Arts & Entertainment
The Jewish British Invasion
After the Beatles conquered America, many of the British bands that followed
were supplied with songs by Jewish songwriters.
Graham Gouldman
SCOTT BENARDE
Special to the Jewish News
11 orty years ago, in June of 1965, a British
1
band called the Yardbirds, featuring a gui-
tarist named Eric Clapton, reached the
American Top 10 with a song called "For Your
Love," now a rock classic. While the Beatles-led
British Invasion of the `60s was already into its sec-
ond year, "For Your Love" marked the beginning of
what could be called the "Jewish British Invasion."
While the Beatles wrote the lion's share of the
songs they recorded, many of the British bands
that followed them relied on contributions from
outside writers. Among the most successful — and
most unheralded in the United States — were three
Englishmen: Graham Gouldman, Keith Reid and
Pete Brown.
The three had a lot in common.
They loved to read, but were bored with school
and left early. They wanted a career in music, had
the ambition to follow that dream and ended up
writing or co-writing songs that have stood the test
of time, including "For Your Love," "A Whiter
Shade of Pale" and "Sunshine of Your Love."
And another thing: Gouldman, Reid and Brown
all were Jewish.
Their music will be recalled in the Detroit area
on Sunday, June 26, when the Yardbirds perform at
DTE Energy Music Theatre as part of the "Strange
Days Festival."
Scott Benarde is the author of "Stars of David: Rock 'n'
Roll's Jewish Stories" (Brandeis University Press).
Few songwriters were as singularly successful dur-
ing the mid-1960s sonic assault on the United
States as Graham Gouldman.
The Manchester, England, native, a multi-instru-
mentalist who wrote both words and music, was
only 19 when his song "For Your Love" began
pouring out of American radios in the summer of
`65, becoming a huge hit for the Yardbirds. Two
months later, the Yardbirds reached the American
Top 10 again with the Gouldman-penned "Heart
Full of Soul." A third Yardbirds song penned by
Gouldman, "Evil-Hearted You," reached No. 3 on
the British record charts the same year.
Gouldman, it turns out, was just getting warmed
up. The following year, the Hollies had Top 40 hits
with Gouldman's "Look Through Any Window"
and "Bus Stop," and Herman's Hermits reached
No. 3 with Gouldman's "Listen People." Herman's
Hermits would take another Gouldman song, "No
Milk Today," into the Top 40 in early 1967.
Gouldman viewed his early songwriting success
as the best revenge toward anti-Semitic school-
mates who often referred to him as a "Jewish bas-
tard," and toward high school teachers who said
he'd be nothing more than "factory fodder" if he
didn't shape up as a student.
Gouldman grew up in an observant household
and regularly attended Shabbat services with his
father, Hymie, at an Orthodox shul in Manchester.
He was moved by the music he heard there, espe-
cially the Israeli national anthem, "Hatikvah," and
the minor-key melodies of the Kol Nidre service on
Yom Kippur. Minor key chord progressions would
Pete Brown, also an accomplished percus-
sionist, has fronted a number of bands and
performs throughout England, playing new
original music as well as his Cream hits.
ITN
6/23
2005
46
later find their way into many of Gouldman's
songs.
Smitten by the music of the Beatles as well as
Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly and
the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David,
Gouldman quit school at 16 to pursue music,
forming his first band around that time. His father,.
who loved to write, encouraged him, sometimes
collaborating on lyrics and frequently critiquing his
son's tunes.
Gouldman would strike gold again a decade later
as a member of 1 Occ, co-writing a string Of hits -
that included "I'm Not In Love" and "The Things
We Do For Love," both reaching the Top 5 in the
U.S. In the mid-1980s, he successfully teamed with
American musician Andrew Gold in a duo called
Wax.
Throughout his life, Gouldman has drawn musi-
cal and spiritual inspiration from his numerous vis-
its to Israel, especially while hiking in the Negev. "I
like the desert," Gouldman says. "You think it's
empty, but it's not. It's harsh, but everything is pro-
vided. It's a metaphor for faith and trusting in
God."
Keith Reid
Another Jewish songwriter who was the target of
anti-Semitism in English public schools was a kid
from outside London named Keith Reid.
Like Gouldman, Reid knew he wanted to be a
songwriter. Unlike Gouldman, Reid was the child
of a Holocaust survivor and grandchild of
Holocaust victims.
Keith Reid divides his time between
New York and London, co-writing
songs and running a music publishing
company.
Graham Gouldman continues to collabo-
rate with a variety of songwriters from
around the world, record the occasional
album and perform throughout England
and Europe.