The sweaty mambo dance-floors of the legendary Palladium nightclub. The weekend Borscht Belt ballrooms of the Catskills hotels. The bar mitzvah bandstands of Brooklyn. The Fania All-Stars stages of the Cheetah and Yankee Stadium. The pianos of the Brill Building. The bullrings of Tijuana.
Welcome to one of the great unsung currents of American pop music: the forgotten musical mash-up of Latin and Jewish, bagels and bongos, Spanish and Yiddish, manteca and schmaltz, that’s been a bubbling undercurrent of American pop music since the early 1900s. It’s a story full of Jewish mambo dancers, Jewish salsa greats, beloved sidemen, and record label chiefs on the one hand, and Latino bandleaders, singers, composers, and entrepreneurs on the other.
The forthcoming two-CD set It’s a Scream How Levine Does the Rhumba: The Latin-Jewish Musical Story, 1940s-1980s, is the first of its kind to excavate and mine this cross-cultural tale. Featuring legendary names like Eddie Palmieri, Celia Cruz, Herb Alpert, Carole King, Tito Puente, and many more, it offers an in-depth historical examination of the relationships between Latinos and Jews in America through the sound of popular music.
Full track listing:
Disc 1
1. Irving Kaufman: Moe the Schmo Takes a Rhumba Lesson
2. The Barton Brothers: Arriba (Part 1)
3. Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra: Miami Beach Rhumba
4. Pupi Campo and His Orchestra: Joe and Paul
5. Al Gomez Orchestra: Sheyn Vi Di Levone
6. Ruth Wallis: It’s a Scream How Levine Does the Rhumba
7. Alfredito and His Orchestra: Mambo – For Dancers Only
8. The Crows with Melino and His Orchestra: Mambo Shevitz (Man, Oh Man)
9. Candido featuring Al Cohn: Cheek to Cheek
10. Slim Gaillard: Meshuganah Mambo
11. The Barry Sisters: Channah From Havana
12. Mickey Katz and His Orchestra: My Yiddishe Mambo
13. Abbe Lane with Tito Puente and His Orchestra: Pan, Amor Y Cha Cha Cha
14. Machito and His Afro-Cuban Orchestra: Mambo La Concord
15. Johnny Conquet, His Piano & Orchestra: Matzoh Ball Merengue
16. Tito Puente and His Orchestra: Grossinger’s Cha Cha Cha
17. The La Plata Sextette: Raleigh Riff
18. Don Tosti with Raul Diaz: Loco (ballad)
19. René Bloch: Mambo Chicano
20. Pérez Prado: The Twist of Hava Nageela
21. Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd: Desafinado
22. Little Eva: Uptown
Disc 2
1. Ray Barretto: Exodus
2. Eddie Palmieri y su Conjunto “La Perfecta”: El Molestoso
3. Mongo Santamaría: Watermelon Man
4. Eydie Gorme & The Trio Los Panchos: Sabor a Mi
5. Celia Cruz Con Orquesta: Hava Nageela
6. Joe Quijano:Sabbath Prayer (Plegaria)
7. The Alegre All-Stars: Tema Alegre
8. La Lupe: América
9. Mark Weinstein: Just Another Guajira
10. Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: Belz Mein Shtetele Belz (My Home Town)
11. Harvey Averne: Cucaraca Macara
12. The Ghetto Brothers: Ghetto Brothers Power
13. Ron Eliran: Y Volveré
14. Damirón: Hava Nagila
15. Pete Yellin: Tojo
16. Willie Colón: Junio 73
17. Carole King: Corazón
18. Andy Harlow’s Latin Fever: Me Llevo a la Marina
19. Larry Harlow: Yo Soy Latino