the USSR, both of which were vying for control, but which couldn't confront each other directly because either country had enough nuclear weapons to destroy the whole world multiple times over. But the Vietnam War quickly became more than a small proxy war. The US started sending its own troops over, and more and more of them. The US had never ended the draft after World War II, and by the mid sixties significant numbers of young men were being called up and sent over to fight in a war that had by that point lasted a decade (depending on exactly when you count the war as starting from) between two countries they didn't care about, over things few of them understood, and at an exorbitant cost in lives. As you might imagine, this started to become unpopular among those likely to be drafted, and as the people most affected (other, of course, than the Vietnamese people, whose opinions on being bombed and shot at by foreigners supporting one of other of the dictators vying to rule over them nobody else was much interested in) were also of the generation who were the main audience for popular music, slowly this started to seep into the lyrics of songs -- a seepage which had already been prompted by the appearance in the folk and soul worlds of many songs against other horrors, like segregation. This started to hit the pop charts with songs like "The Universal Soldier" by Buffy Saint-Marie, which made the UK top five in a version by Donovan: [Excerpt: Donovan, "The Universal Soldier"] That charted in the lower regions of the US charts, and a cover version by Glen Campbell did slightly better: [Excerpt: Glen Campbell, "The Universal Soldier"] That was even though Campbell himself was a supporter of the war in Vietnam, and rather pro-military. Meanwhile, as we've seen a couple of times, Jan Berry of Jan and Dean recorded a pro-war answer song to that, "The Universal Coward": [Excerpt: Jan Berry, "The Universal Coward"] This, of course, was even though Berry was himself avoiding the draft. And I've not been able to find the credits for that track, but Glen Campbell regularly played guitar on Berry's sessions, so it's entirely possible that he played guitar on that record made by a coward, attacking his own record, which he disagreed with, for its cowardice. This is, of course, what happens when popular culture tries to engage with social and political issues -- pop culture is motivated by money, not ideological consistency, and so if there's money to be made from anti-war songs or from pro-war songs, someone will take that money. And so on October the ninth 1965, Billboard magazine ran a report: "Colpix Enters Protest Field HOLLYWOOD -Colpix has secured its first protest lyric disk, "The Willing Conscript,"as General Manager Bud Katzel initiates relationships with independent producers. The single features Lauren St. Davis. Katzel says the song was written during the Civil War, rewritten during World War I and most recently updated by Bob Krasnow and Sam Ashe. Screen Gems Music, the company's publishing wing, is tracing the song's history, Katzel said. Katzel's second single is "(You Got the Gamma Goochee" by an artist with that unusual stage name. The record is a Screen Gems production and was in the house when Katzel arrived one month ago. The executive said he was expressly looking for material for two contract artists, David Jones and Hoyt Axton. The company is also working on getting Axton a role in a television series, "Camp Runamuck." " To unpack this a little, Colpix was a record label, owned by Columbia Pictures, and we talked about that a little bit in the episode on "The Loco-Motion" -- the film and TV companies were getting into music, and Columbia had recently bought up Don Kirshner's Aldon publishing and Dimension Records as part of their strategy of tying in music with their TV shows. This is a company trying desperately to jump on a bandwagon -- Colpix at this time was not exactly having huge amounts of success with its records. Hoyt Axton, meanwhile, was a successful country singer and songwriter. We met his mother many episodes back -- Mae Axton was the writer of "Heartbreak Hotel". Axton himself is now best known as the dad in the 80s film Gremlins. David Jones will be coming up shortly. Bob Krasnow and Sam Ashe were record executives then at Kama Sutra records, but soon to move on -- we'll be hearing about Krasnow more in future episodes. Neither of them were songwriters, and while I have no real reason to disbelieve the claim that "The Willing Conscript" dates back to the Civil War, the earliest version *I* have been able to track down was its publication in issue 28 of Broadside Magazine in June 1963 -- nearly a hundred years after the American Civil War -- with the credit "by Tom Paxton" -- Paxton was a popular singer-songwriter of the time, and it certainly sounds like his writing. The first recording of it I know of was by Pete Seeger: [Excerpt: Pete Seeger, "The Willing Conscript"] But the odd thing is that by the time this was printed, the single had already been released the previous month, and it was not released under the name Lauren St Davis, or under the title "The Willing Conscript" -- there are precisely two differences between the song copyrighted as by Krasnow and Ashe and the one copyrighted two years earlier as by Paxton. One is that verses three and four are swapped round, the other is that it's now titled "The New Recruit". And presumably because they realised that the pseudonym "Lauren St. Davis" was trying just a bit too hard to sound cool and drug culture, they reverted to another stage name the performer had been using, Michael Blessing: [Excerpt: Michael Blessing, "The New Recruit"] Blessing's name was actually Michael Nesmith, and before we go any further, yes his mother, Bette Nesmith Graham, did invent the product that later became marketed in the US as Liquid Paper. At this time, though, that company wasn't anywhere near as successful as it later became, and was still a tiny company. I only mention it to forestall the ten thousand comments and tweets I would otherwise get asking why I didn't mention it. In Nesmith's autobiography, while he talks a lot about his mother, he barely mentions her business and says he was uninterested in it -- he talks far more about the love of art she instilled in him, as well as her interest in the deep questions of philosophy and religion, to which in her case and his they found answers in Christian Science, but both were interested in conversations about ideas, in a way that few other people in Nesmith's early environment were. Nesmith's mother was also responsible for his music career. He had spent two years in the Air Force in his late teens, and the year he got out, his mother and stepfather bought him a guitar for Christmas, after he was inspired by seeing Hoyt Axton performing live and thinking he could do that himself: [Excerpt: Hoyt Axton, "Greenback Dollar"] As he put it in his autobiography, "What did it matter that I couldn't play the guitar, couldn't sing very well, and didn't know any folk songs? I would be going to college and hanging out at the student union with pretty girls and singing folk songs. They would like me. I might even figure out a way to get a cool car." This is, of course, the thought process that pretty much every young man to pick up a guitar goes through, but Nesmith was more dedicated than most. He gave his first performance as a folk singer ten days after he first got a guitar, after practising the few chords in most folk songs for twelve hours a day every day in that time. He soon started performing as a folk singer, performing around Dallas both on his own and with his friend John London, performing the standard folk repertoire of Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly songs, things like "Pick a Bale of Cotton": [Excerpt: Michael Nesmith, "Pick a Bale of Cotton"] He also started writing his own songs, and put out a vanity record of one of them in 1963: [Excerpt: Mike Nesmith, "Wanderin'"] London moved to California, and Nesmith soon followed, with his first wife Phyllis and their son Christian. There Nesmith and London had the good fortune to be neighbours with someone who was a business associate of Frankie Laine, and they were signed to Laine's management company as a folk duo. However, Nesmith's real love was rock and roll, especially the heavier R&B end of the genre -- he was particularly inspired by Bo Diddley, and would always credit seeing Diddley live as a teenager as being his biggest musical influence. Soon Nesmith and London had formed a folk-rock trio with their friend Bill Sleeper. As Mike & John & Bill, they put out a single, "How Can You Kiss Me?", written by Nesmith: [Excerpt: Mike & John & Bill, "How Can You Kiss Me?"] They also recorded more of Nesmith's songs, like "All the King's Horses": [Excerpt: Mike & John & Bill, "All the King's Horses"] But that was left unreleased, as Bill was drafted, and Nesmith and London soon found themselves in The Survivors, one of several big folk groups run by Randy Sparks, the founder of the New Christie Minstrels. Nesmith was also writing songs throughout 1964 and 1965, and a few of those songs would be recorded by other people in 1966, like "Different Drum", which was recorded by the bluegrass band The Greenbriar Boys: [Excerpt: The Greenbriar Boys, "Different Drum"] That would more successfully be recorded by the Stone Poneys later of course. And Nesmith's "Mary Mary" was also picked up by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band: [Excerpt: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, "Mary Mary"] But while Nesmith had written these songs by late 1965, he wasn't able to record them himself. He was signed by Bob Krasnow, who insisted he change his name to Michael Blessing, and recorded two singles for Colpix -- "The New Recruit", which we heard earlier, and a version of Buffy Saint-Marie's "Until It's Time For You To Go", sung in a high tenor range very far from Nesmith's normal singing voice: [Excerpt: Michael Blessing, "Until It's Time For You To Go"] But to my mind by far the best thing Nesmith recorded in this period is the unissued third Michael Blessing single, where Nesmith seems to have been given a chance to make the record he really wanted to make. The B-side, a version of Allen Toussaint's swamp-rocker "Get Out of My Life, Woman", is merely a quite good version of the song, but the A-side, a version of his idol Bo Diddley's classic "Who Do You Love?" is utterly extraordinary, and it's astonishing that it was never released at the time: [Excerpt: Michael Blessing, "Who Do You Love?"] But the Michael Blessing records did no better than anything else Colpix were putting out. Indeed, the only record they got onto the hot one hundred at all in a three and a half year period was a single by one David Jones, which reached the heady heights of number ninety-eight: [Excerpt: David Jones, "What Are We Going to Do?"] Jones had been brought up in extreme poverty in Openshaw in Manchester, but had been encouraged by his mother, who died when he was fourteen, to go into acting. He'd had a few parts on local radio, and had appeared as a child actor on TV shows made in Manchester, like appearing in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street (still on today) as Ena Sharples' grandson Colin: [Excerpt: Coronation St https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FDEvOs1imc , 13:30] He also had small roles in Z-Cars and Bill Naughton's TV play "June Evening", and a larger role in Keith Waterhouse's radio play "There is a Happy Land". But when he left school, he decided he was going to become a jockey rather than an actor -- he was always athletic, he loved horses, and he was short -- I've seen his height variously cited as five foot three and five foot four. But it turned out that the owner of the stables in which he was training had showbusiness connections, and got him the audition that changed his life, for the part of the Artful Dodger in Lionel Bart's West End musical Oliver! We've encountered Lionel Bart before a couple of times, but if you don't remember him, he was the songwriter who co-wrote Tommy Steele's hits, and who wrote "Living Doll" for Cliff Richard. He also discovered both Steele and Marty Wilde, and was one of the major figures in early British rock and roll. But after the Tommy Steele records, he'd turned his attention to stage musicals, writing book, music, and lyrics for a string of hits, and more-or-less singlehandedly inventing the modern British stage musical form -- something Andrew Lloyd Webber, for example, always credits him with. Oliver!, based on Oliver Twist, was his biggest success, and they were looking for a new Artful Dodger. This was *the* best role for a teenage boy in the UK at the time -- later performers to take the role on the London stage include Steve Marriott and Phil Collins, both of whom we'll no doubt encounter in future episodes -- and Jones got the job, although they were a bit worried at first about his Manchester vowels. He assured them though that he could learn to do a Cockney accent, and they took him on. Jones not having a natural Cockney accent ended up doing him the biggest favour of his career. While he could put on a relatively convincing one, he articulated quite carefully because it wasn't his natural accent. And so when the North American version found  in previews that their real Cockney Dodger wasn't being understood perfectly, the fake Cockney Jones was brought over to join the show on Broadway, and was there from opening night on. On February the ninth, 1964, Jones found himself, as part of the Broadway cast of Oliver!, on the Ed Sullivan Show: [Excerpt: Davy Jones and Georgia Brown, "I'd Do Anything"] That same night, there were some other British people, who got a little bit more attention than Jones did: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I Want to Hold Your Hand (live on Ed Sullivan)"] Davy Jones wasn't a particular fan of pop music at that point, but he knew he liked what he saw, and he wanted some of the same reaction. Shortly after this, Jones was picked up for management by Ward Sylvester, of Columbia Pictures, who was going to groom Jones for stardom. Jones continued in Oliver! for a while, and also had a brief run in a touring version of Pickwick, another musical based on a Dickens novel, this time starring Harry Secombe, the British comedian and singer who had made his name with the Goon Show. Jones' first single, "Dream Girl", came out in early 1965: [Excerpt: Davy Jones, "Dream Girl"] It was unsuccessful, as was his one album, David Jones, which seemed to be aiming at the teen idol market, but failing miserably. The second single, "What Are  We Going to Do?" did make the very lowest regions of the Hot One Hundred, but the rest of the album was mostly attempts to sound a bit like Herman's Hermits -- a band whose lead singer, coincidentally, also came from Manchester, had appeared in Coronation Street, and was performing with a fake Cockney accent. Herman's Hermits had had a massive US hit with the old music hall song "I'm Henry VIII I Am": [Excerpt: Herman's Hermits, "I'm Henry VIII I Am"] So of course Davy had his own old music-hall song, "Any Old Iron": [Excerpt: Davy Jones, "Any Old Iron"] Also, the Turtles had recently had a hit with a folk-rock version of Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe", and Davy cut his own version of their arrangement, in the one concession to rock music on the album: [Excerpt: Davy Jones, "It Ain't Me Babe"] The album was, unsurprisingly, completely unsuccessful, but Ward Sylvester was not disheartened. He had the perfect job for a young British teen idol who could sing and act. The Monkees was the brainchild of two young TV producers, Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, who had come up with the idea of doing a TV show very loosely based on the Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night (though Rafelson would later claim that he'd had the idea many years before A Hard Day's Night and was inspired by his youth touring with folk bands -- Schneider always admitted the true inspiration though). This was not a particularly original idea -- there were a whole bunch of people trying to make TV shows based in some way around bands. Jan and Dean were working on a possible TV series, there was talk of a TV series starring The Who, there was a Beatles cartoon series, Hanna-Barbera were working on a cartoon series about a band called The Bats, and there was even another show proposed to Screen Gems, Columbia's TV department, titled Liverpool USA, which was meant to star Davy Jones, another British performer, and two American musicians, and to have songs provided by Don Kirshner's songwriters. That The Monkees, rather than these other series, was the one that made it to the TV (though obviously the Beatles cartoon series did too) is largely because Rafelson and Schneider's independent production company, Raybert, which they had started after leaving Screen Gems, was given two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars to develop the series by their former colleague, Screen Gems' vice president in charge of programme development, the former child star Jackie Cooper. Of course, as well as being their former colleague, Cooper may have had some more incentive to give Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider that money in that the head of Columbia Pictures, and thus Cooper's boss' boss, was one Abe Schneider. The original idea for the show was to use the Lovin' Spoonful, but as we heard last week they weren't too keen, and it was quickly decided instead that the production team would put together a group of performers. Davy Jones was immediately attached to the project, although Rafelson was uncomfortable with Jones, thinking he wasn't as rock and roll as Rafelson was hoping for -- he later conceded, though, that Jones was absolutely right for the group. As for everyone else, to start with Rafelson and Schneider placed an ad in a couple of the trade papers which read "Madness!! Auditions Folk and Roll Musicians-Singers for acting roles in new TV series. Running parts for 4 insane boys ages 17-21. Want spirited Ben Frank's types. Have courage to work. Must come down for interview" There were a couple of dogwhistles in there, to appeal to the hip crowd -- Ben Frank's was a twenty-four-hour restaurant on the Sunset Strip, where people including Frank Zappa and Jim Morrison used to hang out, and which was very much associated with the freak scene we've looked at in episodes on Zappa and the Byrds. Meanwhile "Must come down for interview" was meant to emphasise that you couldn't actually be high when you turned up -- but you were expected to be the kind of person who would at least at some points have been high. A lot of people answered that ad -- including Paul Williams, Harry Nilsson, Van Dyke Parks, and many more we'll be seeing along the way. But oddly, the only person actually signed up for the show because of that ad was Michael Nesmith -- who was already signed to Colpix Records anyway. According to Davy Jones, who was sitting in at the auditions, Schneider and Rafelson were deliberately trying to disorient the auditioners with provocative behaviour like just ignoring them, to see how they'd react. Nesmith was completely unfazed by this, and apparently walked in wearing a  green wool hat and carrying a bag of laundry, saying that he needed to get this over with quickly so he could go and do his washing. John London, who came along to the audition as well, talked later about seeing Nesmith fill in a questionnaire that everyone had to fill in -- in a space asking about previous experience Nesmith just wrote "Life" and drew a big diagonal line across the rest of the page. That attitude certainly comes across in Nesmith's screen test: [Excerpt: Michael Nesmith screen test] Meanwhile, Rafelson and Schneider were also scouring the clubs for performers who might be useful, and put together a shortlist of people including Jerry Yester and Chip Douglas of the Modern Folk Quartet, Bill Chadwick, who was in the Survivors with Nesmith and London, and one Micky Braddock, whose agent they got in touch with and who was soon signed up. Braddock was the stage name of Micky Dolenz, who soon reverted to his birth surname, and it's the name by which he went in his first bout of fame. Dolenz was the son of two moderately successful Hollywood actors, George Dolenz and Janelle Johnson, and their connections had led to Dolenz, as Braddock, getting the lead role in the 1958 TV series Circus Boy, about a child named Corky who works in a circus looking after an elephant after his parents, the Flying Falcons, were killed in a trapeze accident. [Excerpt: Circus Boy, "I can't play a drum"] Oddly, one of the other people who had been considered for that role was Paul Williams, who was also considered for the Monkees but ultimately turned down, and would later write one of the Monkees' last singles. Dolenz had had a few minor TV appearances after that series had ended, including a recurring role on Peyton Place, but he had also started to get interested in music. He'd performed a bit as a folk duo with his sister Coco, and had also been the lead singer of a band called Micky and the One-Nighters, who later changed their name to the Missing Links, who'd played mostly covers of Little Richard and Chuck Berry songs and later British Invasion hits. He'd also recorded two tracks with Wrecking Crew backing, although neither track got released until after his later fame -- "Don't Do It": [Excerpt: Micky Dolenz, "Don't Do It"] and "Huff Puff": [Excerpt: Micky Dolenz, "Huff Puff"] Dolenz had a great singing voice, an irrepressible personality, and plenty of TV experience. He was obviously in. Rafelson and Schneider took quite a while whittling down the shortlist to the final four, and they *were* still considering people who'd applied through the ads. One they actually offered the role to was Stephen Stills, but he decided not to take the role. When he turned the role down, they asked if he knew anyone else who had a similar appearance to him, and as it happened he did. Steve Stills and Peter Tork had known of each other before they actually met on the streets of Greenwich Village -- the way they both told the story, on their first meeting they'd each approached the other and said "You must be the guy everyone says looks like me!" The two had become fast friends, and had played around the Greenwich Village folk scene together for a while, before going their separate ways -- Stills moving to California while Tork joined another of those big folk ensembles of the New Christie Minstrels type, this one called the Phoenix Singers. Tork had later moved to California himself, and reconnected with his old friend, and they had performed together for a while in a trio called the Buffalo Fish, with Tork playing various instruments, singing, and doing comedy bits. Oddly, while Tork was the member of the Monkees with the most experience as a musician, he was the only one who hadn't made a record when the TV show was put together. But he was by far the most skilled instrumentalist of the group -- as distinct from best musician, a distinction Tork was always scrupulous about making -- and could play guitar, bass, and keyboards, all to a high standard -- and I've also seen him in more recent years play French horn live. His great love, though, was the banjo, and you can hear how he must have sounded on the Greenwich Village folk scene in his solo spots on Monkees shows, where he would show off his banjo skills: [Excerpt: Peter Tork, "Cripple Creek"] Tork wouldn't get to use his instrumental skills much at first though, as most of the backing tracks for the group's records were going to be performed by other people. More impressive for the TV series producers was his gift for comedy, especially physical comedy -- having seen Tork perform live a few times, the only comparison I can make to his physical presence is to Harpo Marx, which is about as high a compliment as one can give. Indeed, Micky Dolenz has often pointed out that while there were intentional parallels to the Beatles in the casting of the group, the Marx Brothers are a far better parallel, and it's certainly easy to see Tork as Harpo, Dolenz as Chico, Nesmith as Groucho, and Jones as Zeppo. (This sounds like an insult to Jones, unless you're aware of how much the Marx Brothers films actually depended on Zeppo as the connective tissue between the more outrageous brothers and the more normal environment they were operating in, and how much the later films suffered for the lack of Zeppo). The new cast worked well together, even though there were obvious disagreements between them right from the start. Dolenz, at least at this point, seems to have been the gel that held the four together -- he had the experience of being a child star in common with Jones, he was a habitue of the Sunset Strip clubs where Nesmith and Tork had been hanging out, and he had personality traits in common with all of them. Notably, in later years, Dolenz would do duo tours with each of his three bandmates without the participation of the others. The others, though, didn't get on so well with each other. Jones and Tork seem to have got on OK, but they were very different people -- Jones was a showbiz entertainer, whose primary concern was that none of the other stars of the show be better looking than him, while Tork was later self-diagnosed as neurodivergent, a folkie proto-hippie who wanted to drift from town to town playing his banjo. Tork and Nesmith had similar backgrounds and attitudes in some respects -- and were united in their desire to have more musical input into the show than was originally intended -- but they were such different personalities in every aspect of their lives from their religious views to their politics to their taste in music they came into conflict. Nesmith would later say of Tork "I never liked Peter, he never liked me. So we had an uneasy truce between the two of us. As clear as I could tell, among his peers he was very well liked. But we rarely had a civil word to say to each other". Nesmith also didn't get on well with Jones, both of them seeming to view themselves as the natural leader of the group, with all the clashes that entails. The four Monkees were assigned instruments for their characters based not on instrumental skill, but on what suited their roles better. Jones was the teen idol character, so he was made the maraca-playing frontman who could dance without having to play an instrument, though Dolenz took far more of the lead vocals. Nesmith was made the guitarist, while Tork was put on bass, though Tork was by far the better guitarist of the two. And Dolenz was put on drums, even though he didn't play the drums -- Tork would always say later that if the roles had been allocated by actual playing ability, Jones would have been the drummer. Dolenz did, though, become a good drummer, if a rather idiosyncratic one. Tork would later say "Micky played the drums but Mike kept time, on that one record we all made, Headquarters. Mike was the timekeeper. I don't know that Micky relied on him but Mike had a much stronger sense of time. And Davy too, Davy has a much stronger sense of time. Micky played the drums like they were a musical instrument, as a colour. He played the drum colour.... as a band, there was a drummer and there was a timekeeper and they were different people." But at first, while the group were practising their instruments so they could mime convincingly on the TV and make personal appearances, they didn't need to play on their records. Indeed, on the initial pilot, they didn't even sing -- the recordings had been made before the cast had been finalised: [Excerpt: Boyce & Hart, "Monkees Theme (pilot version)"] The music was instead performed by two songwriters, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, who would become hugely important in the Monkees project. Boyce and Hart were not the first choice for the project. Don Kirshner, the head of Screen Gems Music, had initially suggested Roger Atkins, a Brill Building songwriter working for his company, as the main songwriter for The Monkees. Atkins is best known for writing "It's My Life", a hit for the Animals: [Excerpt: The Animals, "It's My Life"] But Atkins didn't work out, though he would collaborate later on one song with Nesmith, and reading between the lines, it seems that there was some corporate infighting going on, though I've not seen it stated in so many words. There seems to have been a turf war between Don Kirshner, the head of Screen Gems' music publishing, who was based in the Brill Building, and Lester Sill, the West Coast executive we've seen so many times before, the mentor to Leiber and Stoller, Duane Eddy, and Phil Spector, who was now the head of Screen Gems music on the West Coast. It also seems to be the case that none of the top Brill Building songwriters were all that keen on being involved at this point -- writing songs for an unsold TV pilot wasn't exactly a plum gig. Sill ended up working closely with the TV people, and it seems to have been him who put forward Boyce and Hart, a songwriting team he was mentoring. Boyce and Hart had been working in the music industry for years, both together and separately, and had had some success, though they weren't one of the top-tier songwriting teams like Goffin and King. They'd both started as performers -- Boyce's first single, "Betty Jean", had come out in 1958: [Excerpt: Tommy Boyce, "Betty Jean"] And Hart's, "Love Whatcha Doin' to Me", under his birth name Robert Harshman, a year later: [Excerpt: Robert Harshman, "Love Whatcha Doin' to Me"] Boyce had been the first one to have real songwriting success, writing Fats Domino's top ten hit "Be My Guest" in 1959: [Excerpt: Fats Domino, "Be My Guest"] and cowriting two songs with singer Curtis Lee, both of which became singles produced by Phil Spector -- "Under the Moon of Love" and the top ten hit "Pretty Little Angel Eyes": [Excerpt: Curtis Lee, "Pretty Little Angel Eyes"] Boyce and Hart together, along with Wes Farrell, who had co-written "Twist and Shout" with Bert Berns, wrote "Lazy Elsie Molly" for Chubby Checker, and the number three hit "Come a Little Bit Closer" for Jay and the Americans: [Excerpt: Jay and the Americans, "Come a Little Bit Closer"] At this point they were both working in the Brill Building, but then Boyce moved to the West Coast, where he was paired with Steve Venet, the brother of Nik Venet, and they co-wrote and produced "Peaches and Cream" for the Ikettes: [Excerpt: The Ikettes, "Peaches and Cream"] Hart, meanwhile, was playing in the band of Teddy Randazzo, the accordion-playing singer who had appeared in The Girl Can't Help It, and with Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein he wrote "Hurts So Bad", which became a big hit for Little Anthony and the Imperials: [Excerpt: Little Anthony and the Imperials, "Hurts So Bad"] But Hart soon moved over to the West Coast, where he joined his old partner Boyce, who had been busy writing TV themes with Venet for shows like "Where the Action Is". Hart soon replaced Venet in the team, and the two soon wrote what would become undoubtedly their most famous piece of music ever, a theme tune that generations of TV viewers would grow to remember: [Excerpt: "Theme from Days of Our Lives"] Well, what did you *think* I meant? Yes, just as Davy Jones had starred in an early episode of Britain's longest-running soap opera, one that's still running today, so Boyce and Hart wrote the theme music for *America's* longest-running soap opera, which has been running every weekday since 1965, and has so far aired well in excess of fourteen thousand episodes. Meanwhile, Hart had started performing in a band called the Candy Store Prophets, with Larry Taylor  -- who we last saw with the Gamblers, playing on "LSD-25" and "Moon Dawg" -- on bass, Gerry McGee on guitar, and Billy Lewis on drums. It was this band that Boyce and Hart used -- augmented by session guitarists Wayne Erwin and Louie Shelton and Wrecking Crew percussionist Gene Estes on tambourine, plus Boyce and session singer Ron Hicklin on backing vocals, to record first the demos and then the actual tracks that would become the Monkees hits. They had a couple of songs already that would be suitable for the pilot episode, but they needed something that would be usable as a theme song for the TV show. Boyce and Hart's usual working method was to write off another hit -- they'd try to replicate the hook or the feel or the basic sound of something that was already popular. In this case, they took inspiration from the song "Catch Us If You Can", the theme from the film that was the Dave Clark Five's attempt at their own A Hard Day's Night: [Excerpt: The Dave Clark Five, "Catch Us If You Can"] Boyce and Hart turned that idea into what would become the Monkees theme. We heard their performance of it earlier of course, but when the TV show finally came out, it was rerecorded with Dolenz singing: [Excerpt: The Monkees, "Monkees Theme"] For a while, Boyce and Hart hoped that they would get to perform all the music for the TV show, and there was even apparently some vague talk of them being cast in it, but it was quickly decided that they would just be songwriters. Originally, the intent was that they wouldn't even produce the records, that instead the production would be done by a name producer. Micky Most, the Animals' producer, was sounded out for the role but wasn't interested. Snuff Garrett was brought in, but quickly discovered he didn't get on with the group at all -- in particular, they were all annoyed at the idea that Davy would be the sole lead vocalist, and the tracks Garrett cut with Davy on lead and the Wrecking Crew backing were scrapped. Instead, it was decided that Boyce and Hart would produce most of the tracks, initially with the help of the more experienced Jack Keller, and that they would only work with one Monkee at a time to minimise disruption -- usually Micky and sometimes Davy. These records would be made the same way as the demos had been, by the same set of musicians, just with one of the Monkees taking the lead. Meanwhile, as Nesmith was seriously interested in writing and production, and Rafelson and Schneider wanted to encourage the cast members, he was also assigned to write and produce songs for the show. Unlike Boyce and Hart, Nesmith wanted to use his bandmates' talents -- partly as a way of winning them over, as it was already becoming clear that the show would involve several competing factions. Nesmith's songs were mostly country-rock tracks that weren't considered suitable as singles, but they would be used on the TV show and as album tracks, and on Nesmith's songs Dolenz and Tork would sing backing vocals, and Tork would join the Wrecking Crew as an extra guitarist -- though he was well aware that his part on records like "Sweet Young Thing" wasn't strictly necessary when Glen Campbell, James Burton, Al Casey and Mike Deasy were also playing guitar: [Excerpt: The Monkees, "Sweet Young Thing"] That track was written by Nesmith with Goffin and King, and there seems to have been some effort to pair Nesmith, early on, with more commercial songwriters, though this soon fell by the wayside and Nesmith was allowed to keep making his own idiosyncratic records off to the side while Boyce and Hart got on with making the more commercial records. This was not, incidentally, something that most of the stars of the show objected to or even thought was a problem at the time. Tork was rather upset that he wasn't getting to have much involvement with the direction of the music, as he'd thought he was being employed as a musician, but Dolenz and Jones were actors first and foremost, while Nesmith was happily making his own tracks. They'd all known going in that most of the music for the show would be created by other people -- there were going to be two songs every episode, and there was no way that four people could write and record that much material themselves while also performing in a half-hour comedy show every week. Assuming, of course, that the show even aired. Initial audience response to the pilot was tepid at best, and it looked for a while like the show wasn't going to be green-lit. But Rafelson and Schneider -- and director James Frawley who played a crucial role in developing the show -- recut the pilot, cutting out one character altogether -- a manager who acted as an adult supervisor -- and adding in excerpts of the audition tapes, showing the real characters of some of the actors. As three of the four were playing characters loosely based on themselves -- Peter's "dummy" character wasn't anything like he was in real life, but was like the comedy character he'd developed in his folk-club performances -- this helped draw the audience in. It also, though, contributed to some line-blurring that became a problem. The re-edited pilot was a success, and the series sold. Indeed, the new format for the series was a unique one that had never been done on TV before -- it was a sitcom about four young men living together, without any older adult supervision, getting into improbable adventures, and with one or two semi-improvised "romps", inspired by silent slapstick, over which played original songs. This became strangely influential in British sitcom when the series came out over here  -- two of the most important sitcoms of the next couple of decades, The Goodies and The Young Ones, are very clearly influenced by the Monkees. And before the broadcast of the first episode, they were going to release a single to promote it. The song chosen as the first single was one Boyce and Hart had written, inspired by the Beatles. Specifically inspired by this: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Paperback Writer"] Hart heard that tag on the radio, and thought that the Beatles were singing "take the last train". When he heard the song again the next day and realised that the song had nothing to do with trains, he and Boyce sat down and wrote their own song inspired by his mishearing. "Last Train to Clarksville" is structured very, very, similarly to "Paperback Writer" -- both of them stay on one chord, a G7, for an eight-bar verse before changing to C7 for a chorus line -- the word "writer" for the Beatles, the "no no no" (inspired by the Beatles "yeah yeah yeah") for the Monkees. To show how close the parallels are, I've sped up the vocals from the Beatles track slightly to match the tempo with a karaoke backing track version of "Last Train to Clarksville" I found, and put the two together: [Excerpt: "Paperback Clarksville"] Lyrically, there was one inspiration I will talk about in a minute, but I think I've identified another inspiration that nobody has ever mentioned. The classic country song "Night Train to Memphis", co-written by Owen Bradley, and made famous by Roy Acuff, has some slight melodic similarity to "Last Train to Clarksville", and parallels the lyrics fairly closely -- "take the night train to Memphis" against "take the last train to Clarksville", both towns in Tennessee, and "when you arrive at the station, I'll be right there to meet you I'll be right there to greet you, So don't turn down my invitation" is clearly close to "and I'll meet you at the station, you can be here by 4:30 'cos I've made your reservation": [Excerpt: Roy Acuff, "Night Train to Memphis"] Interestingly, in May 1966, the same month that "Paperback Writer" was released, and so presumably the time that Hart heard the song on the radio for the first time, Rick Nelson, the teen idol formerly known as Ricky Nelson, who had started his own career as a performer in a sitcom, had released an album called Bright Lights and Country Music. He'd had a bit of a career downslump and was changing musical direction, and recording country songs. The last track on that album was a version of "Night Train to Memphis": [Excerpt: Rick Nelson, "Night Train to Memphis"] Now, I've never seen either Boyce or Hart ever mention even hearing that song, it's pure speculation on my part that there's any connection there at all, but I thought the similarity worth mentioning. The idea of the lyric, though, was to make a very mild statement about the Vietnam War. Clarksville was, as mentioned earlier, the site of Fort Campbell, a military training base, and they crafted a story about a young soldier being shipped off to war, calling his girlfriend to come and see him for one last night. This is left more-or-less ambiguous -- this was a song being written for a TV show intended for children, after all -- but it's still very clear on the line "and I don't know if I'm ever coming home". Now, Boyce and Hart were songwriters first and foremost, and as producers they were quite hands-off and would let the musicians shape the arrangements. They knew they wanted a guitar riff in the style of the Beatles' recent singles, and Louie Shelton came up with one based around the G7 chord that forms the basis of the song, starting with an octave leap: Shelton's riff became the hook that drove the record, and engineer Dave Hassinger added the final touch, manually raising the volume on the hi-hat mic for a fraction of a second every bar, creating a drum sound like a hissing steam brake: [Excerpt: The Monkees, "Last Train to Clarksville"] Now all that was needed was to get the lead vocals down. But Micky Dolenz was tired, and hungry, and overworked -- both Dolenz and Jones in their separate autobiographies talk about how it was normal for them to only get three hours' sleep a night between working twelve hour days filming the series, three-hour recording sessions, and publicity commitments. He got the verses down fine, but he just couldn't sing the middle eight. Boyce and Hart had written a complicated, multisyllabic, patter bridge, and he just couldn't get his tongue around that many syllables when he was that tired. He eventually asked if he could just sing "do do do" instead of the words, and the producers agreed. Surprisingly, it worked: [Excerpt: The Monkees, "Last Train to Clarksville"] "Last Train to Clarksville" was released in advance of the TV series, on a new label, Colgems, set up especially for the Monkees to replace Colpix, with a better distribution deal, and it went to number one. The TV show started out with mediocre ratings, but soon that too became a hit. And so did the first album released from the TV series. And that album was where some of the problems really started. The album itself was fine -- ten tracks produced by Boyce and Hart with the Candy Store Prophets playing and either Micky or Davy singing, mostly songs Boyce and Hart wrote, with a couple of numbers by Goffin and King and other Kirshner staff songwriters, plus two songs produced by Nesmith with the Wrecking Crew, and with token participation from Tork and Dolenz. The problem was the back cover, which gave little potted descriptions of each of them, with their height, eye colour, and so on. And under three of them it said "plays guitar and sings", while under Dolenz it said "plays drums and sings". Now this was technically accurate -- they all did play those instruments. They just didn't play them on the record, which was clearly the impression the cover was intended to give. Nesmith in particular was incandescent. He believed that people watching the TV show understood that the group weren't really performing that music, any more than Adam West was really fighting crime or William Shatner travelling through space. But crediting them on the record was, he felt, crossing a line into something close to con artistry. To make matters worse, success was bringing more people trying to have a say. Where before, the Monkees had been an irrelevance, left to a couple of B-list producer-songwriters on the West Coast, now they were a guaranteed hit factory, and every songwriter working for Kirshner wanted to write and produce for them -- which made sense because of the sheer quantity of material they needed for the TV show, but it made for a bigger, less democratic, organisation -- one in which Kirshner was suddenly in far more control. Suddenly as well as Boyce and Hart with the Candy Store Prophets and Nesmith with the Wrecking Crew, both of whom had been operating without much oversight from Kirshner, there were a bunch of tracks being cut on the East Coast by songwriting and production teams like Goffin and King, and Neil Sedaka and Carole Bayer. On the second Monkees album, released only a few months after the first, there were nine producers credited -- as well as Boyce, Hart, Jack Keller, and Nesmith, there were now also Goffin, King, Sedaka, Bayer, and Jeff Barry, who as well as cutting tracks on the east coast was also flying over to the West Coast, cutting more tracks with the Wrecking Crew, and producing vocal sessions while there. As well as producing songs he'd written himself, Barry was also supervising songs written by other people. One of those was a new songwriter he'd recently discovered and been co-producing for Bang Records, Neil Diamond, who had just had a big hit of his own with "Cherry Cherry": [Excerpt: Neil Diamond, "Cherry Cherry"] Diamond was signed with Screen Gems, and had written a song which Barry thought would be perfect for the Monkees, an uptempo song called "I'm a Believer", which he'd demoed with the regular Bang musicians -- top East Coast session players like Al Gorgoni, the guitarist who'd played on "The Sound of Silence": [Excerpt: Neil Diamond, "I'm a Believer"] Barry had cut a backing track for the Monkees using those same musicians, including Diamond on acoustic guitar, and brought it over to LA. And that track would indirectly lead to the first big crisis for the group. Barry, unlike Boyce and Hart, was interested in working with the whole group, and played all of them the backing track. Nesmith's reaction was a blunt "I'm a producer too, and that ain't no hit". He liked the song -- he wanted to have a go at producing a track on it himself, as it happened -- but he didn't think the backing track worked. Barry, trying to lighten the mood, joked that it wasn't finished and you needed to imagine it with strings and horns. Unfortunately, Nesmith didn't get that he was joking, and started talking about how that might indeed make a difference -- at which point everyone laughed and Nesmith took it badly -- his relationship with Barry quickly soured. Nesmith was getting increasingly dissatisfied with the way his songs and his productions were being sidelined, and was generally getting unhappy, and Tork was wanting more musical input too. They'd been talking with Rafelson and Schneider, who'd agreed that the group were now good enough on their instruments that they could start recording some tracks by themselves, an idea which Kirshner loathed. But for now they were recording Neil Diamond's song to Jeff Barry's backing track. Given that Nesmith liked the song, and given that he had some slight vocal resemblance to Diamond, the group suggested that Nesmith be given the lead vocal, and Kirshner and Barry agreed, although Kirshner at least apparently always intended for Dolenz to sing lead, and was just trying to pacify Nesmith. In the studio, Kirshner kept criticising Nesmith's vocal, and telling him he was doing it wrong, until eventually he stormed out, and Kirshner got what he wanted -- another Monkees hit with Micky Dolenz on lead, though this time it did at least have Jones and Tork on backing vocals: [Excerpt: The Monkees, "I'm a Believer"] That was released on November 23rd, 1966, as their second single, and became their second number one. And in January 1967, the group's second album, More of the Monkees, was released. That too went to number one. There was only one problem. The group weren't even told about the album coming out beforehand -- they had to buy their own copies from a record shop to even see what tracks were on it. Nesmith had his two tracks, but even Boyce and Hart were only given two, with the rest of the album being made up of tracks from the Brill Building songwriters Kirshner preferred. Lots of great Nesmith and Boyce and Hart tracks were left off the album in favour of some astonishingly weak material, including the two worst tracks the group ever recorded, "The Day We Fall in Love" and "Laugh", and a novelty song they found embarrassing, "Your Auntie Grizelda", included to give Tork a vocal spot. Nesmith called it "probably the worst album in the history of the world", though in truth seven of the twelve tracks are really very strong, though some of the other material is pretty poor. The group were also annoyed by the packaging. The liner notes were by Don Kirshner, and read to the group at least like a celebration of Kirshner himself as the one person responsible for everything on the record. Even the photo was an embarrassment -- the group had taken a series of photos in clothes from the department store J. C. Penney as part of an advertising campaign, and the group thought the clothes were ridiculous, but one of those photos was the one chosen for the cover. Nesmith and Tork made a decision, which the other two agreed to with varying degrees of willingness. They'd been fine miming to other people's records when it was clearly just for a TV show. But if they were being promoted as a real band, and having to go on tour promoting albums credited to them, they were going to *be* a real band, and take some responsibility for the music that was being put out in their name.  With the support of Rafelson and Schneider, they started making preparations to do just that. But Don Kirshner had other ideas, and told them so in no uncertain terms. As far as he was concerned, they were a bunch of ungrateful, spoiled, kids who were very happy cashing the ridiculously large cheques they were getting, but now wanted to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. They were going to keep doing what they were told. Things came to a head in a business meeting in January 1967, when Nesmith gave an ultimatum. Either the group got to start playing on their own records, or he was quitting. Herb Moelis, Kirshner's lawyer, told Nesmith that he should read his contract more carefully, at which point Nesmith got up, punched a hole in the wall of the hotel suite they were in, and told Moelis "That could have been your face". So as 1967 began, the group were at a turning point. Would they be able to cut the puppet strings, or would they have to keep living a lie? We'll find out in a few weeks' time...

Chi pratica la meditazione spesso si chiede come ci si può difendere dagli influssi negativi, da forme di violenza e aggressività che arrivano dall'esterno. La domanda è complessa, e la risposta del Buddha è piuttosto articolata, muovendo da un livello convenzionale, ad uno intermedio fino ad uno sopramondano A livello convenzionale, in cui consideriamo esistente la differenza tra "noi" e "gli altri", il Buddha consiglia di evitare chi non pratica il Dhamma, favorendo il contatto di chi invece lo fa. “Non frequentare gli stolti, ma vivere in compagnia dei saggi e onorare coloro che ne sono degni. Questa è la più grande felicità. Mangala Sutta, Snp 2.4 A livello sopramondano possiamo esplorare e conoscere il vuoto, vuoto da un senso di sé, per cui vediamo che non c'è differenza alcuna tra noi e gli altri, e addirittura che non c'è nulla che si possa realmente definire sé o altro. E' il livello che ci permette di rimanere stabili di fronte a qualsiasi sollecitudine esterna. Ma prima di arrivare a questo livello si potrà praticare come suggerisce il Buddha stesso in uno dei sutta più affascinanti, il sedaka sutta: La parabola degli acrobati (Sedaka Sutta, Samyutta Nikaya, Satipatthanasamyutta 47.19) Una volta il Beato dimorava tra i Sumbha in una città chiamata Sedaka. Lì il Beato si rivolse ai monaci, dicendo: C'era una volta un acrobata che dopo aver fissato a terra il suo palo di bambù disse alla sua asssistente Medakathalika: “Vieni, cara Medakathalika, arrampicati sul palo di bambù e sali sulle mie spalle”. “Sì maestro”, rispose Medakathalika e arrampicatasi sul palo montò sulle spalle del maestro. L'acrobata disse poi: “Tu bada a me Medakathalika, e io baderò a te. Proteggendoci a vicenda, dimostreremo le nostre abilità, guadagneremo qualcosa e scenderemo sani e salvi dal palo”. L'apprendista rispose. “Non è questo il modo migliore, maestro. Tu bada a te stesso, e io baderò a me. Così, se ciascuno protegge se stesso e bada a se stesso, dimostreremo le nostre abilità, guadagneremo qualcosa e scenderemo sani e salvi dal palo”.E' così che si fa, osservò il Beato, come dice l'apprendista. “Proteggerò me stesso”, con questa motivazione bisognerebbe praticare la meditazione di consapevolezza, satipatthana. “Proteggerò gli altri”, con questa motivazione bisognerebbe praticare satipatthana. Prendendoti cura di te stesso, ti prendi cura degli altri; prendendoti cura degli altri ti prendi cura di te stesso. E in che modo, monaci, si proteggono gli altri proteggendo se stessi? Con la pratica, lo sviluppo e la dedizione alla presenza mentale. E in che modo, monaci, si protegge se stessi proteggendo gli altri? Con la pazienza (khanti) la non violenza (avihimsa) la benevolenza amicizia (metta) e l'empatia (anuddayata)”.Sedaka Sutta, SN 47.19, Traduzione di Letizia Baglioni Buon ascolto! Referenze Riflessioni sugli influssi negativi registrate nel gruppo di meditazione dell'Associazione Kalyanamitta il giorno 11 febbraio 2022. Foto di copertina di Slamet Pujiono.

In this episode we interviewed Meytal Sedaka, Head of Product, and Ron Angel, VP of Marketing at Inception XR, an immersive content platform producing mixed reality literary experiences. Their flagship product, Bookful, pioneers a new literary category, where books come alive through the use of augmented reality. More from the Sights on EdTech interview series on: https://medium.com/sights-on-edtech Hosted by: Luigi Morino.

#659 - Neil Sedaka The Neil Sedaka Interview is featured on The Paul Leslie Hour. Neil Sedaka is one of the most well-known and enduring people in American music, and for that matter the world. Sedaka is a singer, songwriter and record producer. Neil is known for his many hit songs. On this episode, Neil Sedaka has a chat with Paul Leslie about the art of songwriting and his popular songs. You know many of Neil Sedaka's songs: “Oh! Carol,” “Calendar Girl,” “Breaking Up is Hard to Do,” “Laughter in the Rain,” “Love Will Keep Us Together,” and so many others. To say Neil Sedaka is a genius is an understatement. Did you know The Paul Leslie Hour is made possible by viewers and listeners like you? That's right. If you'd like to help us in our mission of helping people tell their stories, just go to http://www.thepaulleslie.com/support Thank you to everyone who is contributing. And now, it's time to enjoy Paul's short, but lovely interview with Neil Sedaka. Right here on The Paul Leslie Hour. The Paul Leslie Hour is a talk show dedicated to “Helping People Tell Their Stories.” Some of the most iconic people of all time drop in to chat. Frequent topics include Arts, Entertainment and Culture.

One of the categories of Mukse is Keli She'm'lachto L'isur-a utensil whose primary function is prohibited on Shabbat. The Hachamim permitted moving such an item only L'sorech Gufo-for another permitted function or L'sorech M'komo-for its place. One example of Keli She'm'lachto L'isur is a sewing needle, as its primary purpose is for sewing which is prohibited. It would be permitted to use it to remove a splinter, L'Sorech Gufo. The same applies to knitting needles. The Poskim define rulers and scales, as Kelim She'm'lachtam L'isur, since it is prohibited to measure on Shabbat. This applies to non-digital scales as well. It is only permitted to use a food scale for the purpose of a Misva, such as measuring Masa or Maror for the Misva on Pesah. Other examples include: calculators, radios and flashlights. Accordingly, if someone wanted to move his clock radio to see the time, it would be permitted, as that would constitute L'sorech Gufo, as long as he is careful not to pull out the plug. He would also be permitted to move the clock radio from the dresser, L'sorech M'komo, in order to make space for something else that he wants to put there. A car is Keli She'm'lachto L'isur. If someone forgot food in the car before Shabbat, he may open the door or trunk to remove the food. This is considered L'sorech M'komo, since the closed door is blocking access to the food, it may be moved out of the way. Of course, this leniency applies only to rare cases in which opening the car door or trunk does not activate any lights or electric circuits. Also, there is no rationale to permit directly closing the door after removing the needed items.Clothes that were left in a closed electric dryer before Shabbat may be removed on Shabbat, assuming that opening the dryer door does not activate lights or electric circuits. Like the car, the leniency is because the door is a Keli She'm'lachto L'isur and opening the door is L'sorech M'komo. It would not be permitted to directly close the door after removing the clothes. Electric fans and electric blankets are Kelim She'm'lachtam L'isur, and may be used as long as they were plugged in before Shabbat. Of course, the dial or button may not be adjusted. It is permitted to move the fan to bring the flow of air closer, since that is considered L'sorech Gufo. Likewise, the fan may be moved so that the flow of air blows away from him, since that is considered L'sorech M'komo. Percolators, crockpots and coffee makers are classified as Keli She'm'lachto L'isur. If they have water inside of them, it is permissible to move them as needed. If not, they may be moved only L'sorech Gufo and L'sorech M'komo, e.g. remove them from the counter if their space is needed.Other examples of Keli She'm'lachto L'isur include:• extensions cords • adapters• scissors• Shabbat timers• nail clippers• fly swatters• regular pens (as opposed to special artist pens or quills which would have a stricter classification.• hole punchers, staplers• umbrellas• hair brush and comb• gardening tools such as hoes, rakes and sprinklersWallets- There is a Machloket (disagreement) between Ashkenazim and Sepharadim regarding wallets. When it has money in it, it is clearly Mukse as a Ba'sees (base) and may not be moved at all. However, if there was no money in the wallet, Ashkenazim are strict since it is designated for money. However, Maran in 310:7 rules that it is permissible. Similarly, an empty Sedaka pouch or an empty case of a musical instrument is also not Mukse.Toothbrush- According to the Poskim that brushing teeth with toothpaste is prohibited, a toothbrush is a Keli She'm'lachto L'isur. Hacham Ovadia has a famous ruling to permit the use of toothpaste on Shabbat, in which case the toothbrush is not considered Mukse at all.

The Torah commands in Parashat Mishpatim (Shemot 23:3), “Ve'dal Lo Tehedar Be'ribo” – it is forbidden for a judge to favor a poor man who is standing trial before him. This command is repeated in the Book of Vayikra (19:15), where the Torah states, “Lo Tisa Peneh Dal.” Targum Onkelos translates the word “Tehedar” to mean “Terahem” – “have compassion.” As the Sefer Ha'hinuch cites from the Sifreh, this means that a judge might figure that since the Misva of charity obligates all people, including him and the other litigant, to assist the needy litigant, he should rule in his favor. Even if the other litigant is actually correct, the judge might think that he fulfills the Misva of charity by ruling in favor of the needy litigant. The Torah therefore commands the judges to decide the case objectively, even if this means ruling against the pauper and thereby exacerbating his financial hardship. Rashi interprets the word “Tehedar” differently, to mean that the judges should not show the poor litigant special honor. Out of compassion for the pauper, the judge might speak to him in a kinder, more respectful manner than the way he speaks to the other litigant. The Torah forbids doing so because judges must treat both litigants equally, in order to ensure fairness and impartiality in the courtroom. A judge who shows favoritism to a needy litigant has violated this command, though he does not receive Malkut because this law is transgressed verbally, without performing an action (“Lav She'en Bo Ma'aseh”). The verse in the Book of Shemuel II (8:15) says about King David, “Va'yehi David Oseh Mishpat U'sdaka Le'chol Amo” – he served as a judge for the people, in the capacity of which he performed “Mishpat” (justice) and “Sedaka” (kindness). The Gemara raises the question of how David could perform both “Mishpat” and “Sedaka.” These two are, in a sense, opposites, as “Mishpat” refers to strict justice, and “Sedaka” means extending kindness beyond that which is deserved. Several answers are given to explain this verse. One view is that this refers to “Peshara” – compromise. David achieved both “Mishpat” and “Sedaka” by working with the litigants to arrive at a mutually acceptable compromise, thereby blending justice with kindness. Others explain that when the defendant was poor, and David ruled in favor of the plaintiff, David would pay the plaintiff out of his own pocket in order to assist the pauper. This way, he performed “Mishpat” by giving the correct ruling, but also performed “Sedaka” by paying the plaintiff in order to assist the underprivileged defendant. Yet a third explanation is that if the defendant indeed owes the plaintiff money, then it is in his best interest for the court to rule against him, so he will not bear the guilt of keeping money which does not rightfully belong to him. Thus, when David ruled in favor of the plaintiff, he performed both “Mishpat” and “Sedaka” – he issued the correct ruling, and also helped the defendant by ensuring that he would not keep with him somebody else's money unlawfully.

On Ereb Succot, the Misva of the day is to dispense Sedaka to the poor. The custom of the Arizal (Rav Yishak Luria of Safed, 1534-1572) was to separate the coins for the Pidyon Nefesh on Ereb Rosh Hashana, perform the Pidyon on Ereb Yom Kippur and distribute the money to needy Talmideh Hachamim on Ereb Succot. It should be noted that the Sedaka should be distributed in honor of the Ushpizin (the seven supernal guests). This is based on the teaching of the Zohar that the seven Ushpizin only come to a person's Succah if he also hosts poor people at his table. The commentaries explain that this also includes providing for the holiday needs of the needy before Hag. If a person didn't give charity before Succot, the Ushpizin don't want to come to the Succah of a selfish person. The Gaon of Vilna (Rav Eliyahu of Vilna, 1720-1797) revealed a Remez (an allusion) to this practice in the Torah. The Succah is a commemoration of the "Ananeh HaKavod" (Clouds of Glory) which surrounded and protected the Jewish people when they left Egypt and travelled in the desert. The question is why we celebrate Succot in Tishri, when the miracle actually occurred upon leaving Egypt in Nisan. The Gaon explains that these clouds were taken away when the Jews sinned with the Golden Calf. Without them, they became exposed and vulnerable to enemies and the elements. Even after Moshe Rabbenu achieved forgiveness for the Jews on the tenth day of Tishri, Yom Kippur, the clouds did not return. After Yom Kippur, Moshe instructed the Jews to donate for the building of the Mishkan as atonement for their sin. During those three days, the Jews donated enthusiastically until on the fourth day, the fourteenth of Tishri, Ereb Succot, Moshe told them that they had already contributed more than enough, and everything was in place to begin building. In the merit of their wholehearted participation in the campaign, Hashem fully forgave them and returned the clouds of glory on the fifteenth of Tishri, the holiday of Succot. Thus, we celebrate Succot, not in Nisan to commemorate the original clouds, but in Tishri, on the very day that the Clouds of glory were returned, signifying Hashem's love and the restoration of our previous grandeur after the sin. This is also the allusion to the Misva of giving large sums of Sedaka on Ereb Succot, echoing the generosity shown by the Jews in donating to building the Mishkan.This idea that the Succah symbolizes the restoration of Hashem's original endearment is also alluded to in the Yom Tob prayer "Ata Vehartanu." "Ata Vehartanu MiKol Ha'amim" (You chose us from all the nations) refers to the Jews' status when leaving Egypt. "Ahabta Otanu" (You loved us) refers to our relationship when receiving Torah. "Verasita Banu" (You desired us) refers to Hashem's renewed love after rectifying the sin of the Golden Calf.On Succot Hashem invites us once again to enter his Clouds of Glory, in the merit of the Teshuba of Yom Kippur and the Sedaka before Succot.SUMMARYIt is an important Misva to distribute Sedaka to needy Talmideh Hachamim on Ereb Succot. This should be done in honor of the Ushpizin.

We have been discussing loving your fellow man. In the Sefer Darchei Mussar, by Rabbi Neiman, on Parashat Re'eh , he quotes the Elder of Kelm, who says, regarding Sedaka , that if you give Sedaka but don't feel like it hurts you that the man is suffering, and only do it because you are a God fearing man and want to fulfill the Mitzvah, that is not considered Sedaka B'Shelemut - a complete Mitzvah. The goal and focus of Sedaka is when you reach the level that you forget it's a Mitzvah. You give Sedaka because your friend is hungry, and so you feel like you yourself are hungry, and therefore you give him. That's what Veahavta LeRe'echa Kamocha Love your friend like you love yourself means. He says that we don't eat because it's a Mitzvah to eat. He says that we eat because we are hungry. Veahavta LeRe'echa Kamocha means love your friend just like you love yourself. No one loves themselves because it's a Mitzvah to love yourself. That would be strange. Hashem put into you, a natural love for yourself. If you were in a building, lo Alenu , and there was a stampede, you wouldn't run out because it's a Mitzvah, you run out because it's a natural instinct to save yourself. When someone else is in trouble, you supposed to save or help them because of that natural instinct, thinking, How can I sit by and watch while he is suffering? So right now, we seemingly have two different approaches (or a machloket/conflict ) to this Mitzvah. We learned one opinion yesterday, from the Chafetz Chaim, and from the Sefer HaBrit, that we have to love our friends like we love ourselves because Ani Hashem '- because Hashem commanded us- not just because we want to be nice. We learned that we shouldn't just give somebody a ride because it's a nice thing to do, we should have in mind that it's a Mitzvah. But, on the other hand, now we are hearing that we should love our friends like we love ourselves, as a natural instinct and tendency, and not for any religious purpose. A rabbi once visited another, sick Rabbi, and was treating him very nicely. The sick Rabbi told the visitor, “ I don't want to be you're etrog.” He felt like he had become a Mitzvah item- a sick man there for the Mitzvah of bikur holim. He felt like the visit or shouldn't just do it for the Mitzvah, he should be doing it out of love. So what is the answer? We will continue tomorrow B'ezrat Hashem.

Sarah Callori is a tough act to follow, but Clinton Reese joins Carmela this week to see if he can make the connections and come back again next week! Here are today's clues: 1. Sidekick, Check, Deck Officer, Procreate. 2. Pressure, Orange, Sausage, Sedaka and Swift Song. 3. Jack, Number, Tag, Smart. 4. Branch, Long, 70s Band Who Were Renamed "New Order", Forms of Multiplexing.

Yesterday, June 4th 2021, I uploaded a celebration of Neil Sedaka and his music. Sadly, one group of Sedaka fans claimed Neil "would never" use the language I said he had during an interview with me when he dismissed any comparison between himself and Barry Manilow. I do not like being accused of telling lies about interviews or interviewees so for the record - and much as this will upset fans of Manilow - here is the actual quote from Neil and oh yeah his admittance that he tried "reefers" in the 60s. Now don't go saying he didn't say that! 

This is a personal appreciation of the music of Neil Sedaka. It's a radio show broadcast I did in 1997, having interviewed Sedaka twice and whose music I have loved since I was a child. He hated being compared to Barry Manilow and di say "I have balls, I have soul, I have substance, Barry Manilow doesn't." Oops!

Shel Silverstein - Boy Named Sue (1969)  Silverstein introduced it to Johnny Cash at what they used to call a "guitar pull," where musicians would pass a guitar around and play their songs. He was the main songwriter for Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, and he wrote "The Giving Tree".  Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds - Ain't No Woman Like The One I Got (1972) From Discogs: Hallway Symphony was the second studio album of the band Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds, released in 1972. It was their final album for the Dunhill label. That same year, Tommy Reynolds quit the group to form a band called Shango; different session musicians took his place in their touring and recording before Alan Dennison replaced him permanently a year later (but the band kept their original name of "Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds"). In 1973, the band was dropped from Dunhill due to lack of chart success, but they continued touring and performing live in Las Vegas and various colleges, thanks to the continuing radio play of their huge hit "Don't Pull Your Love." The guys who wrote this also smeared their scent on AM radio thusly: "One Tin Soldier" (1971) The Original Caste, (1973) Coven "Don't Pull Your Love" (1971), Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds "Two Divided by Love" (1971), The Grass Roots "Are You Man Enough" (1973), Four Tops (From Shaft in Africa) "Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.)" (1975), Glen Campbell "It Only Takes a Minute" (1975), Tavares "Nightshift" (1985), Commodores "We Built This City" (1985), Starship Yes, do tell your friends that they recorded "Falling In Love" on Playboy Records, the only #1 for that label.  Peter, Paul, and Mary - And When I Die (1966)    Family Dogg - Arizona (1969) This would be a big solo hit for Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders, who I like. The fellow who wrote this, Kenny Young, also wrote "Under The Boardwalk" by The Drifters.  Johnny Madara & the Juvenaires  - Do The Bop (1957) When Danny & the Juniors were still called The Juvenairs. Initially called "Do the Bop", the song was heard by Dick Clark, who suggested they change the band name to the Juniors and the chorus from "Let's all do the Bop" to "Let's go to the Hop". After performing the song on Clark's show American Bandstand, it gained popularity and went to the top of the US charts, remaining at number one for five weeks. Connie Stevens - Keep Growing Strong (Betcha By Golly Wow) (1970) You couldn't watch TV without seeing Connie Stevens in the '70s. It's strange that such a scattershot discography (she recorded mostly in the early '60s) should feature such a great song. In fact, I don't see mention of it at all on her website, which, I'm sure was last updated years ago. Her daughter Joely was on Ellen (the show, not the woman) and keeps plugging away. Like you and me.  Johnny Rivers - By The Time I Get to Phoenix (1965)  Petula Clark - Call Me (1965)  David Martin - Can't Smile Without You (1975) Gator Creek - Danny’s Song (1970) Anne Murray turned this into a hit a few years later. This song was written by the fella that sang "Footloose" and duetted with Stevie Nicks on "Whenever I Call You Friend". Gator Creek included Michael Omartian, who went on to produce Christopher Cross, Whitney Houston, and Michael Bolton. So...thanks?  PJ Proby - Delilah (1967)  Shorty Long - Devil With The Blue Dress On (1964) From that Wikipedia: Long's biggest hit was "Here Comes the Judge" which in July 1968 reached No. 4 on the R&B charts and No. 8 eight on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was inspired by a comic act on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In about a judge by Pigmeat Markham, whose own "Here Comes the Judge" – a similar song with different lyrics – charted three weeks after Long's, also in July 1968, and reached No. 19 on Billboard. Long was the only Motown artist besides Smokey Robinson who was allowed to produce his own recordings in the 1960s. Marvin Gaye, in David Ritz's biography Divided Soul: The Life & Times of Marvin Gaye, described Shorty Long as "this beautiful cat who had two hits, and then got ignored by Motown." Gaye claimed he "fought for guys like Shorty" while at Motown, since no one ever pushed for these artists. When Holland-Dozier-Holland came to Gaye with a tune, he stated, "Why are you going to produce me? Why don't you produce Shorty Long?" On June 29, 1969, Long and a friend drowned when their boat crashed on the Detroit River in Michigan. Stevie Wonder played the harmonica at his burial and placed it on his casket afterward.  Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In inspired many, many records. One by Freddie Cannon. It's shit. Most of them are.  The Greenbriar Boys - Different Drum (1966) Great song? Meh. Rhymes "knock it" with "market".  Larry Williams - Dizzy Miss Lizzy (1958) The Exciters - Doo Wah Diddy (1963) Best known for their hit single, "Tell Him" which reached #4 on the US charts in February 1963. Thelma Houston - Do You Know Where You're Going To (1973)  This was made into a monster hit as "Love Theme From 'Mahogany'" by Diana Ross in 1975. I guess anything can be a "love theme".    These are the lyrics to the version everyone knows:   Once we were standing still in time,Chasing the fantasies that filled our minds.And you knew how I loved you but my spirit was free,Laughing at the questions that you once asked of me..... Now looking back at all we planned,We let so many dreams just slip through our hands.Why must we wait so long before we seeHow sad the answers to those questions can be?   And here are the previous, somewhat inscrutable lyrics sung by Thelma Houston:    Sometimes, while standing still in time,You think you leave the thoughts that filled your minds.Now we've both been to Stoney Brook, just hanging out, We've had a look and seen what nothing's about..... Now, what am I to say to you?What kind of prayer am I to pray for you?I can only do my best and tell ya what I see,And if you see the rest, please send it to me...   The Moments  - We Don't Cry Out Loud (1976)  Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes - Don't Leave Me This Way (1975) This was made into a monster hit by Thelma Houston in 1976. No matter which version you listen to, if that chorus doesn't make you move and smile, I can't help you.  The Raindrops - Hanky Panky (1963) The Raindrops were an American pop studio group from New York, associated with the Brill Building style of 1960s pop. The group existed from 1963 to 1965 and consisted of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry who were also both famous songwriters.  The Dells - Higher and Higher (1967)  Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - I Heard It Thru The Grapevine (1966)  The Captain and Tennille - I Write The Songs (1975) Helen Shapiro - It’s My Party (1963)  Richard Kerr - I’ll Never Love This Way Again (1978) Richard Kerr is an English composer, who co-wrote "Mandy", "Looks Like We Made It" and "Somewhere in the Night" (all of which became hit singles for Barry Manilow) and "I'll Never Love This Way Again", for Dionne Warwick. Paul Revere and the Raiders - (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone (1966) Fans consider this the apex of the Revere canon, but I prefer the crazy, desperate intensity of Collage. Still, good, beat-heavy set anchored by "Kicks" and this.    Gene Cotton - Let Your Love Flow (1975)  Neil Sedaka - Love Will Keep Us Together (1973) The original version is pretty good, with some of the electric and unique magic of the Captain and Tennile version that dominated the charts in 1975. I know POACA will not agree, but if you could disassociate the treacly image of these married session players and their TV show, it was an incredible song. And this version was recorded at Strawberry Studios in collaboration with Graham Gouldman, Lol Creme, Kevin Godley, and Eric Stewart, who had formed the band 10cc since their first joint venture with Sedaka on Solitaire. "...in association with 10C.C." Roger Miller - Me and Bobby McGee (1969)  Racey - Kitty (1979)  The Ever-Green Blues - Midnight Confessions (1967) The Brothers Four - Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)   

A woman can become a Nidda not only when experiencing an ordinary flow of menstrual blood, but also – under certain circumstances – when she sees a Ketem (stain) on her body or garments. The Sages enacted that even if the woman does not feel any bleeding, a stain which she sees could render her a Nidda and thus forbidden for her husband, depending on several conditions, including the stain’s color and size.This Halacha is subject to a very important leniency, namely, that a stain can render a woman a Nidda only if it discovered on a white garment. If the stain was seen on a colored garment, we do not consider it menstrual blood, and thus the woman remains Tehora (ritually pure, and thus permissible). For this reason, women are advised upon leaving the Mikveh to always wear colored undergarments. During the seven "clean days" before immersion, a woman is to wear white undergarments, but after immersing, it is advisable for her to wear specifically colored garments. This way, she does not have to be concerned about any stains that are discovered, since they are found on a colored garment.Hacham Ovadia Yosef, in his Taharat Ha’bayit (vol. 2, p. 388; listen to audio recording for precise citation), cites some Halachic authorities who maintain that this leniency does not apply during the first three days of the seven "clean days." According to this view, we apply a stricter standard during these days, when the woman begins to ascertain the complete cessation of menstrual bleeding, and therefore even stains discovered on colored garments are considered menstrual blood (again, depending on their size and color, and other factors). Therefore, in the view of these Poskim, if a woman, for whatever reason, wears colored undergarments at some point during the first three days, she must have stains checked even if they are seen on colored garments. This is relevant to situations where a woman forgot to wear white undergarments, or in cases where the Rabbis permit wearing colored garments during the seven "clean days" due to certain extenuating circumstances. Hacham Ovadia cites this ruling in the name of several authorities, including the Abneh Paz, the Shaareh De’a, the Nehar Afarsemon, the Zichron Yehuda, and the Pit’heh Teshuba citing the Amudeh Kesef. However, as Hacham Ovadia proceeds to show, other authorities disagreed with this ruling. These include the Arugat Ha’bosem and the Me’il Sedaka. These Poskim maintain that since the entire Halacha concerning stains was enacted by the Rabbis, and does not apply on the level of Torah law, there is room to be lenient when a stain is found on a colored garment, regardless of when this occurs.After a lengthy discussion on the topic, Hacham Ovadia concludes (on p. 390) that one may follow the lenient position. Therefore, a stain found on a colored garment may be disregarded, even if this occurs toward the beginning of a woman’s seven "clean days."Summary: Under certain circumstances, a stain discovered on a woman’s undergarment renders her a Nidda. However, if the stain is discovered on a colored garment, it may be ignored. Even if a woman happens to wear colored garments during the seven "clean days" (when she is supposed to wear white undergarments), she may disregard a stain found on the colored garment.

King David proclaims in Tehillim (17:15), "Ani Be’sedek Eheze Fanecha" – "I shall behold Your countenance in righteousness." The Gemara in Masechet Baba Batra (10) explains this verse as revealing a fundamental precept relevant to Sedaka (charity) – that whoever involves himself in charity earns the privilege of beholding the Divine Presence. King David here teaches us that "Be’sedek," through the great merit of Sedaka, "Eheze Fanecha" – one is rewarded with the privilege of beholding a revelation of Hashem.This concept is seen in other sources, as well. Parashat Vayera begins by telling us that Hashem revealed Himself to Abraham Abinu: "Vayera Elav Hashem." The Sages explain that G-d came to Abraham to perform "Bikur Holim" (visiting the sick), as Abraham was recovering from the painful procedure of circumcision. Of course, Hashem does not visit every ailing righteous person. Why, then, did He appear to Abraham Abinu at this time? The answer is provided in the continuation of the verse, which tells us that Abraham was sitting outside his tent, in the heat of the day, looking for wayfarers in need of hospitality. As Abraham made a special effort to involve himself in Hesed (kindness), he was worthy of beholding a revelation of G-d.This can be seen also in the Misva of Aliya Le’regel, which requires making a pilgrimage to the Bet Ha’mikdash every Pesah, Shabuot and Sukkot with special sacrifices. The Torah commands that on these three occasions, "Year’eh Kol Zechurcha" ("all your males shall be seen" by G-d), and the Gemara interprets the word "Yera’eh" to mean not only that we are seen by Hashem on these occasions, but also that we see Him. (The word "Yera’eh" can be read as "Yir’eh" – "will see.") However, the Torah adds, "Lo Yera’u Fanai Rekam" – we cannot come to the Bet Ha’mikdash on the festivals "emptyhanded." In order to behold the Shechina (Divine Presence), we must offer sacrifices. We earn the great privilege of seeing G-d’s presence only by giving. For this reason, the Arizal (Rav Yishak Luria of Safed, 1534-1572) taught that nowadays, when we do not have the Bet Ha’mikdash, we must give charity before every Yom Tob. Just as we needed to bring sacrifices in the Bet Ha’mikdash to behold the Shechina on the holidays, nowadays we must give charity in order to have this special privilege.The Ba’al Shem Tob (1698-1760) taught that the Shechina descends upon a person when he gives charity because the Divine Name is symbolically formed through the act of giving. The small coin, or bill, which one gives represents the first letter of Hashem’s Name, the letter "Yod." One takes the coin or bill in his hand, which has five fingers, and thus corresponds to the letter "Heh" (which has the numerical value of 5). The outstretched arm as one gives the money represents the tall, straight letter "Vav," and the needy person’s hand which receives the charity symbolizes the final letter "Heh," thus spelling the Name of "Havaya" ("Yod"-"Heh"-"Vav"-"Heh"’). Therefore, by giving charity, we bring Hashem’s presence.In light of this teaching, the Kabbalists instruct that if one is placing Sedaka money in a charity box, instead of giving it directly to a needy individual, he should first transfer the money from one hand to the other. If one is placing the money into a box, there is no final "Heh," as the recipient does not receive the money directly from the donor. Therefore, in order to form the final letter, one should move the money from one hand to the other and then place it in a box. This practice is alluded to in the verse which commands giving charity, "Naton Titen" ("you shall surely give" – Debarim 15:10). The phrase "Naton Titen" alludes to two acts of giving – moving the charity money from hand to the next, and then placing it in the Sedaka box.Moreover, the Kabbalists teach that in order to create the Name, one must initiate the process of giving. If one waits for the needy individual to come and outstretch his arm, requesting assistance, then the sequence of the letters is distorted. The Name must begin with the letter "Yod," which, as mentioned, corresponds to the money which one gives. Therefore, one must not wait for the person in need to come and ask for help, and should instead approach the poor person and outstretch his arm with the donation, in order to spell the Name the right way. This is alluded to in the aforementioned verse in Tehillim, in which David says, "Ani Be’sedek" – "I, through charity," referring to his initiating the donation of charity. The verse continues, "Esbe’a Be’hakitz Temunatecha" (literally, "I shall be satiated by Your image when I awaken"), which can be understood to mean that if we must be "awakened" by a needy person asking for help, rather than initiating the donation, then we see only "Temunatecha" – a vague image. If we give only after we are approached, then we form the Name, but the letters are jumbled, so we do not behold Hashem clearly. It is only when "Ani Be’sedek," when we initiate the giving of charity, that "Ehezeh Panecha," we see Hashem’s countenance clearly.This verse also teaches us another vitally important concept relevant to charity. The Gemara tells that Rabbi Eliezer would make a point of giving charity before prayer, based on this verse in Tehillim – "Ani Be’sedek Eheze Fanecha," which could be read to mean that David came to "see G-d" in prayer after fulfilling the Misva of charity ("Be’sedek"). The great merit of this special Misva helps ensure the prayer’s acceptance. Indeed, the Pele Yoetz (Rav Eliezer Papo, 1785-1828) writes that synagogues should place a charity box near the entrance so that everyone can give money to charity immediately upon entering. Even if not, one should try to at least set money aside for charity before each prayer, and this will help the prayer achieve the desired result.This concept may be explained in light of the Arizal’s teaching that before one prays, he should declare that he accepts upon himself the Misva of "Ve’ahabta Le’re’acha Kamocha" ("You shall love your fellow as yourself"), and proclaim his love for all his fellow Jews. This has been explained based on a parable of two brothers who lived in different countries, one of whom was very wealthy, and the other underprivileged. One day, the underprivileged brother decided to sell the little he had to fund a trip to his wealthy brother, certain that his brother would generously assist him.After the long, grueling journey, the impoverished man came to his brother’s home and knocked on the door."Who are you?" the brother asked."What do you mean? I’m your brother.""Sorry, I have nothing for you. Good luck." He slammed the door.Sometime later, the wealthy brother went to visit his aging father, whom he had not seen in quite a while. When he arrived, he knocked on the door. The father opened the door and asked, "Who are you?""Who am I?! I’m your son!""If you don’t recognize your brother as your brother," the father said, "then why should I consider you my son? If you’re not his brother, then you’re not my son."If we want a loving relationship with our father, then we need to treat our brothers like our brothers. When we pray, we come to G-d as a child coming before his loving father, asking for what we need. In order to do this, we must first affirm our commitment to fulfill the command of "Ve’ahabta Le’re’acha Kamocha," to regard all our fellow Jews as our brothers – for only then can we come before G-d and say that we are His children.This is why it is important to give charity before prayer, too. By giving charity, we are showing that we care about our fellow Jews like our brothers. And once we have made it clear that they are all our brothers, we can then stand before Hashem and ask Him to care for us like a loving father.

In 1990 Neil Sedaka was due to appear in Ireland, so we did this fifteen-minute phone interview for The Irish Times. As a child I loved some of Sedaka's earliest hits, then, as a teenager, I bought his comeback albums such as Emergence and I noted on a johnny Mathis album my dad owned that Sedaka composed a great song called The Wolrd I Threw Away. And all of this was before his comeback with classic sings such as Solitaire, which was recorded by, among a million other singers, Elvis, in a version Sedka says here he didn't like. We also talk about his music overall and what had been recent gay rumours surrounding the death of his long-time co-writer Howard Greenfield. I am posting this podcast about Sedaka because I see that he is one of the few performers giving free gigs from home during the pandemic. No doubt he is being discovered by many people.

Quanto è difficile aprire il nostro cuore! Vorremo favorire l'apertura del cuore, ma lo sentiamo freddo, silenzioso. È un problema comune a molti praticanti, non deve essere una ragione per aggiungere dolore e fatica ad una vita che è già di per sé dolorosa e faticosa. Proviamo invece a capire come ascoltare il nostro cuore, a conoscerlo meglio, per poter fornire cura a noi e agli altri. Nelle riflessioni ho citato il Sedaka sutta, più noto come la parabola degli acrobati (SN 47.19) Riflessioni registrate nel gruppo di meditazione il 16 ottobre 2020.

On the first day of Rosh Hashana, the Minhag of Aram Soba is to sing a Pizmon upon taking the Torah out of the Aron Kodesh. The song, "Ozreni El Hai," is connected to the Aseret Yemeh Teshuva (Ten Days of Repentance), as Rosh Hashana is the first of these days. On the second day, the song "Raba Sav'ah Lah Nafshi", is sung. There are also other Pizmonim, and one should follow the custom. One should make an effort to view the letters of the Torah from close enough to read the words. This draws a great spiritual light onto the person. Ideally, he should focus on a word that begins with the same letter as his name does. One should bow before the Sefer Torah. Some bow the amount of times as there are Aliyot to the Torah. Therefore, on Yom Tob, they bow five times, on Yom Kippur six times and so on. On the first day, the Torah portion is the passage dealing with the birth of Yishak, because he was conceived on Rosh Hashana. When the Oleh approaches the Torah, he should look at the place from where the reading will begin. Some have the custom to take their Sisit and kiss that spot. This is considered endearment of the Misva. Even if the Oleh is not reading out loud from the Torah, he is required to read quietly with the Ba'al Koreh, in order that his Beracha not be in vein. He is also prohibited from interrupting with talk until after he recites the final Beracha. The custom is not to close the Torah between Olim, just to cover it. On Shabbat it is permissible to add Olim, beyond the standard seven, if there is a good reason to do so. On Yom Tob, the Rambam and Maran rule that one may also add Olim. The custom of the Bet El Mekubalim was never to add Olim, in order to preserve the mystical significance of the original number of Olim. The Ba'al Tokea is customarily called to the Torah. The custom is to sit during the Torah reading, in accordance with the teachings of the Rabbenu HaAri. The duration of Torah reading, as long as the Torah is open, is considered an Et Rahamim (time of mercy), in which prayers are answered. One may offer his prayers in between the Olim. This is why the Olim customarily pledge large sums to Sedaka at that time, and the MiSheberach for the sick and the Ashkava for the deceased is recited. The Oleh should also make a personal request on his own behalf. It goes without saying that talking during Torah reading is strictly prohibited. Moreover, doing so squanders a tremendous opportunity for Yeshuot.

Episode ninety-six of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at "The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva, and how a demo by Carole King's babysitter became one of the biggest hits of the sixties. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.   Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on "Duke of Earl" by Gene Chandler. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ ----more---- Resources As always, I've created a Mixcloud streaming playlist with full versions of all the songs in the episode. There are no biographies of Little Eva, so I've used a variety of sources, including the articles on Little Eva and The Cookies at This Is My Story. The following books were also of some use: A Natural Woman is Carole King's autobiography. Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era by Ken Emerson is a good overview of the whole scene. Girl Groups by John Clemente contains potted biographies of many groups of the era, including articles on both Little Eva and The Cookies. There are no decent CDs of Eva's material readily available, but I can recommend two overlapping compilations. This compilation contains Little Eva's only sixties album in full, along with some tracks by Carole King, the Cookies, and the Ronettes, while Dimension Dolls is a compilation from 1963 that overlaps substantially with that album but contains several tracks not on it.   Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript A quick note before this begins -- there is some mention of domestic violence in this episode. If that's something that might upset you, please check the transcript of the episode at 500songs.com if reading it might be easier than listening. A couple of months back, we talked about Goffin and King, and the early days of the Brill Building sound. Today we're going to take another look at them, and at a singer who recorded some of their best material, both solo and in a group, but who would always be overshadowed by the first single they wrote for her, when she was still working as their childminder. Today, we're going to look at Little Eva and "The Loco-Motion", and the short history of Dimension Records: [Excerpt: Little Eva, "The Loco-Motion"] The story of Little Eva is intertwined with the story of the Cookies, one of the earliest of the girl groups, and so we should probably start with them. We've mentioned the Cookies earlier, in the episode on "What'd I Say", but we didn't look at them in any great detail. The group started out in the mid-fifties, as a group of schoolgirls singing together in New York -- Dorothy Jones, her cousin Beulah Robertson, and a friend, Darlene McRae, who had all been in the choir at their local Baptist Church. They formed a group and made their first appearance at the famous Harlem Apollo talent contests, where they came third, to Joe Tex and a vocal group called the Flairs (not, I think, any of the Flairs groups we've looked at). They were seen at that contest by Jesse Stone, who gave them the name "The Cookies". He signed them to Aladdin Records, and produced and co-wrote their first single, "All-Night Mambo". That wasn't commercially successful, but Stone liked them enough that he then got them signed to Atlantic, where he again wrote their first single for the label. That first single was relatively unsuccessful, but their second single on Atlantic, "In Paradise", did chart, making number nine on the R&B chart: [Excerpt: The Cookies, "In Paradise"] But the B-side to that record would end up being more important to their career in the long run. "Passing Time" was the very first song by Neil Sedaka and Howie Greenfield to get recorded, even before Sedaka's recordings with the Tokens or his own successful solo records: [Excerpt: The Cookies, "Passing Time"] But then two things happened. Firstly, one of the girls, Beulah Robertson, fell out with Jesse Stone, who sacked her from the group. Stone got in a new vocalist, Margie Hendrix, to replace her, and after one more single the group stopped making singles for Atlantic. But they continued recording for smaller labels, and they also had regular gigs as backing vocalists for Atlantic, on records like "Lipstick, Powder, and Paint" by Big Joe Turner: [Excerpt: Big Joe Turner, "Lipstick, Powder and Paint"] "It's Too Late" by Chuck Willis: [Excerpt: Chuck Willis, "It's Too Late"] And "Lonely Avenue" by Ray Charles: [Excerpt: Ray Charles, "Lonely Avenue"] It was working with Ray Charles that led to the breakup of the original lineup of the Cookies -- Charles was putting together his own group, and wanted the Cookies as his backing vocalists, but Dorothy was pregnant, and decided she'd rather stay behind and continue working as a session singer than go out on the road. Darlene and Margie went off to become the core of Charles' new backing group, the Raelettes, and they would play a major part in the sound of Charles' records for the next few years. It's Margie, for example, who can be heard duetting with Charles on "The Right Time": [Excerpt: Ray Charles, "The Right Time"] Dorothy stayed behind and put together a new lineup of Cookies. To make sure the group sounded the same, she got Darlene's sister Earl-Jean into the group -- Darlene and Earl-Jean looked and sounded so similar that many histories of the group say they're the same person -- and got another of her cousins, Margaret Ross, to take over the spot that had previously been Beulah's before Margie had taken her place.  This new version of the Cookies didn't really start doing much for a couple of years, while Dorothy was raising her newborn and Earl-Jean and Margaret were finishing high school. But in 1961 they started again in earnest, when Neil Sedaka remembered the Cookies and called Dorothy up, saying he knew someone who needed a vocal group. Gerry Goffin and Carole King had become hot songwriters, and they'd also become increasingly interested in record production after Carole had been involved in the making of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" Carole was recording her own demos of the songs she and Goffin were writing, and was increasingly making them fully-produced recordings in their own right. The first record the new Cookies sang on was one that seems to have started out as one of these demos. "Halfway to Paradise" by Tony Orlando sounds exactly like a Drifters record, and Orlando was, at the time, a sixteen-year-old demo singer. My guess, and it is only a guess, is that this was a demo intended for the Drifters, that it was turned down, and so the demo was released as a record itself: [Excerpt: Tony Orlando, "Halfway to Paradise"] That made the lower reaches of the Hot One Hundred, while a British cover version by Billy Fury made number three in the UK. From this point on, the new lineup of the Cookies were once again the premier session singers. They added extra backing vocals to a lot of the Drifters' records at this time, and would provide backing vocals for most of Atlantic's artists, as the earlier lineup had. They were also effectively the in-house backing singers for Aldon Music -- as well as singing on every Goffin and King demo, they were also singing with Neil Sedaka: [Excerpt: Neil Sedaka, "Breaking Up is Hard to Do"] But it was Goffin and King who spent the most time working with the Cookies, and who pushed them as recording artists in their own right. They started with a solo record for Dorothy, "Taking That Long Walk Home", a song that was very much "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" part two: [Excerpt: Dorothy Jones, "Taking That Long Walk Home"] The Cookies were doing huge amounts of session work, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week. Dorothy Jones described being in the studio working on a King Curtis session until literally fifteen minutes before giving birth.  They weren't the only ones working hard, though. Goffin and King were writing from their Aldon offices every single day, writing songs for the Drifters, the Shirelles, Bobby Rydell, Bobby Vee, Gene Pitney, the Crickets, the Everly Brothers, and more. And on top of that they had a child and Carole King was pregnant with a second one.  And, this being the very early 1960s, it never occurred to either Goffin or King that just because Carole King was working the exact same number of hours as Goffin, that might mean she shouldn't also be doing the housework and looking after the children with no help from Goffin. There was only one way they could continue their level of productivity, and that was to get someone in to help out Carole. She mentioned to the Cookies that she was looking for someone to help her with the children, and Earl-Jean mentioned that a nineteen-year-old acquaintance -- her friend's husband's sister -- had just moved to New York from North Carolina to try to become a singer and was looking for any work she could get while she was trying to make it. Eva Narcissus Boyd, Earl-Jean's acquaintance, moved in with Goffin and King and became their live-in childminder for $35 a week plus room and board. Goffin and King had known that Eva was a singer before they hired her, and they discovered that her voice was rather good. Not only that, but she blended well with the Cookies, and was friends with them. She became an unofficial "fourth Cookie", and was soon in the studio on a regular basis too -- and when she was, that meant that Eva's sister was looking after the kids, as a subcontracted babysitter. During this time, Don Kirshner's attitude was still that he was determined to get the next hit for every artist that had a hit. But that wasn't always possible.  Cameo-Parkway had, after the success they'd had with "The Twist", fully jumped on the dance-craze bandwagon, and they'd hit on another dance that might be the next Twist. The Mashed Potato was a dance that James Brown had been doing on stage for a few years, and in the wake of "The Twist", Brown had had a hit with a song about it "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes", which was credited to Nat Kendrick & the Swans rather than to Brown for contractual reasons: [Excerpt: Nat Kendrick and the Swans, "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes"] Cameo-Parkway had picked up on that dance, and had done just what Kirshner always did and created a soundalike of a recent hit -- and in fact they'd mashed up, if you'll pardon the expression, two recent hits. In this case, they'd taken the sound of "Please Mr. Postman", slightly reworked the lyrics to be about Brown's dance, and given it to session singer Dee Dee Sharp: [Excerpt: Dee Dee Sharp, "Mashed Potato Time"] That had gone to number two on the pop charts and number one on the R&B charts, and even inspired its own rip-offs, like "The Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett: [Excerpt: Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers, "The Monster Mash"] So Kirshner just assumed that Sharp would be looking for another dance hit, one that sounded just like "Mashed Potato Time", and got Goffin and King to write one to submit to her.  Unfortunately for him, he'd assumed wrong. Cameo-Parkway was owned by a group of successful songwriters, and they didn't need outside writers bringing them hits when they could write their own. Dee Dee Sharp wasn't going to be recording Goffin and King's song.  When he listened to the demo, Don Kirshner was astonished that they hadn't taken the song. It had "hit" written all over it. He decided that he was going to start his own record label, Dimension Records, and he was just going to release that demo as the single. The Cookies went into the studio to overdub another layer of backing vocals, but otherwise the record that was released was the demo Eva -- now renamed "Little Eva" -- had sung: [Excerpt: Little Eva, "The Loco-Motion"] The record went to number one, and made Little Eva a star. It also made Gerry Goffin a successful producer, because even though Goffin and King had coproduced it, Goffin got sole production credit on this, and on other records the two produced together. According to King, Goffin was the one in the control room for their productions, while she would be on the studio floor, and she didn't really question whether what she was doing counted as production too until much later -- and anyway, getting the sole credit was apparently important to Gerry. "The Loco-Motion" was such a big hit that it inspired its own knockoffs, including one song cheekily called "Little Eva" by a group called "The Locomotions"  -- so the record label would say "Little Eva, The Locomotions", and people might buy it by mistake. You'll be shocked to learn that that one was on a Morris Levy label: [Excerpt: The Locomotions, "Little Eva"] That group featured Leon Huff, who would later go on to make a lot of much better records. Meanwhile, as Little Eva was now a star, Carole King once again had to look for a childminder. This time she insisted that anyone she hired be unable to sing, so she wouldn't keep having to do this. Dimension Records was soon churning out singles, all of them involving the Cookies, and Eva, and Goffin and King. They put out "Everybody's Got a Dance But Me" by Big Dee Irwin, a song that excerpted "The Loco-Motion", "Wah Watusi", "Hully Gully" and "Twist and Shout" among many others, with the Cookies on backing vocals, and with Goffin as the credited producer: [Excerpt: Big Dee Irwin, "Everybody's Got a Dance But Me"] That wasn't a hit, but Dimension soon released two more big hits. One was a solo single by Carole King, "It Might as Well Rain Until September", which went to number twenty even though its only national exposure was a disastrous appearance by King on American Bandstand which left her feeling humiliated: [Excerpt: Carole King, "It Might as Well Rain Until September"] Her solo performing career wouldn't properly take off for a few more years, but that was a step towards it. The Cookies also had a hit on Dimension around this point. Goffin and King had written a song called "Chains" for the Everly Brothers, who had recorded it but not released it: [Excerpt: The Everly Brothers, "Chains"] So they gave the song to the Cookies instead, with Little Eva on additional vocals, and it made the pop top twenty, and the R&B top ten: [Excerpt: The Cookies, "Chains"] Several people have pointed out that that lyric can be read as having an element of BDSM to it, and it's not the only Goffin and King song from this period that does -- there's a 1964 B-side they wrote for Eva called "Please Hurt Me", which is fairly blatant: [Excerpt: Little Eva, "Please Hurt Me"] But the BDSM comparison has also been made -- wrongly, in my opinion -- about one of the most utterly misguided songs that Goffin and King ever wrote -- a song inspired by Little Eva telling them that her boyfriend beat her up. They'd asked her why she put up with it, and she said that he only hit her because he loved her. They were inspired by that to write "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)", an utterly grotesque song which, in a version produced by Phil Spector for the Crystals, was issued as a single but soon withdrawn due to general horror. I won't be excerpting that one here, though it's easy enough to find if you want to. (Having said that, I should also say that while people have said that Goffin & King's material at this point flirts with BDSM, my understanding of BDSM, as it has been explained to me by friends who indulge in such activities, is that consent is paramount, so I don't think that "He Hit Me" should be talked about in those terms. I don't want anything I've said here to contribute to the blurring of distinctions between consensual kink and abuse, which are too often conflated). Originally, Eva's follow-up to "The Loco-Motion" was going to be "One Fine Day", another Goffin and King song, but no matter how much Goffin and King worked on the track, they couldn't come up with an arrangement, and eventually they passed the song over to the Tokens, who solved the arrangement problems (though they kept King's piano part) and produced a version of it for the Chiffons, for whom it became a hit: [Excerpt: The Chiffons, "One Fine Day"] Instead, Goffin and King gave Eva "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby". This is, in my opinion, the best thing that Eva ever did, and it made the top twenty, though it wasn't as big a hit as "The Loco-Motion": [Excerpt: Little Eva, "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby"] And Eva also appeared on another Cookies record, "Don't Say Nothing Bad About My Baby", which made the top ten: [Excerpt: The Cookies, "Don't Say Nothing Bad About My Baby"] The Cookies, Eva, and Goffin and King were such a package deal that Dimension released an album called Dimension Dolls featuring the first few hits of each act and padded out with demos they'd made for other artists.  This hit-making machine was so successful for a brief period in 1962 and 63 that even Eva's sister Idalia got in on the act, releasing a song by Goffin, King, and Jack Keller, "Hula Hoppin'": [Excerpt: Idalia Boyd, "Hula Hoppin'"] For Eva's third single, Gerry Goffin and Jack Keller wrote a song called "Let's Turkey Trot", which also made the top twenty. But that would be the last time that Eva would have a hit of her own. At first, the fact that she had a couple of flop singles wasn't a problem -- no artists at this time were consistent hit-makers, and it was normal for someone to have a few top ten hits, then a couple at number 120 or something, before going back to the top. And she was touring with Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars, and still in high demand as a live performer. She also, in 1963, recorded a version of "Swinging on a Star" with Big Dee Irwin, though she wasn't credited on the label, and that made the top forty (and made number seven in the UK): [Excerpt: Big Dee Irwin, "Swinging on a Star"] But everything changed for Little Eva, and for the whole world of Brill Building pop, in 1964. In part, this was because the Beatles became successful and changed the pop landscape, but by itself that shouldn't have destroyed the careers of Eva or the Cookies, who the Beatles admired -- they recorded a cover of "Chains", and they used to play "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby" in their live sets. But Don Kirshner decided to sell Aldon Music and Dimension Records to Columbia Pictures, and to start concentrating on the West Coast rather than New York. The idea was that they could come up with songs that would be used in films and TV, and make more money that way, and that worked out for many people, including Kirshner himself. But even when artists like Eva and the Cookies got hit material, the British Invasion made it hard for them to get a footing. For example, Goffin and King wrote a song for Earl-Jean from the Cookies to record as a solo track just after Dimension was taken over by Columbia. That record did make the top forty: [Excerpt: Earl-Jean, "I'm Into Something Good"] But then Herman's Hermits released their version, which became a much bigger hit. That sort of thing kept happening. The Cookies ended up splitting up by 1967. Little Eva did end up doing some TV work -- most famously, she sang a dance song in an episode of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Magilla Gorilla: [Excerpt: Little Eva "Makin' With the Magilla"] But Dimension Records was not a priority for anyone -- Columbia already owned their own labels, and didn't need another one -- and the label was being wound down. And then Al Nevins, Don Kirshner's partner in Aldon, died. He'd always been friendly with Eva, and without him to advocate for her, the label sold her contract off to Bell Records. From that point on, she could no longer rely on Goffin and King, and she hopped between a number of different labels, none of them with any great success. After spending seven years going from label to label, and having split up with her husband, she quit the music business in 1971 and moved back to North Carolina. She was sick of the music industry, and particularly sick of the lack of money -- she had signed a lot of bad contracts, and was making no royalties from sales of her records. She worked menial day jobs, survived on welfare for a while, became active in her local church, and depending on which reports you read either ran a soul-food restaurant or merely worked there as a waitress. Meanwhile, "The Loco-Motion" was a perennial hit. Her version re-charted in the UK in the early seventies, and Todd Rundgren produced a version for the heavy metal band Grand Funk Railroad which went to number one in the US in 1974: [Excerpt: Grand Funk Railroad, "The Loco-Motion"] And then in 1988 an Australian soap star, Kylie Minogue, recorded her own version, which went top five worldwide and started Minogue's own successful pop career: [Excerpt: Kylie Minogue, "The Loco-Motion"] That record becoming a hit got a series of "where are they now?" articles written about Eva, and she was persuaded to come out of retirement and start performing again -- though having been so badly hurt by the industry, she was very dubious at first, and she also had scruples because of her strong religious faith. She later said that she'd left the contracts on her table for eight months before signing them -- but when she finally did, she found that her audience was still there for her. For the rest of her life, she was a popular performer on the oldies circuit, performing on package tours with people like Bobby Vee and Brian Hyland, playing state fairs and touring Europe. She continued performing until shortly before her death, even after she was diagnosed with the cancer that eventually killed her, as she once again connected with the audiences who had loved her music back when she was still a teenager. She died, aged fifty-nine, in 2003.

Episode ninety-six of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “The Loco-Motion” by Little Eva, and how a demo by Carole King’s babysitter became one of the biggest hits of the sixties. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.   Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on “Duke of Earl” by Gene Chandler. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ —-more—- Resources As always, I’ve created a Mixcloud streaming playlist with full versions of all the songs in the episode. There are no biographies of Little Eva, so I’ve used a variety of sources, including the articles on Little Eva and The Cookies at This Is My Story. The following books were also of some use: A Natural Woman is Carole King’s autobiography. Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era by Ken Emerson is a good overview of the whole scene. Girl Groups by John Clemente contains potted biographies of many groups of the era, including articles on both Little Eva and The Cookies. There are no decent CDs of Eva’s material readily available, but I can recommend two overlapping compilations. This compilation contains Little Eva’s only sixties album in full, along with some tracks by Carole King, the Cookies, and the Ronettes, while Dimension Dolls is a compilation from 1963 that overlaps substantially with that album but contains several tracks not on it.   Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript A quick note before this begins — there is some mention of domestic violence in this episode. If that’s something that might upset you, please check the transcript of the episode at 500songs.com if reading it might be easier than listening. A couple of months back, we talked about Goffin and King, and the early days of the Brill Building sound. Today we’re going to take another look at them, and at a singer who recorded some of their best material, both solo and in a group, but who would always be overshadowed by the first single they wrote for her, when she was still working as their childminder. Today, we’re going to look at Little Eva and “The Loco-Motion”, and the short history of Dimension Records: [Excerpt: Little Eva, “The Loco-Motion”] The story of Little Eva is intertwined with the story of the Cookies, one of the earliest of the girl groups, and so we should probably start with them. We’ve mentioned the Cookies earlier, in the episode on “What’d I Say”, but we didn’t look at them in any great detail. The group started out in the mid-fifties, as a group of schoolgirls singing together in New York — Dorothy Jones, her cousin Beulah Robertson, and a friend, Darlene McRae, who had all been in the choir at their local Baptist Church. They formed a group and made their first appearance at the famous Harlem Apollo talent contests, where they came third, to Joe Tex and a vocal group called the Flairs (not, I think, any of the Flairs groups we’ve looked at). They were seen at that contest by Jesse Stone, who gave them the name “The Cookies”. He signed them to Aladdin Records, and produced and co-wrote their first single, “All-Night Mambo”. That wasn’t commercially successful, but Stone liked them enough that he then got them signed to Atlantic, where he again wrote their first single for the label. That first single was relatively unsuccessful, but their second single on Atlantic, “In Paradise”, did chart, making number nine on the R&B chart: [Excerpt: The Cookies, “In Paradise”] But the B-side to that record would end up being more important to their career in the long run. “Passing Time” was the very first song by Neil Sedaka and Howie Greenfield to get recorded, even before Sedaka’s recordings with the Tokens or his own successful solo records: [Excerpt: The Cookies, “Passing Time”] But then two things happened. Firstly, one of the girls, Beulah Robertson, fell out with Jesse Stone, who sacked her from the group. Stone got in a new vocalist, Margie Hendrix, to replace her, and after one more single the group stopped making singles for Atlantic. But they continued recording for smaller labels, and they also had regular gigs as backing vocalists for Atlantic, on records like “Lipstick, Powder, and Paint” by Big Joe Turner: [Excerpt: Big Joe Turner, “Lipstick, Powder and Paint”] “It’s Too Late” by Chuck Willis: [Excerpt: Chuck Willis, “It’s Too Late”] And “Lonely Avenue” by Ray Charles: [Excerpt: Ray Charles, “Lonely Avenue”] It was working with Ray Charles that led to the breakup of the original lineup of the Cookies — Charles was putting together his own group, and wanted the Cookies as his backing vocalists, but Dorothy was pregnant, and decided she’d rather stay behind and continue working as a session singer than go out on the road. Darlene and Margie went off to become the core of Charles’ new backing group, the Raelettes, and they would play a major part in the sound of Charles’ records for the next few years. It’s Margie, for example, who can be heard duetting with Charles on “The Right Time”: [Excerpt: Ray Charles, “The Right Time”] Dorothy stayed behind and put together a new lineup of Cookies. To make sure the group sounded the same, she got Darlene’s sister Earl-Jean into the group — Darlene and Earl-Jean looked and sounded so similar that many histories of the group say they’re the same person — and got another of her cousins, Margaret Ross, to take over the spot that had previously been Beulah’s before Margie had taken her place.  This new version of the Cookies didn’t really start doing much for a couple of years, while Dorothy was raising her newborn and Earl-Jean and Margaret were finishing high school. But in 1961 they started again in earnest, when Neil Sedaka remembered the Cookies and called Dorothy up, saying he knew someone who needed a vocal group. Gerry Goffin and Carole King had become hot songwriters, and they’d also become increasingly interested in record production after Carole had been involved in the making of “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” Carole was recording her own demos of the songs she and Goffin were writing, and was increasingly making them fully-produced recordings in their own right. The first record the new Cookies sang on was one that seems to have started out as one of these demos. “Halfway to Paradise” by Tony Orlando sounds exactly like a Drifters record, and Orlando was, at the time, a sixteen-year-old demo singer. My guess, and it is only a guess, is that this was a demo intended for the Drifters, that it was turned down, and so the demo was released as a record itself: [Excerpt: Tony Orlando, “Halfway to Paradise”] That made the lower reaches of the Hot One Hundred, while a British cover version by Billy Fury made number three in the UK. From this point on, the new lineup of the Cookies were once again the premier session singers. They added extra backing vocals to a lot of the Drifters’ records at this time, and would provide backing vocals for most of Atlantic’s artists, as the earlier lineup had. They were also effectively the in-house backing singers for Aldon Music — as well as singing on every Goffin and King demo, they were also singing with Neil Sedaka: [Excerpt: Neil Sedaka, “Breaking Up is Hard to Do”] But it was Goffin and King who spent the most time working with the Cookies, and who pushed them as recording artists in their own right. They started with a solo record for Dorothy, “Taking That Long Walk Home”, a song that was very much “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” part two: [Excerpt: Dorothy Jones, “Taking That Long Walk Home”] The Cookies were doing huge amounts of session work, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week. Dorothy Jones described being in the studio working on a King Curtis session until literally fifteen minutes before giving birth.  They weren’t the only ones working hard, though. Goffin and King were writing from their Aldon offices every single day, writing songs for the Drifters, the Shirelles, Bobby Rydell, Bobby Vee, Gene Pitney, the Crickets, the Everly Brothers, and more. And on top of that they had a child and Carole King was pregnant with a second one.  And, this being the very early 1960s, it never occurred to either Goffin or King that just because Carole King was working the exact same number of hours as Goffin, that might mean she shouldn’t also be doing the housework and looking after the children with no help from Goffin. There was only one way they could continue their level of productivity, and that was to get someone in to help out Carole. She mentioned to the Cookies that she was looking for someone to help her with the children, and Earl-Jean mentioned that a nineteen-year-old acquaintance — her friend’s husband’s sister — had just moved to New York from North Carolina to try to become a singer and was looking for any work she could get while she was trying to make it. Eva Narcissus Boyd, Earl-Jean’s acquaintance, moved in with Goffin and King and became their live-in childminder for $35 a week plus room and board. Goffin and King had known that Eva was a singer before they hired her, and they discovered that her voice was rather good. Not only that, but she blended well with the Cookies, and was friends with them. She became an unofficial “fourth Cookie”, and was soon in the studio on a regular basis too — and when she was, that meant that Eva’s sister was looking after the kids, as a subcontracted babysitter. During this time, Don Kirshner’s attitude was still that he was determined to get the next hit for every artist that had a hit. But that wasn’t always possible.  Cameo-Parkway had, after the success they’d had with “The Twist”, fully jumped on the dance-craze bandwagon, and they’d hit on another dance that might be the next Twist. The Mashed Potato was a dance that James Brown had been doing on stage for a few years, and in the wake of “The Twist”, Brown had had a hit with a song about it “(Do the) Mashed Potatoes”, which was credited to Nat Kendrick & the Swans rather than to Brown for contractual reasons: [Excerpt: Nat Kendrick and the Swans, “(Do the) Mashed Potatoes”] Cameo-Parkway had picked up on that dance, and had done just what Kirshner always did and created a soundalike of a recent hit — and in fact they’d mashed up, if you’ll pardon the expression, two recent hits. In this case, they’d taken the sound of “Please Mr. Postman”, slightly reworked the lyrics to be about Brown’s dance, and given it to session singer Dee Dee Sharp: [Excerpt: Dee Dee Sharp, “Mashed Potato Time”] That had gone to number two on the pop charts and number one on the R&B charts, and even inspired its own rip-offs, like “The Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett: [Excerpt: Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers, “The Monster Mash”] So Kirshner just assumed that Sharp would be looking for another dance hit, one that sounded just like “Mashed Potato Time”, and got Goffin and King to write one to submit to her.  Unfortunately for him, he’d assumed wrong. Cameo-Parkway was owned by a group of successful songwriters, and they didn’t need outside writers bringing them hits when they could write their own. Dee Dee Sharp wasn’t going to be recording Goffin and King’s song.  When he listened to the demo, Don Kirshner was astonished that they hadn’t taken the song. It had “hit” written all over it. He decided that he was going to start his own record label, Dimension Records, and he was just going to release that demo as the single. The Cookies went into the studio to overdub another layer of backing vocals, but otherwise the record that was released was the demo Eva — now renamed “Little Eva” — had sung: [Excerpt: Little Eva, “The Loco-Motion”] The record went to number one, and made Little Eva a star. It also made Gerry Goffin a successful producer, because even though Goffin and King had coproduced it, Goffin got sole production credit on this, and on other records the two produced together. According to King, Goffin was the one in the control room for their productions, while she would be on the studio floor, and she didn’t really question whether what she was doing counted as production too until much later — and anyway, getting the sole credit was apparently important to Gerry. “The Loco-Motion” was such a big hit that it inspired its own knockoffs, including one song cheekily called “Little Eva” by a group called “The Locomotions”  — so the record label would say “Little Eva, The Locomotions”, and people might buy it by mistake. You’ll be shocked to learn that that one was on a Morris Levy label: [Excerpt: The Locomotions, “Little Eva”] That group featured Leon Huff, who would later go on to make a lot of much better records. Meanwhile, as Little Eva was now a star, Carole King once again had to look for a childminder. This time she insisted that anyone she hired be unable to sing, so she wouldn’t keep having to do this. Dimension Records was soon churning out singles, all of them involving the Cookies, and Eva, and Goffin and King. They put out “Everybody’s Got a Dance But Me” by Big Dee Irwin, a song that excerpted “The Loco-Motion”, “Wah Watusi”, “Hully Gully” and “Twist and Shout” among many others, with the Cookies on backing vocals, and with Goffin as the credited producer: [Excerpt: Big Dee Irwin, “Everybody’s Got a Dance But Me”] That wasn’t a hit, but Dimension soon released two more big hits. One was a solo single by Carole King, “It Might as Well Rain Until September”, which went to number twenty even though its only national exposure was a disastrous appearance by King on American Bandstand which left her feeling humiliated: [Excerpt: Carole King, “It Might as Well Rain Until September”] Her solo performing career wouldn’t properly take off for a few more years, but that was a step towards it. The Cookies also had a hit on Dimension around this point. Goffin and King had written a song called “Chains” for the Everly Brothers, who had recorded it but not released it: [Excerpt: The Everly Brothers, “Chains”] So they gave the song to the Cookies instead, with Little Eva on additional vocals, and it made the pop top twenty, and the R&B top ten: [Excerpt: The Cookies, “Chains”] Several people have pointed out that that lyric can be read as having an element of BDSM to it, and it’s not the only Goffin and King song from this period that does — there’s a 1964 B-side they wrote for Eva called “Please Hurt Me”, which is fairly blatant: [Excerpt: Little Eva, “Please Hurt Me”] But the BDSM comparison has also been made — wrongly, in my opinion — about one of the most utterly misguided songs that Goffin and King ever wrote — a song inspired by Little Eva telling them that her boyfriend beat her up. They’d asked her why she put up with it, and she said that he only hit her because he loved her. They were inspired by that to write “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)”, an utterly grotesque song which, in a version produced by Phil Spector for the Crystals, was issued as a single but soon withdrawn due to general horror. I won’t be excerpting that one here, though it’s easy enough to find if you want to. (Having said that, I should also say that while people have said that Goffin & King’s material at this point flirts with BDSM, my understanding of BDSM, as it has been explained to me by friends who indulge in such activities, is that consent is paramount, so I don’t think that “He Hit Me” should be talked about in those terms. I don’t want anything I’ve said here to contribute to the blurring of distinctions between consensual kink and abuse, which are too often conflated). Originally, Eva’s follow-up to “The Loco-Motion” was going to be “One Fine Day”, another Goffin and King song, but no matter how much Goffin and King worked on the track, they couldn’t come up with an arrangement, and eventually they passed the song over to the Tokens, who solved the arrangement problems (though they kept King’s piano part) and produced a version of it for the Chiffons, for whom it became a hit: [Excerpt: The Chiffons, “One Fine Day”] Instead, Goffin and King gave Eva “Keep Your Hands Off My Baby”. This is, in my opinion, the best thing that Eva ever did, and it made the top twenty, though it wasn’t as big a hit as “The Loco-Motion”: [Excerpt: Little Eva, “Keep Your Hands Off My Baby”] And Eva also appeared on another Cookies record, “Don’t Say Nothing Bad About My Baby”, which made the top ten: [Excerpt: The Cookies, “Don’t Say Nothing Bad About My Baby”] The Cookies, Eva, and Goffin and King were such a package deal that Dimension released an album called Dimension Dolls featuring the first few hits of each act and padded out with demos they’d made for other artists.  This hit-making machine was so successful for a brief period in 1962 and 63 that even Eva’s sister Idalia got in on the act, releasing a song by Goffin, King, and Jack Keller, “Hula Hoppin'”: [Excerpt: Idalia Boyd, “Hula Hoppin'”] For Eva’s third single, Gerry Goffin and Jack Keller wrote a song called “Let’s Turkey Trot”, which also made the top twenty. But that would be the last time that Eva would have a hit of her own. At first, the fact that she had a couple of flop singles wasn’t a problem — no artists at this time were consistent hit-makers, and it was normal for someone to have a few top ten hits, then a couple at number 120 or something, before going back to the top. And she was touring with Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars, and still in high demand as a live performer. She also, in 1963, recorded a version of “Swinging on a Star” with Big Dee Irwin, though she wasn’t credited on the label, and that made the top forty (and made number seven in the UK): [Excerpt: Big Dee Irwin, “Swinging on a Star”] But everything changed for Little Eva, and for the whole world of Brill Building pop, in 1964. In part, this was because the Beatles became successful and changed the pop landscape, but by itself that shouldn’t have destroyed the careers of Eva or the Cookies, who the Beatles admired — they recorded a cover of “Chains”, and they used to play “Keep Your Hands Off My Baby” in their live sets. But Don Kirshner decided to sell Aldon Music and Dimension Records to Columbia Pictures, and to start concentrating on the West Coast rather than New York. The idea was that they could come up with songs that would be used in films and TV, and make more money that way, and that worked out for many people, including Kirshner himself. But even when artists like Eva and the Cookies got hit material, the British Invasion made it hard for them to get a footing. For example, Goffin and King wrote a song for Earl-Jean from the Cookies to record as a solo track just after Dimension was taken over by Columbia. That record did make the top forty: [Excerpt: Earl-Jean, “I’m Into Something Good”] But then Herman’s Hermits released their version, which became a much bigger hit. That sort of thing kept happening. The Cookies ended up splitting up by 1967. Little Eva did end up doing some TV work — most famously, she sang a dance song in an episode of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Magilla Gorilla: [Excerpt: Little Eva “Makin’ With the Magilla”] But Dimension Records was not a priority for anyone — Columbia already owned their own labels, and didn’t need another one — and the label was being wound down. And then Al Nevins, Don Kirshner’s partner in Aldon, died. He’d always been friendly with Eva, and without him to advocate for her, the label sold her contract off to Bell Records. From that point on, she could no longer rely on Goffin and King, and she hopped between a number of different labels, none of them with any great success. After spending seven years going from label to label, and having split up with her husband, she quit the music business in 1971 and moved back to North Carolina. She was sick of the music industry, and particularly sick of the lack of money — she had signed a lot of bad contracts, and was making no royalties from sales of her records. She worked menial day jobs, survived on welfare for a while, became active in her local church, and depending on which reports you read either ran a soul-food restaurant or merely worked there as a waitress. Meanwhile, “The Loco-Motion” was a perennial hit. Her version re-charted in the UK in the early seventies, and Todd Rundgren produced a version for the heavy metal band Grand Funk Railroad which went to number one in the US in 1974: [Excerpt: Grand Funk Railroad, “The Loco-Motion”] And then in 1988 an Australian soap star, Kylie Minogue, recorded her own version, which went top five worldwide and started Minogue’s own successful pop career: [Excerpt: Kylie Minogue, “The Loco-Motion”] That record becoming a hit got a series of “where are they now?” articles written about Eva, and she was persuaded to come out of retirement and start performing again — though having been so badly hurt by the industry, she was very dubious at first, and she also had scruples because of her strong religious faith. She later said that she’d left the contracts on her table for eight months before signing them — but when she finally did, she found that her audience was still there for her. For the rest of her life, she was a popular performer on the oldies circuit, performing on package tours with people like Bobby Vee and Brian Hyland, playing state fairs and touring Europe. She continued performing until shortly before her death, even after she was diagnosed with the cancer that eventually killed her, as she once again connected with the audiences who had loved her music back when she was still a teenager. She died, aged fifty-nine, in 2003.

Episode ninety-two of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by The Tokens, and at a seventy-year-long story of powerful people repeatedly ripping off less powerful people, then themselves being ripped off in turn by more powerful people, and at how racism meant that a song that earned fifteen million dollars for other people paid its composer ten shillings. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.   Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on "Tossin' and Turnin'" by Bobby Lewis.   Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/   ----more----   ERRATUM: I say “Picture in Your Wallet” when I mean “Picture in My Wallet”.   Resources   As always, I've created a Mixcloud streaming playlist with full versions of all the songs in the episode.    Rian Malan's 2000 article on Solomon Linda and The Lion Sleeps Tonight can be found here.   This 2019 article brings the story of the legal disputes up to date.   The information about isicathamiya comes from Nightsong: Performance, Power and Practice in South Africa by Veit Erlmann.   This collection of early isicathamiya and Mbube music includes several tracks by the Evening Birds.   Information on Pete Seeger and the Weavers primarily comes from Pete Seeger vs. The Un-Americans: A Tale of the Blacklist by Edward Renehan.   This collection has everything the Weavers recorded before their first split.   This is the record of one of the legal actions taken during Weiss' dispute with Folkways in the late eighties and early nineties.   Information on the Tokens came from This is My Story.   There are, surprisingly, no budget compilations of the Tokens' music, but this best-of has everything you need.   Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them?   Transcript   Today we're going to look at a song that became a worldwide hit in multiple versions, and which I can guarantee everyone listening to this podcast has heard many times. A song that has been recorded by REM, that featured in a Disney musical, and which can be traced back from a white doo-wop group through a group of Communist folk singers to a man who was exploited by racist South African society -- a man who invented an entire genre of music, which got named after his most famous song, but who never saw any of the millions that his song earned for others, and died in poverty. We're going to look at the story of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight":   [Excerpt: The Tokens, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"]   The story of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a story that goes back to 1939, when a singer called Solomon Linda was performing in South Africa. Linda was a Zulu, and thus in the racist regime of South Africa was largely without rights. Linda was, in the thirties and forties, probably the single most important performer in South Africa. He was the leader of a vocal group called the Evening Birds, who were the most popular isicathamiya group in South Africa.   Isicathamiya -- and I hope I'm pronouncing that right -- was a form of music which has a lot of parallels to some of the American vocal group music we've looked at, largely because it comes from some of the same roots. I don't pretend to be an expert on the music by any means -- I'll put a link on the podcast webpage to a book which has far more information about this -- but as best I understand it, it's a music created when rural black people were forcibly displaced in the late nineteenth century and forced to find work in the city.   Those people combined elements of traditional Zulu music with two more Western elements. The first was the religious music that they heard from Church missions, and the second was American minstrel songs, heard from troupes of minstrels that toured the country, especially a black performer named Orpheus McAdoo, who led a troupe of minstrel and gospel performers who toured South Africa a lot in the late nineteenth century.   This new style of music was usually performed a capella, though sometimes there might be a single instrument added, and it gained a relatively formalised structure -- it would almost always have very specific parts based on European choral music, with parts for a tenor, a soprano, an alto, and a bass, in strict four-part harmony -- though the soprano and alto parts would be sung in falsetto by men. It would usually be based around the same I, IV, and V chords that most Western popular music was based on, and the Zulu language would often be distorted to fit Western metres, though the music was still more freeform than most of the Western music of the time.   This music started to be recorded in around 1930, and you can get an idea of the stylistic range from two examples. Here's "Umteto we Land Act" by Caluza's Double Quartet:   [Excerpt, "Umteto We Land Act", Caluza's Double Quartet"]   While here's the Bantu Glee Singers, singing "Jim Takata Kanjani":   [Excerpt: The Bantu Glee Singers, "Jim Takata Kanjani"]   Solomon Linda's group, the Evening Birds, sang in this style, but incorporated a number of innovations. One was that they dressed differently -- they wore matching striped suits, rather than the baggy trousers that the older groups wore -- but also, they had extra bass singers. Up until this point, there would be four singers or multiples of four, with one singer singing each part. The Evening Birds, at Linda's instigation, had a much thicker bass part, and in some ways prefigured the sound of doo-wop that would take over in America twenty years later.   Their music was often political -- while the South African regime was horribly oppressive in the thirties, it wasn't as oppressive as it later became, and a certain amount of criticism of the government was allowed in ways it wouldn't be in future decades.   At the time, the main way in which this music would be performed was at contests with several groups, most of whom would be performing the same repertoire. An audience member would offer to pay one of the groups a few pennies to start singing -- and then another audience member, when they got bored with the first group, would offer that group some more money to stop singing, before someone else offered another group some money. The Evening Birds quickly became the centre of this scene, and between 1933 and 1948, when they split, they were the most popular group around. As with many of the doo-wop groups they so resembled, they had a revolving lineup with members coming and going, and joining other groups like the Crocodiles and the Dundee Wandering Singers. There was even a second group called the Evening Birds, with a singer who sounded like Linda, and who had a long-running feud with Linda's group.   But it wasn't this popularity that got the Evening Birds recorded. It was because Solomon Linda got a day job packing records for Gallo Records, the only record label in South Africa, which owned the only recording studio in sub-Saharan Africa. While he was working in their factory, packing records, he managed to get the group signed to make some records themselves. In the group's second session, they recorded a song that Linda had written, called "Mbube", which means "lion", and was about hunting the lions that would feed on his family's cattle when he was growing up:   [Excerpt: Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds, "Mbube"]   There's some dispute as to whether Linda wrote the whole song, or whether it's based on a traditional Zulu song -- I tend to fall on the side of Linda having written the whole thing, because very often when people say something is based on a traditional song, what they actually mean is "I don't believe that an uneducated or black person can have written a whole song".   But whatever the circumstances of most of the composition, one thing is definitely known – Linda was the one who came up with this falsetto melody:   [Excerpt: Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds, "Mbube"]   The song became massively, massively popular -- so popular that eventually the master copy of the record disintegrated, as they'd pressed so many copies from it. It gave its name to a whole genre of music -- in the same way that late fifties American vocal groups are doo-wop groups, South African groups like Ladysmith Black Mambazo are, more than eighty years later, still known as "mbube groups".   Linda and the Evening Birds would make many more records, like "Anodu Gonda":   [Excerpt: Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds, "Anodu Gonda"]   But it was "Mbube" that was their biggest hit. It sold a hundred thousand copies on Gallo Records -- and earned Solomon Linda, its writer and lead singer, ten shillings. The South African government at the time estimated that a black family could survive on thirty-seven shillings and sixpence a week. So for writing the most famous melody ever to come out of Africa, Linda got a quarter of a week's poverty-level wages. When Linda died in 1962, he had a hundred rand -- equivalent then to fifty British pounds -- in his bank account. He was buried in an unmarked grave.   And, a little over a year before his death, his song had become an international number one hit record. To see why, we have to go back to 1952, and a folk group called the Weavers.   Pete Seeger, the most important member of the Weavers, is a figure who is hugely important in the history of the folk music rebirth of the 1960s. Like most of the white folk singers of the period, he had an incredibly privileged background -- he had attended Harvard as a classmate of John F Kennedy -- but he also had very strong socialist principles. He had been friends with both Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly in the forties, and he dedicated his later career to the same kind of left-wing activism that Guthrie had taken part in.    Indeed, Guthrie and Seeger had both been members of the Almanac Singers, a folk group of the forties who had been explicitly pro-Communist. They'd been pacifists up until the Soviet entry into the Second World War, at which point they had immediately turned round and become the biggest cheerleaders of the war:   [Excerpt: The Almanac Singers, "Round and Round Hitler's Grave"]   The Almanac Singers had a revolving door membership, including everyone from Burl Ives to Cisco Houston at one point or another, but the core of the group had been Seeger and Lee Hays, and those two had eventually formed another group, more or less as a continuation of the Almanac Singers, but with a less explicitly political agenda -- they would perform Guthrie and Lead Belly songs, and songs they wrote themselves, but not be tied to performing music that fit the ideological line of the Communist Party.   The Weavers immediately had far more commercial success than the Almanac Singers ever had, and recorded such hits as their version of Lead Belly's "Goodnight Irene", with orchestration by Gordon Jenkins:   [Excerpt: The Weavers, "Goodnight Irene"]   And one of the hits they recorded was a version of "Mbube", which they titled "Wimoweh".   Alan Lomax, the folk song collector, had discovered somewhere a big stack of African records, which were about to be thrown out, and he thought to himself that those would be exactly the kind of thing that Pete Seeger might want, and gave them to him. Seeger loved the recording of "Mbube", but neither man had any clear idea of what the song was or where it came from. Seeger couldn't make out the lyrics -- he thought Linda was singing something like "Wimoweh", and he created a new arrangement of the song, taking Linda's melody from the end of the song and singing it repeatedly throughout:   [Excerpt: The Weavers, "Wimoweh"]   At the time, the Weavers were signed as songwriters to Folkways, a company that was set up to promote folk music, but was part of a much bigger conglomerate, The Richmond Organisation. When they were informed that the Weavers were going to record "Wimoweh", Folkways contacted the South African record company and were informed that "Mbube" was a traditional folk song. So Folkways copyrighted "Mbube", as "Wimoweh", in the name Paul Campbell -- a collective pseudonym that the Weavers used for their arrangements of traditional songs.   Shortly after this, Gallo realised their mistake and tried to copyright "Mbube" themselves in the USA, under Solomon Linda's name, only to be told that Folkways already had the copyright. Now, in the 1950s the USA was not yet a signatory to the Berne Convention, the international agreement on copyright laws, and so it made no difference that in South Africa the song had been copyrighted under Linda's name -- in the USA it was owned by Folkways, because they had registered it first.   But Folkways wanted the rights for other countries, too, and so they came to an agreement with Gallo that would be to Gallo's immense disadvantage. Because they agreed that they would pay Gallo a modest one-off fee, and "let" Gallo have the rights to the song in a few territories in Africa, and in return Folkways would get the copyright everywhere else. Gallo agreed, and so "Mbube" by Solomon Linda and "Wimoweh" by Paul Campbell became separate copyrights -- Gallo had, without realising it, given up their legal rights to the song throughout the world.   "Wimoweh" by the Weavers went to number six on the charts, but then Senator McCarthy stepped in. Both Pete Seeger and Lee Hays had been named as past Communist Party members, and were called before the House Unamerican Activities Committee to testify. Hays stood on his fifth amendment rights, refusing to testify against himself, but Seeger took the riskier option of simply refusing on first amendment grounds. He said, quite rightly, that his political activities, voting history, and party membership were nobody's business except his, and he wasn't going to testify about them in front of Congress. He spent much of the next decade with the threat of prison hanging over his head.   As a result, the Weavers were blacklisted from radio and TV, as was Seeger as a solo artist. "Wimoweh" dropped off the charts, and the group's recording catalogue was deleted. The group split up, though they did get back together again a few years later, and managed to have a hit live album of a concert they performed at Carnegie Hall in 1955, which also included "Wimoweh":   [Excerpt: The Weavers, "Wimoweh (live at Carnegie Hall)"]   Seeger left the group permanently a couple of years after that, when they did a commercial for tobacco -- the group were still blacklisted from the radio and TV, and saw it as an opportunity to get some exposure, but Seeger didn't approve of tobacco or advertising, and quit the group because of it -- though because he'd made a commitment to the group, he did appear on the commercial, not wanting to break his word. At his suggestion, he was replaced by Erik Darling, from another folk group, The Tarriers. Darling was an Ayn Rand fan and a libertarian, so presumably didn't have the same attitudes towards advertising.   As you might have gathered from this, Seeger was a man of strong principles, and so you might be surprised that he would take credit for someone else's song. As it turned out, he didn't. When he discovered that Solomon Linda had written the song, that it wasn't just a traditional song, he insisted that all future money he would have made from it go to Linda, and sent Linda a cheque for a thousand dollars for the money he'd already earned. But Seeger was someone who didn't care much about money at all -- he donated the vast majority of his money to worthy causes, and lived frugally, and he assumed that the people he was working with would behave honourably and keep to agreements, and didn't bother checking on them. They didn't, and Linda saw nothing from them.   Over the years after 1952, "Wimoweh" became something of a standard in America, with successful versions like the one by Yma Sumac:   [Excerpt: Yma Sumac, "Wimoweh"]   And in the early sixties it was in the repertoire of almost every folk group, being recorded by groups like the Kingston Trio, who had taken the Weavers' place as the most popular folk group in the country.   And then the Tokens entered the picture. We've mentioned the Tokens before, in the episode on "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" -- they were the group, also known as the Linc-Tones, that was led by Carole King's friend Neil Sedaka, and who'd recorded "While I Dream" with Sedaka on lead vocals:   [Excerpt: Neil Sedaka and the Tokens, "While I Dream"]   After recording that, one member of the group had gone off to college, and been replaced by the falsetto singer Jay Siegel. But then the group had split up, and Sedaka had gone on to a very successful career as a solo performer and a songwriter.  But Siegel and one of the other group members, Hank Medress, had carried on performing together, and had formed a new group, Darrell and the Oxfords, with two other singers. That group had made a couple of records for Roulette Records, one of which, "Picture in Your Wallet", was a local hit:   [Excerpt: Darrell and the Oxfords, "Picture in Your Wallet"]   But that group had also split up. So the duo invited yet another pair of singers to join them -- Mitch Margo, who was around their age, in his late teens, and his twelve-year-old brother Phil. The group reverted to their old name of The Tokens, and recorded a song called "Tonight I Fell In Love", which they leased to a small label called Warwick Records:   [Excerpt: The Tokens, "Tonight I Fell In Love"]   Warwick Records sat on the track for six months before releasing it. When they did, in 1961, it went to number fifteen on the charts. But by then, the group had signed to RCA Records, and were now working with Hugo and Luigi, the production duo who you might remember from the episode on "Shout".   The group put out a couple of flop singles on RCA, including a remake of the Moonglows' "Sincerely":   [Excerpt: The Tokens, "Sincerely"]   But after those two singles flopped, the group made the record that would define them for the rest of their lives. The Tokens had been performing "Wimoweh" in their stage act, and they played it for Hugo and Luigi, who thought there was something there, but they didn't think it would be commercial as it was. They decided to get a professional writer in to fix the song up, and called in George David Weiss, a writer with whom they'd worked before. The three of them had previously co-written "Can't Help Falling In Love" for Elvis Presley, basing it on a traditional melody, which is what they thought they were doing here:   [Excerpt: Elvis Presley, "Can't Help Falling In Love"]   Weiss took the song home and reworked it. Weiss decided to find out what the original lyrics had been about, and apparently asked the South African consulate, who told him that it was about lions, so he came up with new lyrics -- "in the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight".   Hugo and Luigi came up with an arrangement for Weiss' new version of the song, and brought in an opera singer named Anita Darian to replicate the part that Yma Sumac had sung on her version. The song was recorded, and released on the B-side of the Tokens' third flop in a row:   [Excerpt: The Tokens, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"]   As it was believed by everyone involved that the song was a traditional one, the new song was copyrighted in the names of Weiss, Hugo, and Luigi. And as it was released as a B-side of a flop single, nobody cared at first.   But then a DJ flipped the record and started playing the B-side, and suddenly the song was a hit. Indeed, it went to number one. And it didn't just go to number one, it became a standard, recorded over the years by everyone from Brian Eno to Billy Joel, The New Christy Minstrels to They Might Be Giants.   Obviously, the publishers of "Wimoweh", who knew that the song wasn't a traditional piece at all, wanted to get their share of the money. However, the owner of the publishing company was also a good friend of Weiss -- and Weiss was someone who had a lot of influence in the industry, and who nobody wanted to upset, and so they came to a very amicable agreement. The three credited songwriters would stay credited as the songwriters and keep all the songwriting money -- after all, Pete Seeger didn't want it, and the publishers were only under a moral obligation to Solomon Linda, not a legal one -- but the Richmond Organisation would get the publishing money.   Everyone seemed to be satisfied with the arrangement, and Solomon Linda's song went on earning a lot of money for a lot of white men he never met.   The Tokens tried to follow up with a version of an actual African folk song, "Bwa Nina", but that wasn't a hit, and nor was a version of "La Bamba". While they continued their career for decades, the only hit they had as performers was in 1973, by which point Hank Medress had left and the other three had changed their name to Cross Country and had a hit with a remake of "In the Midnight Hour":   [Excerpt: Cross Country, "The Midnight Hour"]   I say that was the only hit they had as performers, because they went into record production themselves. There they were far more successful, and as a group they produced records like the Chiffons' "He's So Fine", making them the first vocal group to produce a hit for another vocal group:   [Excerpt: The Chiffons, "He's So Fine"]   That song would, of course, generate its own famous authorial dispute case in later years. After Hank Medress left the group, he worked as a producer on his own, producing hits for Tony Orlando and Dawn, and also producing one of the later hit versions of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", Robert John's version, which made number three in 1972:   [Excerpt: Robert John, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"]   Today there are two touring versions of the Tokens, one led by Jay Siegel and one by Phil Margo.   But while in 1961 the Richmond Organisation, Hugo and Luigi, and George Weiss all seemed happy with their agreement, things started to go wrong in 1989.   American copyright law has had several changes over the years, and nothing of what I'm saying applies now, but for songs written before 1978 and the first of the Mickey Mouse copyright extensions, the rule used to be that a song would be in copyright for twenty-eight years. The writer could then renew it for a second twenty-eight-year term. (The rule is now that songs published in America remain in copyright until seventy years after the writer's death).    And it's specifically the *writer* who could renew it for that second term, not the publishers. George Weiss filed notice that he was going to renew the copyright when the twenty-eight-year term expired, and that he wasn't going to let the Richmond Organisation publish the song.   As soon as the Richmond Organisation heard about this, they took Weiss to court, saying that he couldn't take the publishing rights away from them, because the song was based on "Wimoweh", which they owned. Weiss argued that if the song was based on "Wimoweh", the copyright should have reflected that for the twenty-eight years that the Richmond Organisation owned it. They'd signed papers agreeing that Weiss and Hugo and Luigi were the writers, and if they'd had a problem with that they should have said so back in 1961.   The courts sided with Weiss, but they did say that the Richmond Organisation might have had a bit of a point about the song's similarity to "Wimoweh", so they had to pay a small amount of money to Solomon Linda's family.   And the American writers getting the song back coincided with two big boosts in the income from the song. First, R.E.M recorded a song called "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite", on their album Automatic For the People (a record we will definitely be talking about in 2026, assuming I'm still around and able to do the podcast by then). The album was one of the biggest records of the decade, and on the song, Michael Stipe sang a fragment of Solomon Linda's melody:   [Excerpt: R.E.M. "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite"]   The owners of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" took legal action about that, and got themselves credited as co-writers of R.E.M.'s song, and the group also had to record "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", releasing it as a B-side to the hit single version of "Sidewinder":   [Excerpt: R.E.M. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"]   Even better from their point of view, the song was featured in the Disney film The Lion King, which on its release in 1994 became the second highest-grossing film of all time and the most successful animated film ever, and in its Broadway adaptation, which became the most successful Broadway show of all time.   And in 2000, Rian Malan, a South African journalist based in America, who mostly dedicated his work to expunging his ancestral guilt -- he's a relative of Daniel Malan, the South African dictator who instituted the apartheid system, and of Magnus Malan, one of the more monstrous ministers in the regime in its last days of the eighties and early nineties -- found out that while Solomon Linda's family had been getting some money, it amounted at most to a couple of thousand dollars a year, shared between Linda's daughters. At the same time, Malan estimated that over the years the song had generated something in the region of fifteen million dollars for its American copyright owners.   Malan published an article about this, and just before that, the daughters got a minor windfall -- Pete Seeger noticed a six thousand dollar payment, which came to him when a commercial used "Wimoweh", rather than "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". He realised that he'd been receiving the royalties for "Wimoweh" all along, even though he'd asked that they be sent to Linda, so he totalled up how much he'd earned from the song over the years, which came to twelve thousand dollars, and he sent a cheque for that amount to Linda's daughters.   Those daughters were living in such poverty that in 2001, one of the four died of AIDS -- a disease which would have been completely treatable if she'd been able to afford the anti-retroviral medication to treat it.   The surviving sisters were told that the copyright in "Mbube" should have reverted to them in the eighties, and that they had a very good case under South African law to get a proper share of the rights to both "Wimoweh" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".   They just needed to find someone in South Africa that they could sue. Abilene Music, the current owners of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", were based in the USA and had no assets in South Africa. Suing them would be pointless. But they could sue someone else:   [Excerpt: Timon and Pumbaa, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"]   Disney had assets in South Africa. Lots of them. And they'd used Solomon Linda's song in their film, which under South African law would be copyright infringement. It would even be possible, if the case went really badly for Disney, that Linda's family could get total ownership of all Disney assets in South Africa.   So in 2006, Disney came to an out of court settlement with Linda's family, and they appear to have pressured Abilene Music to do the same thing. Under South African law, "Mbube" would go out of copyright by 2012, but it was agreed that Linda's daughters would receive royalties on "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" until 2017, even after the South African copyright had expired, and they would get a lump sum from Disney. The money they were owed would be paid into a trust.   After 2017, they would still get money from "Wimoweh", but not from "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", whose rights would revert fully to its American owners.   Unfortunately, most of the money they got seems to have gone on legal bills. The three surviving sisters each received, in total, about eighty-three thousand dollars over the ten-year course of the agreement after those bills, which is much, much, more than they were getting before, but only a fraction of what the song would have earned them if they'd been paid properly.   In 2017, the year the agreement expired, Disney announced they were making a photorealistic CGI remake of The Lion King. That, too, featured "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", and that, too, became the most successful animated film of all time. Under American copyright law, "Wimoweh" will remain in copyright until 2047, unless further changes are made to the law. Solomon Linda's family will continue to receive royalties on that song. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", the much more successful song, will remain in copyright until 2057, and the money from that will mostly go to Claire Weiss-Creatore, who was George Weiss' third wife, and who after he died in 2010 became the third wife of Luigi Creatore, of Hugo and Luigi, who died himself in 2015. Solomon Linda's daughters won't see a penny of it.   According to George Weiss' obituary in the Guardian, he "was a familiar figure at congressional hearings into copyright reform and music piracy, testifying as to the vital importance of intellectual property protection for composers".  

Episode ninety-two of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens, and at a seventy-year-long story of powerful people repeatedly ripping off less powerful people, then themselves being ripped off in turn by more powerful people, and at how racism meant that a song that earned fifteen million dollars for other people paid its composer ten shillings. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.   Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on “Tossin’ and Turnin'” by Bobby Lewis.   Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/   —-more—-   ERRATUM: I say “Picture in Your Wallet” when I mean “Picture in My Wallet”.   Resources   As always, I’ve created a Mixcloud streaming playlist with full versions of all the songs in the episode.    Rian Malan’s 2000 article on Solomon Linda and The Lion Sleeps Tonight can be found here.   This 2019 article brings the story of the legal disputes up to date.   The information about isicathamiya comes from Nightsong: Performance, Power and Practice in South Africa by Veit Erlmann.   This collection of early isicathamiya and Mbube music includes several tracks by the Evening Birds.   Information on Pete Seeger and the Weavers primarily comes from Pete Seeger vs. The Un-Americans: A Tale of the Blacklist by Edward Renehan.   This collection has everything the Weavers recorded before their first split.   This is the record of one of the legal actions taken during Weiss’ dispute with Folkways in the late eighties and early nineties.   Information on the Tokens came from This is My Story.   There are, surprisingly, no budget compilations of the Tokens’ music, but this best-of has everything you need.   Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them?   Transcript   Today we’re going to look at a song that became a worldwide hit in multiple versions, and which I can guarantee everyone listening to this podcast has heard many times. A song that has been recorded by REM, that featured in a Disney musical, and which can be traced back from a white doo-wop group through a group of Communist folk singers to a man who was exploited by racist South African society — a man who invented an entire genre of music, which got named after his most famous song, but who never saw any of the millions that his song earned for others, and died in poverty. We’re going to look at the story of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”:   [Excerpt: The Tokens, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”]   The story of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” is a story that goes back to 1939, when a singer called Solomon Linda was performing in South Africa. Linda was a Zulu, and thus in the racist regime of South Africa was largely without rights. Linda was, in the thirties and forties, probably the single most important performer in South Africa. He was the leader of a vocal group called the Evening Birds, who were the most popular isicathamiya group in South Africa.   Isicathamiya — and I hope I’m pronouncing that right — was a form of music which has a lot of parallels to some of the American vocal group music we’ve looked at, largely because it comes from some of the same roots. I don’t pretend to be an expert on the music by any means — I’ll put a link on the podcast webpage to a book which has far more information about this — but as best I understand it, it’s a music created when rural black people were forcibly displaced in the late nineteenth century and forced to find work in the city.   Those people combined elements of traditional Zulu music with two more Western elements. The first was the religious music that they heard from Church missions, and the second was American minstrel songs, heard from troupes of minstrels that toured the country, especially a black performer named Orpheus McAdoo, who led a troupe of minstrel and gospel performers who toured South Africa a lot in the late nineteenth century.   This new style of music was usually performed a capella, though sometimes there might be a single instrument added, and it gained a relatively formalised structure — it would almost always have very specific parts based on European choral music, with parts for a tenor, a soprano, an alto, and a bass, in strict four-part harmony — though the soprano and alto parts would be sung in falsetto by men. It would usually be based around the same I, IV, and V chords that most Western popular music was based on, and the Zulu language would often be distorted to fit Western metres, though the music was still more freeform than most of the Western music of the time.   This music started to be recorded in around 1930, and you can get an idea of the stylistic range from two examples. Here’s “Umteto we Land Act” by Caluza’s Double Quartet:   [Excerpt, “Umteto We Land Act”, Caluza’s Double Quartet”]   While here’s the Bantu Glee Singers, singing “Jim Takata Kanjani”:   [Excerpt: The Bantu Glee Singers, “Jim Takata Kanjani”]   Solomon Linda’s group, the Evening Birds, sang in this style, but incorporated a number of innovations. One was that they dressed differently — they wore matching striped suits, rather than the baggy trousers that the older groups wore — but also, they had extra bass singers. Up until this point, there would be four singers or multiples of four, with one singer singing each part. The Evening Birds, at Linda’s instigation, had a much thicker bass part, and in some ways prefigured the sound of doo-wop that would take over in America twenty years later.   Their music was often political — while the South African regime was horribly oppressive in the thirties, it wasn’t as oppressive as it later became, and a certain amount of criticism of the government was allowed in ways it wouldn’t be in future decades.   At the time, the main way in which this music would be performed was at contests with several groups, most of whom would be performing the same repertoire. An audience member would offer to pay one of the groups a few pennies to start singing — and then another audience member, when they got bored with the first group, would offer that group some more money to stop singing, before someone else offered another group some money. The Evening Birds quickly became the centre of this scene, and between 1933 and 1948, when they split, they were the most popular group around. As with many of the doo-wop groups they so resembled, they had a revolving lineup with members coming and going, and joining other groups like the Crocodiles and the Dundee Wandering Singers. There was even a second group called the Evening Birds, with a singer who sounded like Linda, and who had a long-running feud with Linda’s group.   But it wasn’t this popularity that got the Evening Birds recorded. It was because Solomon Linda got a day job packing records for Gallo Records, the only record label in South Africa, which owned the only recording studio in sub-Saharan Africa. While he was working in their factory, packing records, he managed to get the group signed to make some records themselves. In the group’s second session, they recorded a song that Linda had written, called “Mbube”, which means “lion”, and was about hunting the lions that would feed on his family’s cattle when he was growing up:   [Excerpt: Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds, “Mbube”]   There’s some dispute as to whether Linda wrote the whole song, or whether it’s based on a traditional Zulu song — I tend to fall on the side of Linda having written the whole thing, because very often when people say something is based on a traditional song, what they actually mean is “I don’t believe that an uneducated or black person can have written a whole song”.   But whatever the circumstances of most of the composition, one thing is definitely known – Linda was the one who came up with this falsetto melody:   [Excerpt: Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds, “Mbube”]   The song became massively, massively popular — so popular that eventually the master copy of the record disintegrated, as they’d pressed so many copies from it. It gave its name to a whole genre of music — in the same way that late fifties American vocal groups are doo-wop groups, South African groups like Ladysmith Black Mambazo are, more than eighty years later, still known as “mbube groups”.   Linda and the Evening Birds would make many more records, like “Anodu Gonda”:   [Excerpt: Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds, “Anodu Gonda”]   But it was “Mbube” that was their biggest hit. It sold a hundred thousand copies on Gallo Records — and earned Solomon Linda, its writer and lead singer, ten shillings. The South African government at the time estimated that a black family could survive on thirty-seven shillings and sixpence a week. So for writing the most famous melody ever to come out of Africa, Linda got a quarter of a week’s poverty-level wages. When Linda died in 1962, he had a hundred rand — equivalent then to fifty British pounds — in his bank account. He was buried in an unmarked grave.   And, a little over a year before his death, his song had become an international number one hit record. To see why, we have to go back to 1952, and a folk group called the Weavers.   Pete Seeger, the most important member of the Weavers, is a figure who is hugely important in the history of the folk music rebirth of the 1960s. Like most of the white folk singers of the period, he had an incredibly privileged background — he had attended Harvard as a classmate of John F Kennedy — but he also had very strong socialist principles. He had been friends with both Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly in the forties, and he dedicated his later career to the same kind of left-wing activism that Guthrie had taken part in.    Indeed, Guthrie and Seeger had both been members of the Almanac Singers, a folk group of the forties who had been explicitly pro-Communist. They’d been pacifists up until the Soviet entry into the Second World War, at which point they had immediately turned round and become the biggest cheerleaders of the war:   [Excerpt: The Almanac Singers, “Round and Round Hitler’s Grave”]   The Almanac Singers had a revolving door membership, including everyone from Burl Ives to Cisco Houston at one point or another, but the core of the group had been Seeger and Lee Hays, and those two had eventually formed another group, more or less as a continuation of the Almanac Singers, but with a less explicitly political agenda — they would perform Guthrie and Lead Belly songs, and songs they wrote themselves, but not be tied to performing music that fit the ideological line of the Communist Party.   The Weavers immediately had far more commercial success than the Almanac Singers ever had, and recorded such hits as their version of Lead Belly’s “Goodnight Irene”, with orchestration by Gordon Jenkins:   [Excerpt: The Weavers, “Goodnight Irene”]   And one of the hits they recorded was a version of “Mbube”, which they titled “Wimoweh”.   Alan Lomax, the folk song collector, had discovered somewhere a big stack of African records, which were about to be thrown out, and he thought to himself that those would be exactly the kind of thing that Pete Seeger might want, and gave them to him. Seeger loved the recording of “Mbube”, but neither man had any clear idea of what the song was or where it came from. Seeger couldn’t make out the lyrics — he thought Linda was singing something like “Wimoweh”, and he created a new arrangement of the song, taking Linda’s melody from the end of the song and singing it repeatedly throughout:   [Excerpt: The Weavers, “Wimoweh”]   At the time, the Weavers were signed as songwriters to Folkways, a company that was set up to promote folk music, but was part of a much bigger conglomerate, The Richmond Organisation. When they were informed that the Weavers were going to record “Wimoweh”, Folkways contacted the South African record company and were informed that “Mbube” was a traditional folk song. So Folkways copyrighted “Mbube”, as “Wimoweh”, in the name Paul Campbell — a collective pseudonym that the Weavers used for their arrangements of traditional songs.   Shortly after this, Gallo realised their mistake and tried to copyright “Mbube” themselves in the USA, under Solomon Linda’s name, only to be told that Folkways already had the copyright. Now, in the 1950s the USA was not yet a signatory to the Berne Convention, the international agreement on copyright laws, and so it made no difference that in South Africa the song had been copyrighted under Linda’s name — in the USA it was owned by Folkways, because they had registered it first.   But Folkways wanted the rights for other countries, too, and so they came to an agreement with Gallo that would be to Gallo’s immense disadvantage. Because they agreed that they would pay Gallo a modest one-off fee, and “let” Gallo have the rights to the song in a few territories in Africa, and in return Folkways would get the copyright everywhere else. Gallo agreed, and so “Mbube” by Solomon Linda and “Wimoweh” by Paul Campbell became separate copyrights — Gallo had, without realising it, given up their legal rights to the song throughout the world.   “Wimoweh” by the Weavers went to number six on the charts, but then Senator McCarthy stepped in. Both Pete Seeger and Lee Hays had been named as past Communist Party members, and were called before the House Unamerican Activities Committee to testify. Hays stood on his fifth amendment rights, refusing to testify against himself, but Seeger took the riskier option of simply refusing on first amendment grounds. He said, quite rightly, that his political activities, voting history, and party membership were nobody’s business except his, and he wasn’t going to testify about them in front of Congress. He spent much of the next decade with the threat of prison hanging over his head.   As a result, the Weavers were blacklisted from radio and TV, as was Seeger as a solo artist. “Wimoweh” dropped off the charts, and the group’s recording catalogue was deleted. The group split up, though they did get back together again a few years later, and managed to have a hit live album of a concert they performed at Carnegie Hall in 1955, which also included “Wimoweh”:   [Excerpt: The Weavers, “Wimoweh (live at Carnegie Hall)”]   Seeger left the group permanently a couple of years after that, when they did a commercial for tobacco — the group were still blacklisted from the radio and TV, and saw it as an opportunity to get some exposure, but Seeger didn’t approve of tobacco or advertising, and quit the group because of it — though because he’d made a commitment to the group, he did appear on the commercial, not wanting to break his word. At his suggestion, he was replaced by Erik Darling, from another folk group, The Tarriers. Darling was an Ayn Rand fan and a libertarian, so presumably didn’t have the same attitudes towards advertising.   As you might have gathered from this, Seeger was a man of strong principles, and so you might be surprised that he would take credit for someone else’s song. As it turned out, he didn’t. When he discovered that Solomon Linda had written the song, that it wasn’t just a traditional song, he insisted that all future money he would have made from it go to Linda, and sent Linda a cheque for a thousand dollars for the money he’d already earned. But Seeger was someone who didn’t care much about money at all — he donated the vast majority of his money to worthy causes, and lived frugally, and he assumed that the people he was working with would behave honourably and keep to agreements, and didn’t bother checking on them. They didn’t, and Linda saw nothing from them.   Over the years after 1952, “Wimoweh” became something of a standard in America, with successful versions like the one by Yma Sumac:   [Excerpt: Yma Sumac, “Wimoweh”]   And in the early sixties it was in the repertoire of almost every folk group, being recorded by groups like the Kingston Trio, who had taken the Weavers’ place as the most popular folk group in the country.   And then the Tokens entered the picture. We’ve mentioned the Tokens before, in the episode on “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” — they were the group, also known as the Linc-Tones, that was led by Carole King’s friend Neil Sedaka, and who’d recorded “While I Dream” with Sedaka on lead vocals:   [Excerpt: Neil Sedaka and the Tokens, “While I Dream”]   After recording that, one member of the group had gone off to college, and been replaced by the falsetto singer Jay Siegel. But then the group had split up, and Sedaka had gone on to a very successful career as a solo performer and a songwriter.  But Siegel and one of the other group members, Hank Medress, had carried on performing together, and had formed a new group, Darrell and the Oxfords, with two other singers. That group had made a couple of records for Roulette Records, one of which, “Picture in Your Wallet”, was a local hit:   [Excerpt: Darrell and the Oxfords, “Picture in Your Wallet”]   But that group had also split up. So the duo invited yet another pair of singers to join them — Mitch Margo, who was around their age, in his late teens, and his twelve-year-old brother Phil. The group reverted to their old name of The Tokens, and recorded a song called “Tonight I Fell In Love”, which they leased to a small label called Warwick Records:   [Excerpt: The Tokens, “Tonight I Fell In Love”]   Warwick Records sat on the track for six months before releasing it. When they did, in 1961, it went to number fifteen on the charts. But by then, the group had signed to RCA Records, and were now working with Hugo and Luigi, the production duo who you might remember from the episode on “Shout”.   The group put out a couple of flop singles on RCA, including a remake of the Moonglows’ “Sincerely”:   [Excerpt: The Tokens, “Sincerely”]   But after those two singles flopped, the group made the record that would define them for the rest of their lives. The Tokens had been performing “Wimoweh” in their stage act, and they played it for Hugo and Luigi, who thought there was something there, but they didn’t think it would be commercial as it was. They decided to get a professional writer in to fix the song up, and called in George David Weiss, a writer with whom they’d worked before. The three of them had previously co-written “Can’t Help Falling In Love” for Elvis Presley, basing it on a traditional melody, which is what they thought they were doing here:   [Excerpt: Elvis Presley, “Can’t Help Falling In Love”]   Weiss took the song home and reworked it. Weiss decided to find out what the original lyrics had been about, and apparently asked the South African consulate, who told him that it was about lions, so he came up with new lyrics — “in the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight”.   Hugo and Luigi came up with an arrangement for Weiss’ new version of the song, and brought in an opera singer named Anita Darian to replicate the part that Yma Sumac had sung on her version. The song was recorded, and released on the B-side of the Tokens’ third flop in a row:   [Excerpt: The Tokens, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”]   As it was believed by everyone involved that the song was a traditional one, the new song was copyrighted in the names of Weiss, Hugo, and Luigi. And as it was released as a B-side of a flop single, nobody cared at first.   But then a DJ flipped the record and started playing the B-side, and suddenly the song was a hit. Indeed, it went to number one. And it didn’t just go to number one, it became a standard, recorded over the years by everyone from Brian Eno to Billy Joel, The New Christy Minstrels to They Might Be Giants.   Obviously, the publishers of “Wimoweh”, who knew that the song wasn’t a traditional piece at all, wanted to get their share of the money. However, the owner of the publishing company was also a good friend of Weiss — and Weiss was someone who had a lot of influence in the industry, and who nobody wanted to upset, and so they came to a very amicable agreement. The three credited songwriters would stay credited as the songwriters and keep all the songwriting money — after all, Pete Seeger didn’t want it, and the publishers were only under a moral obligation to Solomon Linda, not a legal one — but the Richmond Organisation would get the publishing money.   Everyone seemed to be satisfied with the arrangement, and Solomon Linda’s song went on earning a lot of money for a lot of white men he never met.   The Tokens tried to follow up with a version of an actual African folk song, “Bwa Nina”, but that wasn’t a hit, and nor was a version of “La Bamba”. While they continued their career for decades, the only hit they had as performers was in 1973, by which point Hank Medress had left and the other three had changed their name to Cross Country and had a hit with a remake of “In the Midnight Hour”:   [Excerpt: Cross Country, “The Midnight Hour”]   I say that was the only hit they had as performers, because they went into record production themselves. There they were far more successful, and as a group they produced records like the Chiffons’ “He’s So Fine”, making them the first vocal group to produce a hit for another vocal group:   [Excerpt: The Chiffons, “He’s So Fine”]   That song would, of course, generate its own famous authorial dispute case in later years. After Hank Medress left the group, he worked as a producer on his own, producing hits for Tony Orlando and Dawn, and also producing one of the later hit versions of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, Robert John’s version, which made number three in 1972:   [Excerpt: Robert John, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”]   Today there are two touring versions of the Tokens, one led by Jay Siegel and one by Phil Margo.   But while in 1961 the Richmond Organisation, Hugo and Luigi, and George Weiss all seemed happy with their agreement, things started to go wrong in 1989.   American copyright law has had several changes over the years, and nothing of what I’m saying applies now, but for songs written before 1978 and the first of the Mickey Mouse copyright extensions, the rule used to be that a song would be in copyright for twenty-eight years. The writer could then renew it for a second twenty-eight-year term. (The rule is now that songs published in America remain in copyright until seventy years after the writer’s death).    And it’s specifically the *writer* who could renew it for that second term, not the publishers. George Weiss filed notice that he was going to renew the copyright when the twenty-eight-year term expired, and that he wasn’t going to let the Richmond Organisation publish the song.   As soon as the Richmond Organisation heard about this, they took Weiss to court, saying that he couldn’t take the publishing rights away from them, because the song was based on “Wimoweh”, which they owned. Weiss argued that if the song was based on “Wimoweh”, the copyright should have reflected that for the twenty-eight years that the Richmond Organisation owned it. They’d signed papers agreeing that Weiss and Hugo and Luigi were the writers, and if they’d had a problem with that they should have said so back in 1961.   The courts sided with Weiss, but they did say that the Richmond Organisation might have had a bit of a point about the song’s similarity to “Wimoweh”, so they had to pay a small amount of money to Solomon Linda’s family.   And the American writers getting the song back coincided with two big boosts in the income from the song. First, R.E.M recorded a song called “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite”, on their album Automatic For the People (a record we will definitely be talking about in 2026, assuming I’m still around and able to do the podcast by then). The album was one of the biggest records of the decade, and on the song, Michael Stipe sang a fragment of Solomon Linda’s melody:   [Excerpt: R.E.M. “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite”]   The owners of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” took legal action about that, and got themselves credited as co-writers of R.E.M.’s song, and the group also had to record “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, releasing it as a B-side to the hit single version of “Sidewinder”:   [Excerpt: R.E.M. “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”]   Even better from their point of view, the song was featured in the Disney film The Lion King, which on its release in 1994 became the second highest-grossing film of all time and the most successful animated film ever, and in its Broadway adaptation, which became the most successful Broadway show of all time.   And in 2000, Rian Malan, a South African journalist based in America, who mostly dedicated his work to expunging his ancestral guilt — he’s a relative of Daniel Malan, the South African dictator who instituted the apartheid system, and of Magnus Malan, one of the more monstrous ministers in the regime in its last days of the eighties and early nineties — found out that while Solomon Linda’s family had been getting some money, it amounted at most to a couple of thousand dollars a year, shared between Linda’s daughters. At the same time, Malan estimated that over the years the song had generated something in the region of fifteen million dollars for its American copyright owners.   Malan published an article about this, and just before that, the daughters got a minor windfall — Pete Seeger noticed a six thousand dollar payment, which came to him when a commercial used “Wimoweh”, rather than “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. He realised that he’d been receiving the royalties for “Wimoweh” all along, even though he’d asked that they be sent to Linda, so he totalled up how much he’d earned from the song over the years, which came to twelve thousand dollars, and he sent a cheque for that amount to Linda’s daughters.   Those daughters were living in such poverty that in 2001, one of the four died of AIDS — a disease which would have been completely treatable if she’d been able to afford the anti-retroviral medication to treat it.   The surviving sisters were told that the copyright in “Mbube” should have reverted to them in the eighties, and that they had a very good case under South African law to get a proper share of the rights to both “Wimoweh” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”.   They just needed to find someone in South Africa that they could sue. Abilene Music, the current owners of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, were based in the USA and had no assets in South Africa. Suing them would be pointless. But they could sue someone else:   [Excerpt: Timon and Pumbaa, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”]   Disney had assets in South Africa. Lots of them. And they’d used Solomon Linda’s song in their film, which under South African law would be copyright infringement. It would even be possible, if the case went really badly for Disney, that Linda’s family could get total ownership of all Disney assets in South Africa.   So in 2006, Disney came to an out of court settlement with Linda’s family, and they appear to have pressured Abilene Music to do the same thing. Under South African law, “Mbube” would go out of copyright by 2012, but it was agreed that Linda’s daughters would receive royalties on “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” until 2017, even after the South African copyright had expired, and they would get a lump sum from Disney. The money they were owed would be paid into a trust.   After 2017, they would still get money from “Wimoweh”, but not from “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, whose rights would revert fully to its American owners.   Unfortunately, most of the money they got seems to have gone on legal bills. The three surviving sisters each received, in total, about eighty-three thousand dollars over the ten-year course of the agreement after those bills, which is much, much, more than they were getting before, but only a fraction of what the song would have earned them if they’d been paid properly.   In 2017, the year the agreement expired, Disney announced they were making a photorealistic CGI remake of The Lion King. That, too, featured “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, and that, too, became the most successful animated film of all time. Under American copyright law, “Wimoweh” will remain in copyright until 2047, unless further changes are made to the law. Solomon Linda’s family will continue to receive royalties on that song. “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, the much more successful song, will remain in copyright until 2057, and the money from that will mostly go to Claire Weiss-Creatore, who was George Weiss’ third wife, and who after he died in 2010 became the third wife of Luigi Creatore, of Hugo and Luigi, who died himself in 2015. Solomon Linda’s daughters won’t see a penny of it.   According to George Weiss’ obituary in the Guardian, he “was a familiar figure at congressional hearings into copyright reform and music piracy, testifying as to the vital importance of intellectual property protection for composers”.  

Episode eighty-nine of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” by the Shirelles, and at the beginnings of the Brill Building sound. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.   Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on “Tom Dooley” by the Kingston Trio. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ —-more—- Resources As always, I’ve created a Mixcloud streaming playlist with full versions of all the songs in the episode. There are no biographies of the Shirelles in print, so I’ve used a variety of sources, including the articles on the Shirelles and Luther Dixon at This Is My Story. The following books were also of some use: A Natural Woman is Carole King’s autobiography. Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era by Ken Emerson is a good overview of the whole scene. Girl Groups by John Clemente contains potted biographies of many groups of the era. And Here Comes The Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues by Joel Selvin goes into some detail about Scepter Records. I also referred to the liner notes of this CD, which contains most of the Shirelles tracks worth owning.   Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them?   Transcript   We’re currently in a patch of rock and roll history that is ludicrously undocumented. There is book after book about the major stars of the early rock and roll era — while you won’t find much out there on a lot of truly important artists, you can find out enough about Elvis and Ray Charles and Johnny Cash and Little Richard and Chuck Berry and the rest — these are all romantic figures of legend, the Titans who were defeated in the Titanomachy that was the mid-sixties Beat boom. And of course, there are many many, books on almost every band of the mid to late sixties to even have a minor hit. But the period from 1958 through 1964 is generally summed up by “and there were some whitebread nonentities like Fabian and Frankie Avalon”. Occasionally, in some of the books, there is a slightly more subtle approach taken, and the summary is “there were some whitebread nonentities like Fabian and Frankie Avalon, and also Roy Orbison and one or two others made a decent record”. But there were many other people making great records — people who made hits that are still staples of oldies radio in a way that a lot of records from a few years later aren’t; records that still sound like they’re fresh new records made by people who have ideas. Today we’re going to talk about a few of those people, and about one of those great records. We’re going to look at the Brill Building, and some of the songwriters who worked there, and at the great record producer Luther Dixon, and at the Shirelles, and their record “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?”: [Excerpt: The Shirelles, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?”] It’s been a little while since we looked at any of the early girl groups, but if you remember the episodes on the Bobettes and the Chantels, girl groups in the early years were largely a phenomenon based in New York, and that’s more or less the case with the Shirelles, who didn’t come from New York itself, but from Passaic New Jersey, about sixteen miles away. Shirley Owens, Doris Coley, Addie Harris and Beverly Lee met at school, and formed a group called the Poquellos, which is apparently Spanish for “little birds”. As we’ve discussed previously, most of the early doo-wop groups were named after birds, and these girls were forming their group before girl groups became regarded as something separate from male vocal groups. Oddly, the group that became the most successful of the early girl groups, and the one that more than any other set the template for all those that would follow, never wanted to become professional singers, and almost had to be forced against their will at every stage. Their first public performance, in fact, was as a punishment. They had been singing with each other in gym class, and not paying attention to the teacher, and so the teacher told them that, as a punishment, they would have to perform in the school talent contest, which they didn’t want to do. They performed at the show, singing a song they’d made up themselves, “I Met Him on a Sunday”, and went down a storm with the kids at the school. In particular, one of the girls there, Mary Jane Greenberg, insisted that the girls come and meet her mother, Florence. Florence Greenberg was a bored suburban housewife, who until her mid-forties had concentrated on being a homemaker for her husband, who was an executive at a potato chip firm, and for her two children. In her spare time she mostly did things like run fundraisers for the local Republican party. But her son was interested in getting into the music business in some way, and her husband was friends with Freddy Bienstock, who worked for Hill and Range at the Brill Building, and whose job was choosing the songs that Elvis Presley would record. Bienstock invited Greenberg to come and visit him at Hill and Range’s offices, and after spending a little time around the Brill Building, Greenberg became convinced that she should start her own record label, despite having no experience in the field whatsoever. She would often just go and hang around at a restaurant near the Brill Building to soak in the atmosphere. The Poquellos were actually not at all interested in making a record, but Mary Jane kept insisting that they should meet with her mother anyway. It got to the point that the girls used to try to avoid her at school and hide from her, but she was insistent and eventually they relented, and went to see Mrs Greenberg. They auditioned for her in her front room, singing the same song they’d performed at the school talent contest. Mrs Greenberg decided that they were going to be the first group signed to her new label, Tiara Records, and they recorded the song they’d written, with Greenberg’s musical son Stan producing and arranging, under the name Stan Green: [Excerpt: The Shirelles, “I Met Him On A Sunday (Ronde Ronde)”] Stan wasn’t the only person with a new name. The Poquellos were also renamed, to the Shirelles — after Shirley Owens, but with the “el” ending to be reminiscent of the Chantels, and that was the name they would be known by from that point on. “I Met Him On A Sunday” was a minor local success, and was picked up by Decca Records, who bought the girls’ contract out from Greenberg. They managed to get it to number fifty on the charts, but the two singles they recorded for Decca after that didn’t have any success, and the label dropped them. That might have been the end of the Shirelles, but Greenberg had remained their manager, and she had started up a new record label, Scepter Records, and signed them up to that instead of Tiara. Their first few singles for Scepter did nothing, but then a change in Scepter’s staffing changed everything, not just for the Shirelles, but for the world of music. Greenberg was not a particularly musical person — and indeed several of the people who worked for her would later mock some decisions she’d made when she’d used her own judgment about songs. But she surrounded herself with people who were musical. The director of A&R for Scepter was Wally Roker, who had originally been the bass singer in the Heartbeats, who’d had a top five hit with “A Thousand Miles Away” in 1956: [Excerpt: The Heartbeats, “A Thousand Miles Away”] Roker in turn introduced Greenberg to a friend of his, Luther Dixon. Greenberg and Dixon’s initial meeting was just the length of one elevator ride, but that was long enough for them to exchange numbers and arrange to meet again. Soon Dixon was working for Greenberg at Scepter, and was also her lover. Dixon had started out as a singer, joining a minor group called The Buddies, who had recorded singles like “I Stole Your Heart”: [Excerpt: The Buddies, “I Stole Your Heart”] But he had soon moved into songwriting. Dixon was a collaborator by nature, and his first big hit was written with a writing partner called Larry Harrison. “Why Baby Why” went to number five for Pat Boone in 1957: [Excerpt: Pat Boone, “Why Baby Why”] He spent some time writing with Otis Blackwell, with whom he wrote “All the Way Home” for Bobby Darin: [Excerpt: Bobby Darin, “All the Way Home”] And at the time he met Greenberg, he had just written “Sixteen Candles” with Allyson Khent, a number two hit for the Crests: [Excerpt: The Crests, “Sixteen Candles”] Greenberg took him on as a staff writer and producer, and gave him a cut of the publishing rights for his songs — almost unheard of at that time. The first record he worked on for the Shirelles was also the group’s first top forty hit. With Shirley Owens, Dixon wrote “Tonight’s the Night”. It was intended as a B-side to a song with a lead by Doris, but “Tonight’s the Night” was an unexpected success and established Shirley firmly in the role of the group’s lead singer: [Excerpt: The Shirelles, “Tonight’s the Night”] That went to number thirty-nine, and a competing version by the Chiffons also made the Hot One Hundred: [Excerpt: The Chiffons, “Tonight’s the Night”] The Shirelles were a hit group, and they needed a follow-up. And that’s where Goffin and King enter our story… Carole King had, from a very early age, been a child prodigy with a particular talent for music. In her autobiography she talks about how when she was a child, her dad would have her, as a party trick, turn to the wall while he played notes on the piano and she called out which one he was playing. Apparently her father would claim she had perfect pitch, and this was not quite true — she had relative pitch, which meant that once she heard one note she knew, she could tell all the rest of the notes from that, so her father would always start with middle C. But that sense of relative pitch is in itself an amazing talent for a tiny child — I still can’t do that with any great accuracy in my forties, and I’ve spent most of my life studying and playing music. By the age of eight she had appeared in a couple of shows, including Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour, which was a nationally broadcast show, performing in a duo with a friend, but she didn’t know exactly what it was she wanted to do until she was thirteen, when she went on a date with Joel Zwick, who would later become known as the director of My Big Fat Greek Wedding among others — one thing that seems to happen a lot in King’s early life is getting to know people who would go on to become very successful. Zwick took her to an Alan Freed show at the Paramount in Brooklyn, where she saw LaVern Baker, BB King, Mickey Baker, the Moonglows, and several other R&B stars of the period. It wasn’t, though, seeing the musicians themselves that made Carol Klein, as she then was, want to go into rock and roll music, though that was certainly an inspiration, and she talks a lot about how that Freed show was her introduction to a whole world of music that was far from the whitebread pop on which she had grown up. Rather, it was almost a chance event. She and her date hung around the stage door to see if they could see any of the performers and get autographs. The group they were in accidentally got drawn in through the stage door when some people who were meant to be there were let in, and she got to see the performers hanging around backstage. She knew then, not that she wanted to be a performer herself, but that she wanted to be part of that world, someone that those performers knew and respected. She started attending a stage school, where one of her classmates was Al Pacino, but after a short while she left, deciding that she wasn’t cut out for the non-musical aspects of the school, and went back to a normal high school, where she formed her first group, the Cosines. along with Zwick. She started writing songs when she heard a group from a rival local high school, Neil Sedaka and the Linc-Tones, singing a song called “While I Dream”: [Excerpt: The Tokens “While I Dream”] Sedaka had briefly dated her, and had co-written that song himself, with Howard Greenfield, and his group got a record deal under the name The Tokens. King figured that if he could do that, so could she. She started writing songs, and found she was good at melodies but not particularly great at lyrics. But she still thought she was good enough to do something. She decided that she was going to go and see Alan Freed, and play him some of her songs. Freed listened to her politely, and explained to her how, at the time, one went about becoming a professional songwriter for the R&B market. He told her to get the addresses of record labels from the phone book, go and try to play her songs to them, and explained how a publishing contract would work. The record label he mentioned to her specifically was Atlantic Records, so she tried that one first. Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun listened to her, and told her she had talent and to come back when she had more songs. It wasn’t a rejection, but it wasn’t the instant acceptance she’d hoped for. The second label she went to was ABC-Paramount, where she saw Don Costa. Costa was head of A&R at the label, but also a musician himself. Around this time he had released a cover version of Bill Justis’ “Raunchy”, under the name Muvva Guitar Hubbard: [Excerpt: Muvva “Guitar” Hubbard, “Raunchy”] Costa would later go on to arrange and conduct for Frank Sinatra, and he also had a respectable career as a session guitarist, but Carol didn’t know any of this when she went into his office and played through her songs for him. She was flabbergasted to find that, rather than just sign her to a publishing contract, he asked her to sign a recording contract as well. She was disappointed that he wasn’t interested in signing the rest of her group — he thought she was good enough by herself, without needing to hear the other three — but not so disappointed that she didn’t sign with him straight away. Her first few singles were solo compositions, and didn’t do very much in terms of sales, partly because she still didn’t consider herself especially good as a lyricist: [Excerpt: Carole King, “The Right Girl”] So while she was trying to have a music career, she also went off to college, aged sixteen — she had skipped multiple years in school — where she met someone else who had had a minor hit. The boy who performed under the name Jerry Landis had released “Hey! Schoolgirl”, an Everly Brothers knockoff, with a friend, as Tom and Jerry: [Excerpt: Tom and Jerry, “Hey! Schoolgirl”] Landis and King started working together, recording demos for other writers, though never writing together. For some of those demos, they re-used the Cosines name, like on this one for a song by Marty Kalfin: [Excerpt: The Cosines, “Just to Be With You”] They were quite proud when the arrangement they came up with for that demo was copied exactly for the finished record, which made the lower regions of the Hot One Hundred: [Excerpt: The Passions, “Just to Be With You”] They didn’t work together for very long, and Jerry Landis went on to record under other names like “True Taylor” and “Paul Kane”, before getting back together with Tom, and deciding to work together under their real names. We’ll be hearing more of Paul Simon and his partner Art Garfunkel in future episodes. Someone else she met while at college was the man who was to become her first husband, another Gerry — Gerry Goffin. Goffin impressed her with his looks the first time she saw him — he looked exactly like a drawing she had clipped out of a magazine, which looked to her like the perfect boyfriend. Goffin impressed her less, though, with his studied dislike of rock and roll music, but was suddenly keen to write a song with her when she mentioned that she’d been selling songs. He’d been trying to write a musical, but he was primarily a lyricist, and couldn’t do much with music. King mentioned that she knew that Atlantic were looking for a new song for Mickey and Sylvia, and the two of them worked on a song based on the style of “Love is Strange”, which they completed very quickly, and took to Atlantic. Unfortunately, when they got there, they were told that Mickey and Sylvia had split up, but that their song would be suitable for the new duo they’d put together to continue the act — Mickey and Kitty: [Excerpt: Mickey and Kitty, “The Kid Brother”] That was released as a B-side. The A-side, “Ooh Sha La La” was written by Neil Sedaka and Howie Greenfield: [Excerpt: MIckey and Kitty, “Ooh Sha La La”] Sedaka and Greenfield had become hot songwriters, and around this time Sedaka was also becoming a successful performer. His first hit as a performer, “Oh Carol”, was in fact written about Carole King: [Excerpt: Neil Sedaka, “Oh Carol”] And King herself recorded an answer record to that, with new lyrics by Goffin: [Excerpt: Carole King, “Oh Neil”] By the time she was seventeen, King was married to Goffin, and pregnant with his child. Goffin was working a day job, and they were treating the occasional twenty-five dollar advance they got from writing songs as windfalls. But then, when she was on one of her visits to 1650 Broadway to sell songs, King bumped into Sedaka, who told her she should come and meet Al Nevins and Don Kirshner, the owners of Aldon Music. Aldon is the publisher who, more than any single other company, was responsible for what became known as the Brill Building sound. Even though they weren’t based in the actual Brill Building, which was at 1619 Broadway, but in 1650 Broadway, the companies in that second building were so associated with the Brill Building sound that you’ll find almost every history of music misattributes them and places them there, and in most interviews, when you see people talking about the Brill Building, even people who worked in one or other building, they’re as likely to be talking about 1650 as 1619. Kirshner is someone we’ve met briefly before. He’d started out as a songwriter, working with his friend Bobby Darin on songs like “I Want Elvis For Christmas”, which had been recorded by the Holly Twins with Eddie Cochran impersonating Elvis: [Excerpt: The Holly Twins and Eddie Cochran, “I Want Elvis For Christmas”] However, as Darin had moved into performance, Kirshner had gone into music publishing. He’d scored early success when working for Vanderbilt Music by bringing Al Lewis out of retirement. Lewis had been a hit songwriter in the thirties and forties, but hadn’t done much for a while. But then Fats Domino had had a hit with “Blueberry Hill”, a song Lewis had cowritten decades earlier, and Kirshner decided to pair Lewis with a black musician, Sylvester Bradford, and the two started writing hits together, notably “Tears on My Pillow” for Little Anthony and the Imperials: [Excerpt: Little Anthony and the Imperials, “Tears on My Pillow”] Kirshner had then formed his own publishing company. He’d first approached Pomus and Shuman, and then Leiber and Stoller, to go into business with him, but he ended up with Al Nevins, who had been a musician and had also co-written “Twilight Time” with Buck Ram, which had been a hit in the forties and then later revived by the Platters: [Excerpt: The Platters, “Twilight Time”] Kirshner and Nevins were looking for talented new songwriters, and they had signed up Sedaka and Greenfield, and also signed Paul Simon around this time, as well as another couple, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill. When Carole King played them a few of the songs she’d co-written with Goffin, they signed Goffin and King to a three-year contract, with advances of one thousand dollars for the first year, two thousand for the second, and three thousand for the third, to be offset against their royalties. This was a fortune for the young couple, and so they went from soul-crushing day jobs to… a day job, working in a cubicle. Aldon had a very regimented system. Every writing team had a tiny cubicle, containing a piano and a couple of chairs, in which they would work during normal office hours. Kirshner’s system was simple — any time any new act had a hit, he would get all the songwriters in his office to try to write a follow-up to the hit, in the same style. Of the efforts to find a follow-up to “Tonight’s the Night”, Kirshner decided on one that Goffin and King had written. “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” had lyrics that had rather more depth than most of the songs that were charting at the time. Goffin’s initial dislike of rock and roll music had been because of what he perceived as its lyrical vacuity, and in “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” he found a lyrical formula that would define girl groups from that point on — a look at a kind of female adolescent emotion that had previously not been discussed in pop music. In this case the lyrics were from the point of view of a woman worrying that she’s just a one-night stand, not someone the man cares about, and struck a chord with millions. But King’s music is at least as impressive. She modelled the song on “There Goes My Baby”, and when Luther Dixon accepted the song for the Shirelles, she decided she would write a string arrangement for it like the one the Drifters had used. She’d never written for an orchestra before, so she got a book on arrangement out of the library, and looked through it quickly before writing the string arrangement overnight. The group didn’t like the song, thinking it sounded like a country song, but Luther Dixon insisted, and the result went to number one: [Excerpt: The Shirelles, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?”] The B-side to that single, a Luther Dixon song called “Boys”, would also become a well-known track itself: [Excerpt: The Shirelles, “Boys”] Two more top ten hits followed, and then the group’s singles started doing less well again. To reverse the downward trend, Dixon brought in a song by another new writer, Burt Bacharach. Bacharach had written a song with Mack David — the brother of his usual lyricist Hal David — called “I’ll Cherish You”. Dixon liked the song, but thought the lyrics were a bit too sickly. He changed the lyrics around, making them instead about someone who still loves her boyfriend despite her friends telling her how bad he is, and retitling it “Baby It’s You”. For the record itself, he just used Bacharach’s original demo and stuck Shirley’s voice on top — Shirley was the only member of the group to sing on the record, though it was still released as by the Shirelles. You can still hear Bacharach singing on the “sha la la”s: [Excerpt: The Shirelles, “Baby It’s You”] That returned them to the top ten, and the follow-up, “Soldier Boy”, written by Dixon and Greenberg, became their second number one. Unfortunately, it would be their last. Dixon and Greenberg ended their relationship, and Dixon went on to a new job at Capitol Records. Various other people produced recordings for the Shirelles at Scepter, but none had the same success with them that Dixon did. It didn’t help that the girls were starting families, and at various times one or other member had to be replaced on the road while they were on maternity leave. The singer who replaced them for those shows was a session singer who Bacharach was producing for Scepter, named Dionne Warwick. To make matters worse, the Shirelles discovered that Greenberg had been lying to them. They’d been told that their royalties were being put into a trust for them, for when they turned twenty-one, but they discovered that no such trust existed, and Greenberg had just been keeping their money. They entered into lawsuits against Scepter, but remained signed to the label, and so couldn’t record for anyone else. Their career was destroyed. They remained together in one lineup or another, with members coming and going, until the early eighties, when they all went their separate ways, though they all started their own lineups of Shirelles. These days Shirley tours under her married name as Shirley Alston Reeves and Her Shirelles, while Beverly Lee owns the rights to tour as The Shirelles with no modifiers. Addie Harris died in 1982, and Doris Coley in 2000. The Shirelles were badly treated by their record company, and by history. They made some of the most important records of the sixties, and it was their success that led to the great boom in girl groups of the next few years — the Supremes, the Marvelettes, the Crystals, the Ronettes, and the rest, all were following in the Shirelles’ footsteps. Because they had their greatest success in that period between 1958 and 1964 which most rock historians treat as having nothing of interest in, they’re almost ignored despite their huge influence on the musicians who followed them. But without them, the sound of sixties pop would have been vastly different, and to this day their greatest records sound as fresh and inspiring as the day they were recorded.

Episode eighty-nine of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" by the Shirelles, and at the beginnings of the Brill Building sound. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.   Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on "Tom Dooley" by the Kingston Trio. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ ----more---- Resources As always, I've created a Mixcloud streaming playlist with full versions of all the songs in the episode. There are no biographies of the Shirelles in print, so I've used a variety of sources, including the articles on the Shirelles and Luther Dixon at This Is My Story. The following books were also of some use: A Natural Woman is Carole King's autobiography. Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era by Ken Emerson is a good overview of the whole scene. Girl Groups by John Clemente contains potted biographies of many groups of the era. And Here Comes The Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues by Joel Selvin goes into some detail about Scepter Records. I also referred to the liner notes of this CD, which contains most of the Shirelles tracks worth owning.   Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them?   Transcript   We're currently in a patch of rock and roll history that is ludicrously undocumented. There is book after book about the major stars of the early rock and roll era -- while you won't find much out there on a lot of truly important artists, you can find out enough about Elvis and Ray Charles and Johnny Cash and Little Richard and Chuck Berry and the rest -- these are all romantic figures of legend, the Titans who were defeated in the Titanomachy that was the mid-sixties Beat boom. And of course, there are many many, books on almost every band of the mid to late sixties to even have a minor hit. But the period from 1958 through 1964 is generally summed up by "and there were some whitebread nonentities like Fabian and Frankie Avalon". Occasionally, in some of the books, there is a slightly more subtle approach taken, and the summary is "there were some whitebread nonentities like Fabian and Frankie Avalon, and also Roy Orbison and one or two others made a decent record". But there were many other people making great records -- people who made hits that are still staples of oldies radio in a way that a lot of records from a few years later aren't; records that still sound like they're fresh new records made by people who have ideas. Today we're going to talk about a few of those people, and about one of those great records. We're going to look at the Brill Building, and some of the songwriters who worked there, and at the great record producer Luther Dixon, and at the Shirelles, and their record "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?": [Excerpt: The Shirelles, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?"] It's been a little while since we looked at any of the early girl groups, but if you remember the episodes on the Bobettes and the Chantels, girl groups in the early years were largely a phenomenon based in New York, and that's more or less the case with the Shirelles, who didn't come from New York itself, but from Passaic New Jersey, about sixteen miles away. Shirley Owens, Doris Coley, Addie Harris and Beverly Lee met at school, and formed a group called the Poquellos, which is apparently Spanish for "little birds". As we've discussed previously, most of the early doo-wop groups were named after birds, and these girls were forming their group before girl groups became regarded as something separate from male vocal groups. Oddly, the group that became the most successful of the early girl groups, and the one that more than any other set the template for all those that would follow, never wanted to become professional singers, and almost had to be forced against their will at every stage. Their first public performance, in fact, was as a punishment. They had been singing with each other in gym class, and not paying attention to the teacher, and so the teacher told them that, as a punishment, they would have to perform in the school talent contest, which they didn't want to do. They performed at the show, singing a song they'd made up themselves, "I Met Him on a Sunday", and went down a storm with the kids at the school. In particular, one of the girls there, Mary Jane Greenberg, insisted that the girls come and meet her mother, Florence. Florence Greenberg was a bored suburban housewife, who until her mid-forties had concentrated on being a homemaker for her husband, who was an executive at a potato chip firm, and for her two children. In her spare time she mostly did things like run fundraisers for the local Republican party. But her son was interested in getting into the music business in some way, and her husband was friends with Freddy Bienstock, who worked for Hill and Range at the Brill Building, and whose job was choosing the songs that Elvis Presley would record. Bienstock invited Greenberg to come and visit him at Hill and Range's offices, and after spending a little time around the Brill Building, Greenberg became convinced that she should start her own record label, despite having no experience in the field whatsoever. She would often just go and hang around at a restaurant near the Brill Building to soak in the atmosphere. The Poquellos were actually not at all interested in making a record, but Mary Jane kept insisting that they should meet with her mother anyway. It got to the point that the girls used to try to avoid her at school and hide from her, but she was insistent and eventually they relented, and went to see Mrs Greenberg. They auditioned for her in her front room, singing the same song they'd performed at the school talent contest. Mrs Greenberg decided that they were going to be the first group signed to her new label, Tiara Records, and they recorded the song they'd written, with Greenberg's musical son Stan producing and arranging, under the name Stan Green: [Excerpt: The Shirelles, "I Met Him On A Sunday (Ronde Ronde)"] Stan wasn't the only person with a new name. The Poquellos were also renamed, to the Shirelles -- after Shirley Owens, but with the "el" ending to be reminiscent of the Chantels, and that was the name they would be known by from that point on. "I Met Him On A Sunday" was a minor local success, and was picked up by Decca Records, who bought the girls' contract out from Greenberg. They managed to get it to number fifty on the charts, but the two singles they recorded for Decca after that didn't have any success, and the label dropped them. That might have been the end of the Shirelles, but Greenberg had remained their manager, and she had started up a new record label, Scepter Records, and signed them up to that instead of Tiara. Their first few singles for Scepter did nothing, but then a change in Scepter's staffing changed everything, not just for the Shirelles, but for the world of music. Greenberg was not a particularly musical person -- and indeed several of the people who worked for her would later mock some decisions she'd made when she'd used her own judgment about songs. But she surrounded herself with people who were musical. The director of A&R for Scepter was Wally Roker, who had originally been the bass singer in the Heartbeats, who'd had a top five hit with "A Thousand Miles Away" in 1956: [Excerpt: The Heartbeats, "A Thousand Miles Away"] Roker in turn introduced Greenberg to a friend of his, Luther Dixon. Greenberg and Dixon's initial meeting was just the length of one elevator ride, but that was long enough for them to exchange numbers and arrange to meet again. Soon Dixon was working for Greenberg at Scepter, and was also her lover. Dixon had started out as a singer, joining a minor group called The Buddies, who had recorded singles like "I Stole Your Heart": [Excerpt: The Buddies, "I Stole Your Heart"] But he had soon moved into songwriting. Dixon was a collaborator by nature, and his first big hit was written with a writing partner called Larry Harrison. "Why Baby Why" went to number five for Pat Boone in 1957: [Excerpt: Pat Boone, "Why Baby Why"] He spent some time writing with Otis Blackwell, with whom he wrote "All the Way Home" for Bobby Darin: [Excerpt: Bobby Darin, "All the Way Home"] And at the time he met Greenberg, he had just written "Sixteen Candles" with Allyson Khent, a number two hit for the Crests: [Excerpt: The Crests, "Sixteen Candles"] Greenberg took him on as a staff writer and producer, and gave him a cut of the publishing rights for his songs -- almost unheard of at that time. The first record he worked on for the Shirelles was also the group's first top forty hit. With Shirley Owens, Dixon wrote "Tonight's the Night". It was intended as a B-side to a song with a lead by Doris, but "Tonight's the Night" was an unexpected success and established Shirley firmly in the role of the group's lead singer: [Excerpt: The Shirelles, "Tonight's the Night"] That went to number thirty-nine, and a competing version by the Chiffons also made the Hot One Hundred: [Excerpt: The Chiffons, "Tonight's the Night"] The Shirelles were a hit group, and they needed a follow-up. And that's where Goffin and King enter our story... Carole King had, from a very early age, been a child prodigy with a particular talent for music. In her autobiography she talks about how when she was a child, her dad would have her, as a party trick, turn to the wall while he played notes on the piano and she called out which one he was playing. Apparently her father would claim she had perfect pitch, and this was not quite true -- she had relative pitch, which meant that once she heard one note she knew, she could tell all the rest of the notes from that, so her father would always start with middle C. But that sense of relative pitch is in itself an amazing talent for a tiny child -- I still can't do that with any great accuracy in my forties, and I've spent most of my life studying and playing music. By the age of eight she had appeared in a couple of shows, including Ted Mack's Amateur Hour, which was a nationally broadcast show, performing in a duo with a friend, but she didn't know exactly what it was she wanted to do until she was thirteen, when she went on a date with Joel Zwick, who would later become known as the director of My Big Fat Greek Wedding among others -- one thing that seems to happen a lot in King's early life is getting to know people who would go on to become very successful. Zwick took her to an Alan Freed show at the Paramount in Brooklyn, where she saw LaVern Baker, BB King, Mickey Baker, the Moonglows, and several other R&B stars of the period. It wasn't, though, seeing the musicians themselves that made Carol Klein, as she then was, want to go into rock and roll music, though that was certainly an inspiration, and she talks a lot about how that Freed show was her introduction to a whole world of music that was far from the whitebread pop on which she had grown up. Rather, it was almost a chance event. She and her date hung around the stage door to see if they could see any of the performers and get autographs. The group they were in accidentally got drawn in through the stage door when some people who were meant to be there were let in, and she got to see the performers hanging around backstage. She knew then, not that she wanted to be a performer herself, but that she wanted to be part of that world, someone that those performers knew and respected. She started attending a stage school, where one of her classmates was Al Pacino, but after a short while she left, deciding that she wasn't cut out for the non-musical aspects of the school, and went back to a normal high school, where she formed her first group, the Cosines. along with Zwick. She started writing songs when she heard a group from a rival local high school, Neil Sedaka and the Linc-Tones, singing a song called "While I Dream": [Excerpt: The Tokens "While I Dream"] Sedaka had briefly dated her, and had co-written that song himself, with Howard Greenfield, and his group got a record deal under the name The Tokens. King figured that if he could do that, so could she. She started writing songs, and found she was good at melodies but not particularly great at lyrics. But she still thought she was good enough to do something. She decided that she was going to go and see Alan Freed, and play him some of her songs. Freed listened to her politely, and explained to her how, at the time, one went about becoming a professional songwriter for the R&B market. He told her to get the addresses of record labels from the phone book, go and try to play her songs to them, and explained how a publishing contract would work. The record label he mentioned to her specifically was Atlantic Records, so she tried that one first. Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun listened to her, and told her she had talent and to come back when she had more songs. It wasn't a rejection, but it wasn't the instant acceptance she'd hoped for. The second label she went to was ABC-Paramount, where she saw Don Costa. Costa was head of A&R at the label, but also a musician himself. Around this time he had released a cover version of Bill Justis' "Raunchy", under the name Muvva Guitar Hubbard: [Excerpt: Muvva "Guitar" Hubbard, "Raunchy"] Costa would later go on to arrange and conduct for Frank Sinatra, and he also had a respectable career as a session guitarist, but Carol didn't know any of this when she went into his office and played through her songs for him. She was flabbergasted to find that, rather than just sign her to a publishing contract, he asked her to sign a recording contract as well. She was disappointed that he wasn't interested in signing the rest of her group -- he thought she was good enough by herself, without needing to hear the other three -- but not so disappointed that she didn't sign with him straight away. Her first few singles were solo compositions, and didn't do very much in terms of sales, partly because she still didn't consider herself especially good as a lyricist: [Excerpt: Carole King, "The Right Girl"] So while she was trying to have a music career, she also went off to college, aged sixteen -- she had skipped multiple years in school -- where she met someone else who had had a minor hit. The boy who performed under the name Jerry Landis had released "Hey! Schoolgirl", an Everly Brothers knockoff, with a friend, as Tom and Jerry: [Excerpt: Tom and Jerry, "Hey! Schoolgirl"] Landis and King started working together, recording demos for other writers, though never writing together. For some of those demos, they re-used the Cosines name, like on this one for a song by Marty Kalfin: [Excerpt: The Cosines, "Just to Be With You"] They were quite proud when the arrangement they came up with for that demo was copied exactly for the finished record, which made the lower regions of the Hot One Hundred: [Excerpt: The Passions, "Just to Be With You"] They didn't work together for very long, and Jerry Landis went on to record under other names like "True Taylor" and "Paul Kane", before getting back together with Tom, and deciding to work together under their real names. We'll be hearing more of Paul Simon and his partner Art Garfunkel in future episodes. Someone else she met while at college was the man who was to become her first husband, another Gerry -- Gerry Goffin. Goffin impressed her with his looks the first time she saw him -- he looked exactly like a drawing she had clipped out of a magazine, which looked to her like the perfect boyfriend. Goffin impressed her less, though, with his studied dislike of rock and roll music, but was suddenly keen to write a song with her when she mentioned that she'd been selling songs. He'd been trying to write a musical, but he was primarily a lyricist, and couldn't do much with music. King mentioned that she knew that Atlantic were looking for a new song for Mickey and Sylvia, and the two of them worked on a song based on the style of "Love is Strange", which they completed very quickly, and took to Atlantic. Unfortunately, when they got there, they were told that Mickey and Sylvia had split up, but that their song would be suitable for the new duo they'd put together to continue the act -- Mickey and Kitty: [Excerpt: Mickey and Kitty, "The Kid Brother"] That was released as a B-side. The A-side, "Ooh Sha La La" was written by Neil Sedaka and Howie Greenfield: [Excerpt: MIckey and Kitty, "Ooh Sha La La"] Sedaka and Greenfield had become hot songwriters, and around this time Sedaka was also becoming a successful performer. His first hit as a performer, "Oh Carol", was in fact written about Carole King: [Excerpt: Neil Sedaka, "Oh Carol"] And King herself recorded an answer record to that, with new lyrics by Goffin: [Excerpt: Carole King, "Oh Neil"] By the time she was seventeen, King was married to Goffin, and pregnant with his child. Goffin was working a day job, and they were treating the occasional twenty-five dollar advance they got from writing songs as windfalls. But then, when she was on one of her visits to 1650 Broadway to sell songs, King bumped into Sedaka, who told her she should come and meet Al Nevins and Don Kirshner, the owners of Aldon Music. Aldon is the publisher who, more than any single other company, was responsible for what became known as the Brill Building sound. Even though they weren't based in the actual Brill Building, which was at 1619 Broadway, but in 1650 Broadway, the companies in that second building were so associated with the Brill Building sound that you'll find almost every history of music misattributes them and places them there, and in most interviews, when you see people talking about the Brill Building, even people who worked in one or other building, they're as likely to be talking about 1650 as 1619. Kirshner is someone we've met briefly before. He'd started out as a songwriter, working with his friend Bobby Darin on songs like "I Want Elvis For Christmas", which had been recorded by the Holly Twins with Eddie Cochran impersonating Elvis: [Excerpt: The Holly Twins and Eddie Cochran, "I Want Elvis For Christmas"] However, as Darin had moved into performance, Kirshner had gone into music publishing. He'd scored early success when working for Vanderbilt Music by bringing Al Lewis out of retirement. Lewis had been a hit songwriter in the thirties and forties, but hadn't done much for a while. But then Fats Domino had had a hit with "Blueberry Hill", a song Lewis had cowritten decades earlier, and Kirshner decided to pair Lewis with a black musician, Sylvester Bradford, and the two started writing hits together, notably "Tears on My Pillow" for Little Anthony and the Imperials: [Excerpt: Little Anthony and the Imperials, "Tears on My Pillow"] Kirshner had then formed his own publishing company. He'd first approached Pomus and Shuman, and then Leiber and Stoller, to go into business with him, but he ended up with Al Nevins, who had been a musician and had also co-written "Twilight Time" with Buck Ram, which had been a hit in the forties and then later revived by the Platters: [Excerpt: The Platters, "Twilight Time"] Kirshner and Nevins were looking for talented new songwriters, and they had signed up Sedaka and Greenfield, and also signed Paul Simon around this time, as well as another couple, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill. When Carole King played them a few of the songs she'd co-written with Goffin, they signed Goffin and King to a three-year contract, with advances of one thousand dollars for the first year, two thousand for the second, and three thousand for the third, to be offset against their royalties. This was a fortune for the young couple, and so they went from soul-crushing day jobs to... a day job, working in a cubicle. Aldon had a very regimented system. Every writing team had a tiny cubicle, containing a piano and a couple of chairs, in which they would work during normal office hours. Kirshner's system was simple -- any time any new act had a hit, he would get all the songwriters in his office to try to write a follow-up to the hit, in the same style. Of the efforts to find a follow-up to "Tonight's the Night", Kirshner decided on one that Goffin and King had written. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" had lyrics that had rather more depth than most of the songs that were charting at the time. Goffin's initial dislike of rock and roll music had been because of what he perceived as its lyrical vacuity, and in "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" he found a lyrical formula that would define girl groups from that point on -- a look at a kind of female adolescent emotion that had previously not been discussed in pop music. In this case the lyrics were from the point of view of a woman worrying that she's just a one-night stand, not someone the man cares about, and struck a chord with millions. But King's music is at least as impressive. She modelled the song on "There Goes My Baby", and when Luther Dixon accepted the song for the Shirelles, she decided she would write a string arrangement for it like the one the Drifters had used. She'd never written for an orchestra before, so she got a book on arrangement out of the library, and looked through it quickly before writing the string arrangement overnight. The group didn't like the song, thinking it sounded like a country song, but Luther Dixon insisted, and the result went to number one: [Excerpt: The Shirelles, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?"] The B-side to that single, a Luther Dixon song called "Boys", would also become a well-known track itself: [Excerpt: The Shirelles, "Boys"] Two more top ten hits followed, and then the group's singles started doing less well again. To reverse the downward trend, Dixon brought in a song by another new writer, Burt Bacharach. Bacharach had written a song with Mack David -- the brother of his usual lyricist Hal David -- called "I'll Cherish You". Dixon liked the song, but thought the lyrics were a bit too sickly. He changed the lyrics around, making them instead about someone who still loves her boyfriend despite her friends telling her how bad he is, and retitling it "Baby It's You". For the record itself, he just used Bacharach's original demo and stuck Shirley's voice on top -- Shirley was the only member of the group to sing on the record, though it was still released as by the Shirelles. You can still hear Bacharach singing on the "sha la la"s: [Excerpt: The Shirelles, "Baby It's You"] That returned them to the top ten, and the follow-up, "Soldier Boy", written by Dixon and Greenberg, became their second number one. Unfortunately, it would be their last. Dixon and Greenberg ended their relationship, and Dixon went on to a new job at Capitol Records. Various other people produced recordings for the Shirelles at Scepter, but none had the same success with them that Dixon did. It didn't help that the girls were starting families, and at various times one or other member had to be replaced on the road while they were on maternity leave. The singer who replaced them for those shows was a session singer who Bacharach was producing for Scepter, named Dionne Warwick. To make matters worse, the Shirelles discovered that Greenberg had been lying to them. They'd been told that their royalties were being put into a trust for them, for when they turned twenty-one, but they discovered that no such trust existed, and Greenberg had just been keeping their money. They entered into lawsuits against Scepter, but remained signed to the label, and so couldn't record for anyone else. Their career was destroyed. They remained together in one lineup or another, with members coming and going, until the early eighties, when they all went their separate ways, though they all started their own lineups of Shirelles. These days Shirley tours under her married name as Shirley Alston Reeves and Her Shirelles, while Beverly Lee owns the rights to tour as The Shirelles with no modifiers. Addie Harris died in 1982, and Doris Coley in 2000. The Shirelles were badly treated by their record company, and by history. They made some of the most important records of the sixties, and it was their success that led to the great boom in girl groups of the next few years -- the Supremes, the Marvelettes, the Crystals, the Ronettes, and the rest, all were following in the Shirelles' footsteps. Because they had their greatest success in that period between 1958 and 1964 which most rock historians treat as having nothing of interest in, they're almost ignored despite their huge influence on the musicians who followed them. But without them, the sound of sixties pop would have been vastly different, and to this day their greatest records sound as fresh and inspiring as the day they were recorded.

Under state law, teenagers aren’t legally old enough to have sex, but that didn’t stop three teens, Luca Wheeler, Charlotte Sedaka, and Jed Siegel from forming a condom company and consent initiative called Condom With a Conversation. This amazing trio sourced a 100% FDA-approved condom and designed a package that includes questions encouraging a couple to make sure both parties are on board and feel positive about their decisions.  At the height of the #MeToo movement, Luca came up with the idea for Condom with a Conversation after a meaningful talk with his grandma and mom. While the three founders are having provocative discussions about sex, they willingly share their own truth- all are virgins. Talking about sex isn’t exactly in the comfort zone of most teenagers, but Luca, Charlotte, and Jed are opening up about it and encouraging others to do the same.    To fund their start-up, these young entrepreneurs pitched their friends and family to sell stakes in their company. The condoms have eye-catching packaging with phrases like, YES?, LET’S TALK, and ARE YOU GOOD? making the message crystal clear. They’re selling the condoms online and donating 50,000 of them to college campuses across the United States.   All three teens are currently juniors in high school, looking ahead towards college. Jed is interested in baseball and business. Charlotte is a captain on her varsity cheer team, enjoys making films, is a member of the Student Emergency Response Team, and is a Teenline Volunteer. Luca is interested in sports, entrepreneurship, and theatre. I’m so thrilled to welcome our first Gen Z guests to Dear Family.   SHOW NOTE LINKS: Condom with a Conversation on Instagram   Condomwithaconversation.com   Condom with a Conversation Documentary Teaser   CONNECT WITH US! *Dear Family, Podcast Page *Write Now Rachel Website *Rachel's Blog @Medium *Rachel’s Twitter *Facebook *Instagram   PLEASE JOIN: ***Dear Family Members, the Private Facebook Group     WAYS TO HELP THE PODCAST: *PLEASE Leave a 5-Star Review and ***Listen and Subscribe via iTunes!!!  ***Listen and Subscribe via Stitcher!!! ***Listen and Subscribe via Spotify!!!   Thank you! Your support means the world to me. Wishing you love, happiness, and good mental health always.

Jim Fielder became Frank Zappa's bass player shortly after leaving school. He played Woodstock with Blood Sweat and Tears. Jim now lives in Bantry in West Cork, partly sustained by his Musician's Union Pension. Alam Kelliher has a BA in Music From Trinity College and a MSc in Sound Design from Edinburgh University. Her work can be heard with Macnas on the streets of Galway, In This is Pop Baby's hit show RIOT, in the UK National Theatre and also in her incarnation as a performing artist under the name Lux Alma.

Singer, songwriter and pianist Neil Sedaka enjoyed two distinct periods of commercial success: first as a teen pop star in the late '50's and early '60's, and then as a singer of more mature pop/rock in the '70's.In both phases, Sedaka, a classically trained pianist, composed the music for his hits - which he sang in a boyish tenor voice.But he also served as a songwriter for other artists, resulting in a string of hits year in and year out, whether recorded by him or someone else.