Tin Pan Monroe
He coined the name, but he didn't keep the coins.
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Q: I alreadYkilow, or can guess, at where some of the world's largest
Jewish populations live, like Israel and the United States. But can you tell
me about unusual places that remain home to Jewish communities?
A: It's very interesting, as a matter of fact, to consider some of
the places where you'll find Jews. Take Surinarae, a South Amer-
lean country with a population of 450,000, about 200 of whom
are Jewish.
Here are some other statistics, from the 1996 American Jew-
ish Yearbook, you might fmd surprising.
WELCOME CANTORS ASSEMBLY
DELEGATES TO THE TRI-STATE
CONFERENCE!
General Population Number Of Jews
Country
El Salvador
5,900,000
100
Ireland
3,600,000
1,300
Gibraltar
31,000
600
Belarus
10,300,000
35,000
Moldova
4,300,000
12,200
Poland
38,600,000
3,500
Armenia
3,700,000
100
Tajikstan
5,800,000
2,200
Hong Kong
6,000,000
1,000
India
930,600,000
4,400
61,300,000
14,000
125,200,000
1,000
Syria
14,700,000
800
South Korea
44,900,000
100
• Iraq
TEMPLE ISRAEL'S
SINGLES EXTENSION GROUP
Invites Jewish Singles
50 and over to
THE AUTUMN SWING
Sunday, November 24, 1996 7:30 P.M.
at
Temple Israel - Herman Hall
5725 Walnut Lake Road, W. Bloomfield
Dancing to the Music of Wally Duda
Light refreshments - Bagels
Non-Members $12.00
Members $9.00
For further information, call:
108
Barbara Ginsbury (810) 353-7261
Party Chairperson Mary Adler 356-0955
Incidentally, you're absolutely
correct about where the largest Jew-
ish communities live. According to
the Yearbook , the top 15 cities, in
order, are New York, Tel Aviv, Los
Angeles, Jerusalem, Haifa, Miami-
Ft Lauderdale, Paris, Philadelphia,
Chicago, Boston, San Francisco,
London, Buenos Aires, Washington,
D.C., and Toronto.
A Joint Distribution Committee
volunteer, right, teaches Jewish
boys in India how to use tefillin.
Q: Correct me if I'm mistaken, but
I seem to recall that a Jewish com-
poser once wrote a song about a
president who fathered an illegiti-
mate child. Is that really the case
and, if so, what's the story?
A: It's certainly true, and the
man behind the music — as
well as the song itself — has
quite an interesting tale.
Monroe Rosenfeld was a
19th-century composer (of sorts)
and a native of Virginia who
worked as a journalist and press
agent, among other occupations,
before becoming a popular song-
writer in New York.
He first found fame in New
York, however, among the city's
bookies. Rosenfeld was a devot-
ed gambler (a habit that would
eventually lead to his downfall)
who loved to hang out on Broad-
way, which he nicknamed "Tin
Pan Alley" in an article in the
Herald Tribune. The name, of
course, caught on quickly, as did
Rosenfeld's reputation for writ-
ing a snappy tune — or at least
finding someone else who could
write it for him.
Rosenfeld was not exactly the
boy next door. He was so des-
perate to get his hands on mon-
ey for gambling and betting that
he often was in trouble with the
law (like writing bad checks).
Once, he was being chased
by police and jumped out a
second-story window. As a
result, he broke his leg and
spent the rest of his life limp-
ing.
Many of Rosenfeld's songs
were popular in the late
1800s, though most have
been forgotten today. Among
these was "Ma! Ma! Where's
My Pa!" which chronicled a
real-life scandal involving
Grover Cleveland. As a pres-
idential candidate, Cleve-
land admitted to having a
child out of wedlock. When
Cleveland won the election,
Rosenfeld's song recounted
the fate of the child's father
who was "up in the White
House ... making the laws,
working the cause."
Rosenfeld's real specialty,
however, was maudlin songs
— the more sappy and sen-
timental the better. Typical
of these was "Gold Will Buy
Most Anything But A True
Girl's Heart," a nauseating
number about a rich man
who wants to wed a girl in
love with another. "I'd rather
have my Jack than all your
gold," she sings, "for gold will
buy most anything but a
true girl's heart."
Oh, sob, sob.
Often, Rosenfeld
felt free to steal
huge chunks of
melodies from other
composers to use in
his musical master-
pieces. Perhaps this
is the reason for his
decision to write
most of his songs
under pseudonyms;
certainly it was not
a reflection of his
modesty, as Rosen-
feld was more than
happy to add his
real name as a composer to oth-
ers' songs, when often his con-
tribution was minor, at best.
Remarkably, Rosenfeld was
well-liked by just about every- c'
one who knew him. He died
bankrupt after years of squan-
dering his money.
Send questions to Tell Me Why,
The Jewish News, 27676
Franklin Road, Southfield, MI
48034, or fax to (810) 354-6069.
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