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Orthodox pop
Orthodox pop, sometimes called Hasidic pop, Hasidic rock, K-pop (Kosher pop), Haredi pop, and Ortho-pop, is a form of contemporary Jewish religious music popular among Orthodox Jews. It typically draws stylistically from contemporary genres like pop, rock, jazz, and dance music, while incorporating text from Jewish prayer, Torah, and Talmud as well as traditional Jewish songs and occasional original English lyrics with themes of faith and positivity. The genre was pioneered in the 1970s by artists like Mordechai Ben David and the Miami Boys Choir, who incorporated secular pop and dance influences into their music in contrast to the more traditional Jewish music of the time, and has had continued success in the modern era with singers like Yaakov Shwekey, Lipa Schmeltzer, Baruch Levine, and Benny Friedman.
Unlike other contemporary genres such as Jewish rock and Jewish hip hop, Orthodox pop is performed specifically by and for Orthodox Jews, reflects a distinctly Orthodox perspective, and abides by Orthodox halakha and cultural norms.
Orthodox pop has its roots in the 1950s and early 1960s, when traditional Hasidic nigunim began to be recorded for the first time, such as Ben Zion Shenker's recordings of Modzitz melodies and cantor David Werdyger's recordings of Ger and other Hasidic melodies. Werdyger also founded the label Aderet Records in 1950, which was later inherited by his son Mendy Werdyger and which, along with its retail outlet Mostly Music, would become a major distributor of Orthodox music. Another influential figure around that time was Shlomo Carlebach, who pioneered the use of secular styles in Jewish religious music by combining Hasidic nigunim with a contemporary folk rock sound; artists like The Rabbis' Sons, Mark III, Ruach, Simchatone, and Abie Rotenberg's D'veykus followed in his style soon after, and many of Carlebach's compositions became standards and would be covered by countless Orthodox and non-Orthodox artists. Another development was the Hassidic Song Festival, begun in 1969 in Israel; winners included Nurit Hirsh's "Ose Shalom", Svika Pick's "Shema Yisrael", Carlebach's "Od Yishama" and "V'haer Enenu", and David Weinkranz's "Y'varech'cha", and these compositions were popularized in America via annual recordings and touring performances.
In the post-World War II generation of the 1960s, many Orthodox Jews were caught between the desire to maintain a traditional Orthodox way of life while also being "modern" and not living in the past, and from a musical standpoint this left a vacuum between the existing liturgical and cantorial music and more contemporary and secular styles. This led to the development of a new type of Jewish music that was not intended for the synagogue but instead for professional recording. According to historian Haym Soloveitchik:
Rock music sung with "kosher" lyrics was heard at the weddings of the most religious. There had been no "kosher" jazz or "kosher" swing, for music is evocative, and what was elicited by the contemporary beat was felt by the previous generation to be alien to a "Jewish rejoicing" (yiddishe simche). This was no longer the case. The body syncopated to the beat of rock, and the emotional receptivities that the contemporary rhythm engendered were now felt to be consonant with the spirit of "Jewish rejoicing." Indeed, "Hassidic" rock concerts, though decried, were not unheard of.
An early influence on Orthodox pop was the 1971 album Or Chodosh, the debut of an eponymous group created by Sh'or Yoshuv roommates Rabbi Shmuel Brazil, who would later create the group Regesh, and Yossi Toiv, later known as Country Yossi; the group performed at Brooklyn College with David Werdyger's son, the young Mordechai Ben David, opening for them. That same year, the group Clei Zemer, led by vocalist Noach Dear (later a State Supreme Court judge) and composer Abie Rotenberg, released the album Ki Lecho Tov Lehodos, whose title track was one of Rotenberg's first and most enduring compositions. Rotenberg would later make his solo debut with his D'veykus project in 1973.
Perhaps the most substantial figure in the development of this new genre was David Werdyger's son Mordechai Werdyger, better known as Mordechai Ben David. His 1974 debut album Hineni broke conventions of Hasidic music by including professional arrangements with a full orchestra and English lyrics on several tracks, and his first three albums used a 1970s soft rock ballad style where the chorus is more energetic than the verses. In 1976, choir director Yerachmiel Begun formed the Miami Boys Choir, who inspired a trend of popular Orthodox boys choirs such as Yeshiva Boys Choir and several of whose members, including Yaakov Shwekey, Ari Goldwag, Shloime Dachs, and Mordechai Shapiro, would later become popular Orthodox singers in their own right. Another popular Orthodox singer, Avraham Fried, debuted in 1981 with his debut album No Jew Will Be Left Behind, with a title track written by composer Yossi Green about the coming of moshiach. His albums in the late '80s and early '90s featured more non-English text with music combining cantorial nusach, Hassidic niggun, and passages with a soothing melodic line, all tied together by an orchestral accompaniment. Meanwhile, in Israel, the decade saw the premiere of popular Orthodox singers like Dudu Fisher, Yehuda Glantz, Chaim-Dovid Saracik, and Dedi Graucher (Graucher had previously performed backing vocals on two of Mordechai Ben David's albums alongside Avraham Fried), as well as artists like Diaspora Yeshiva Band, Yosi Piamenta, Isaac Bitton, and Tofa'ah who helped introduce Jewish rock sounds to Orthodox music; Piamenta in particular being credited with introducing the electric guitar into Jewish music.
A considerable mainstream moment for the genre was a January 1988 concert at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, a benefit for the Hebrew Academy for Special Children (HASC), featuring Mordechai Ben David, Avraham Fried, and Sephardi singer Yoel Sharabi; while similar performances had previously been held at Brooklyn College and Queens College, this was the first to take place in Manhattan. Similar benefit concerts would later take place at Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, the Paramount Theater at Madison Square Garden, Nassau Coliseum, Westbury Music Fair, and the Metropolitan Opera House, as well as concerts throughout North America, Europe, and Israel.
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Orthodox pop
Orthodox pop, sometimes called Hasidic pop, Hasidic rock, K-pop (Kosher pop), Haredi pop, and Ortho-pop, is a form of contemporary Jewish religious music popular among Orthodox Jews. It typically draws stylistically from contemporary genres like pop, rock, jazz, and dance music, while incorporating text from Jewish prayer, Torah, and Talmud as well as traditional Jewish songs and occasional original English lyrics with themes of faith and positivity. The genre was pioneered in the 1970s by artists like Mordechai Ben David and the Miami Boys Choir, who incorporated secular pop and dance influences into their music in contrast to the more traditional Jewish music of the time, and has had continued success in the modern era with singers like Yaakov Shwekey, Lipa Schmeltzer, Baruch Levine, and Benny Friedman.
Unlike other contemporary genres such as Jewish rock and Jewish hip hop, Orthodox pop is performed specifically by and for Orthodox Jews, reflects a distinctly Orthodox perspective, and abides by Orthodox halakha and cultural norms.
Orthodox pop has its roots in the 1950s and early 1960s, when traditional Hasidic nigunim began to be recorded for the first time, such as Ben Zion Shenker's recordings of Modzitz melodies and cantor David Werdyger's recordings of Ger and other Hasidic melodies. Werdyger also founded the label Aderet Records in 1950, which was later inherited by his son Mendy Werdyger and which, along with its retail outlet Mostly Music, would become a major distributor of Orthodox music. Another influential figure around that time was Shlomo Carlebach, who pioneered the use of secular styles in Jewish religious music by combining Hasidic nigunim with a contemporary folk rock sound; artists like The Rabbis' Sons, Mark III, Ruach, Simchatone, and Abie Rotenberg's D'veykus followed in his style soon after, and many of Carlebach's compositions became standards and would be covered by countless Orthodox and non-Orthodox artists. Another development was the Hassidic Song Festival, begun in 1969 in Israel; winners included Nurit Hirsh's "Ose Shalom", Svika Pick's "Shema Yisrael", Carlebach's "Od Yishama" and "V'haer Enenu", and David Weinkranz's "Y'varech'cha", and these compositions were popularized in America via annual recordings and touring performances.
In the post-World War II generation of the 1960s, many Orthodox Jews were caught between the desire to maintain a traditional Orthodox way of life while also being "modern" and not living in the past, and from a musical standpoint this left a vacuum between the existing liturgical and cantorial music and more contemporary and secular styles. This led to the development of a new type of Jewish music that was not intended for the synagogue but instead for professional recording. According to historian Haym Soloveitchik:
Rock music sung with "kosher" lyrics was heard at the weddings of the most religious. There had been no "kosher" jazz or "kosher" swing, for music is evocative, and what was elicited by the contemporary beat was felt by the previous generation to be alien to a "Jewish rejoicing" (yiddishe simche). This was no longer the case. The body syncopated to the beat of rock, and the emotional receptivities that the contemporary rhythm engendered were now felt to be consonant with the spirit of "Jewish rejoicing." Indeed, "Hassidic" rock concerts, though decried, were not unheard of.
An early influence on Orthodox pop was the 1971 album Or Chodosh, the debut of an eponymous group created by Sh'or Yoshuv roommates Rabbi Shmuel Brazil, who would later create the group Regesh, and Yossi Toiv, later known as Country Yossi; the group performed at Brooklyn College with David Werdyger's son, the young Mordechai Ben David, opening for them. That same year, the group Clei Zemer, led by vocalist Noach Dear (later a State Supreme Court judge) and composer Abie Rotenberg, released the album Ki Lecho Tov Lehodos, whose title track was one of Rotenberg's first and most enduring compositions. Rotenberg would later make his solo debut with his D'veykus project in 1973.
Perhaps the most substantial figure in the development of this new genre was David Werdyger's son Mordechai Werdyger, better known as Mordechai Ben David. His 1974 debut album Hineni broke conventions of Hasidic music by including professional arrangements with a full orchestra and English lyrics on several tracks, and his first three albums used a 1970s soft rock ballad style where the chorus is more energetic than the verses. In 1976, choir director Yerachmiel Begun formed the Miami Boys Choir, who inspired a trend of popular Orthodox boys choirs such as Yeshiva Boys Choir and several of whose members, including Yaakov Shwekey, Ari Goldwag, Shloime Dachs, and Mordechai Shapiro, would later become popular Orthodox singers in their own right. Another popular Orthodox singer, Avraham Fried, debuted in 1981 with his debut album No Jew Will Be Left Behind, with a title track written by composer Yossi Green about the coming of moshiach. His albums in the late '80s and early '90s featured more non-English text with music combining cantorial nusach, Hassidic niggun, and passages with a soothing melodic line, all tied together by an orchestral accompaniment. Meanwhile, in Israel, the decade saw the premiere of popular Orthodox singers like Dudu Fisher, Yehuda Glantz, Chaim-Dovid Saracik, and Dedi Graucher (Graucher had previously performed backing vocals on two of Mordechai Ben David's albums alongside Avraham Fried), as well as artists like Diaspora Yeshiva Band, Yosi Piamenta, Isaac Bitton, and Tofa'ah who helped introduce Jewish rock sounds to Orthodox music; Piamenta in particular being credited with introducing the electric guitar into Jewish music.
A considerable mainstream moment for the genre was a January 1988 concert at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, a benefit for the Hebrew Academy for Special Children (HASC), featuring Mordechai Ben David, Avraham Fried, and Sephardi singer Yoel Sharabi; while similar performances had previously been held at Brooklyn College and Queens College, this was the first to take place in Manhattan. Similar benefit concerts would later take place at Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, the Paramount Theater at Madison Square Garden, Nassau Coliseum, Westbury Music Fair, and the Metropolitan Opera House, as well as concerts throughout North America, Europe, and Israel.