OUR COMMUNITY
A
longtime Top-40, rock ’n’ roll DJ,
my dad once single-handedly halt-
ed an unruly crowd at a Beatles
concert, warning that the show would not
go on if they if they couldn’t control the
uproar.
On the flip side, he was a member of
Detroit’s Orthodox Jewish community.
His radio station contracts specified that
he did not work on Shabbat. He also
recited morning prayers in a private cor-
ner of the studio during newsbreaks in his
radio show.
He was the true epitome of living in two
worlds, both separately and merged.
Weekdays and some Sundays, he delved
into the contemporary, secular world of
modern music and business, spinning
records as “Specs Howard,
” while the rest
of his life, “Jerry Liebman” was surrounded
by the enjoyment and structure of religious
observance.
I approach this Father’s Day as the
first since my dad passed away this past
September. It is the first June I didn’t shop
for the recurring gift of a no-iron, plaid
sport shirt, aftershave and a book. The date
nears instead with thoughts and lessons of
his physical resilience, positive living, family
values and emersion in Judaism that keep
his memory alive for me every day.
During the years he was on-air with
Harry Martin, his non-Jewish DJ partner,
the two would rotate schedules so each
could celebrate their respective holidays.
One Chanukah, the early morning
Martin and Howard show was broadcast
live from our Cleveland home and I, at the
age of 7, shared that my favorite present
that year was a Little Red Spinning Wheel, a
hand-cranked knitting machine advertised
as “the greatest toy a girl can own.
”
My Orthodox Dad
Was a Rock ’n’ Roll
Radio Disc Jockey
26 | JUNE 15 • 2023
ESSAY
A Father’s Day tribute to Specs Howard.
SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Specs Howard
and family in
an early 1960s
publicity photo