One of my fondest family memories of my wonderful childhood in
the 1960's was listening to record albums on the hi-fi set in the
den. Real records, that you had to flip over after side one, and
be careful not to leave on top of the toaster oven. This was a
time where my Little Golden Books and little transistor radio
were my essential bedtime companions. Not to mention the hot mug
of Ovaltine that Mom would make us before hitting the sack.
"You Don't Have To Be Jewish" and it's follow up, "When You're
In Love, The Whole World Is Jewish" were both stes in the
Lifson home. Jewish comedy was not available to me as a kid
through visits to the Catskills, so these albums, along with
"Chanukah Carols" (also available on JMG) were my first exposure
to a genre which would help prepare me for the Woody Allen and
Albert Brooks movies I would love watching in the next decade,
the '70s, and have enjoyed ever since. These very funny records
were the brainchild of producer Bob Booker, who had produced a
hugely successful pair of albums called "The First Family" which
lampooned the Kennedy clan, with actor Vaughn Meader doing a
brilliant JFK. These were essential listening for the early '60s,
but after JFK's assassination, were quickly antiquated.
For "You Don't Have To Be Jewish," Producer Booker, pairing with
writer George Foster, assembled a first class ensemble of comedic
actors to play the jokes and blackout type sketches on this LP.
Lou Jacobi was seen on countless sitcoms as the "Jewish Dad"
type, and Valerie Harper, who would later star as "Rhoda" on "The
Mary Tyler Moore Show." Also featured were Arlene Golonka, who
played Ken Berry's girlfriend on "Mayberry R.F.D." and Bob Mc
Fadden, who were the voices behind many cartoon characters
including one version of "Popeye" and one of my '60s faves,
"Milton The Monster." And who could forget actor Jack Gilford
from the many "Crackerjack" commercials he did, where he is
caught eating the kid's Crakerjack late at night?
The sketches on these two wonderfully nostalgic albums played
like a prequel, maybe more Jewish version, of TV's "Laugh In"
which would appear just a couple years later, in the Fall of
1968. The cast of "You Don't Have To Be Jewish" were invited to
appear on the Ed Sullivan show, because of the broad appeal of
the album's humor. It was clean and quaint, not biting and
unsettling, like several of the "hipper" '60s comics, like Lenny
Bruce and Mort Sahl. These Jewish jokes were ones that could be
repeated at any office gathering or weeknight Pan and Poker
games, like the ones I recall my parents having in the mid '60s.
They still have the black card table with the white leather top
that was used at their gatherings back then, when albums like
"You Don't Have To Jewish" were such a unifying force.
Classic bits on these two albums, released for the first time as
a double disc CD here, include "Secret Agent James Bondtstein"
and "The Cocktail Party" which is reminiscent of "Laugh In's"
party scenes with the one liners floating in and out of martini
glasses. "The Plotnick Diamond" bit is funny too, where Mrs.
Plotnick complains that her large diamond comes enshrouded with a
curse..."What's the curse her friend asks, in a Yenta-like way,
"Mr. Plotnick!" is the reply. You see, these albums showcase the
qualities of Jewish life we have all come to know as
"trademarks," like: guilt, marrying a nice young doctor, eating
as a remedy for anxiety, worrying too much, and of course, more
guilt!
Jewish people throughout the ages have relied on humor as a
survival technique, and have always been noted for their sardonic
and revelatory abilities to translate "agony" into "ecstasy" in
the form of humorous dialogue. One can see where comics like
Woody Allen got a lot of his early material from gleaning the
cultural mores predominant in both these albums, that show Booker
and partner Foster's true genius for defining a genre through
humor. The live audience present here makes the material play
even more like television, helping to create a real "visual"
presence for these playets, which are both timeless and charming
in their appeal.
May these hilarious records provide you and your family the same
"sitting around the hi-fi" happiness that I experienced when I
first listened to them, wearing my pajamas that had all the
station signs on them (my favorite was "Gulf") and eating my
strawberry "Whip 'N Chill" light meringue pudding that Mom would
make in those little glass dessert cups that were so evocative of
the era for me. Food and humor always go well together in Jewish
culture...Enjoy!
Hal Lifson