Memoir

Fableus Interruptus. Back to fables early next week, but tonight a look back to the beginnings of my bandleader memoirs. I wrote some of this in 1999, but it's still mostly relevant and true because it's primarily about how I got started with the whole damn music thing in the first place:

My wife insists that somebody out there wants to read the autobiography of a Bar Mitzvah bandleader. Now normally I would tell her that she's just prejudiced and dead wrong about that. After all, there are millions of people out there who don't even know what a BarMitzvah is and millions more who certainly don't care. And among those who DO know what a BarMitzvah is, there's no guarantee that (1) they'd have any idea what somebody like me DID at a Bar Mitzvah or (2) they'd want to learn anything about it. On the other hand, I've had a bunch of people -- who should know better -- tell me that I should write down my whole story. Actually, my life and career demonstrate a lot about music, musicians, and the music business in general, so on balance, I guess sharing this stuff is worthwhile.

If there were a Guiness Book of World Records entry for "most Bar Mitzvahs performed at," I think I'd be the record holder. Now I realize that many DJ's AND many bandleaders have played an awful lot of Bar (and Bat) Mitzvahs, but listen: I played my first one in 1955. "Rock Around the Clock" was a hit for the first time. Bill Haley and the Comets were controversial. Not many people knew the term "rock and roll." The show-stopper for the band I played in was "In the Mood" (1941). I was twelve years old. From 1956 until 2005, I averaged about fifty Bar Mitzvahs a year except for 1969 through 1973 when I took time off to try to become a recording star myself. (Almost did it, too. Plenty about that later.)

So that's about 50 x 44 years plus another 100 from 2006-2010. That's about 2,300 Mitzvahs. Holy shit. If that ISN'T the record, then whoever has played more is absolutely completely insane. YOU try performing for 115,000 thirteen-year-olds (at 50 per party, a conservative estimate) over a time span of fifty-five years. Generational summary: I played his Bar Mitzvah in 1956. I played his wedding. I played his kids' Mitzvahs. I played all THEIR weddings. I quit.