Shalom, I Can Sing Trivia Quiz

Answer: Paula Abdul

Paula Julie Abdul was born to Harry Abdul, a Syrian Jew who was raised in Brazil, and emigrated to the U.S. Her mother is the former Lorraine Rykiss, also Jewish, originally from Manitoba, Canada. Paula was born on September 16, 1962, in the San Fernando Valley, in California. Paula is a practicing Jew, and has visited Israel, at the invitation of Israeli Tourist Minister Isaac Herzog.

Answer: Courtney Love

Courtney Love was born Courtney Michelle Harrison on July 9, 1964 in San Francisco. She is the product of a mixed marriage but considers herself "a nice Jewish girl". She, of course, was married to Kurt Cobain of the group Nirvana, before he tragically took his own life, and is the lead singer of the alternative rock band, Hole.

Answer: Eric Carmen

Eric Howard Carmen, was born on August 11, 1949 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Ruth and Elmer Carmen, a Jewish family. He of course, is first remembered with the group The Raspberries, and then his solo career followed with hits like "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again", and "Hungry Eyes".

Answer: Neil Diamond

Gem-studded indeed. Neil Leslie Diamond was born to a Russian-Jewish family in Brooklyn on January 24, 1941. His songs are too numerous to mention, whether he sang them ("Sweet Caroline", "Cracklin' Rosie", "Holly Holy") or wrote them ("I'm A Believer", "Red Red Wine", "Heartlight"), but he ranks third all time in Contemporary Record Sales on the Billboard charts, trailing only Elton John, and a schoolmate of his, Barbra Streisand.

Answer: "Mama" Cass Elliot

"Mama" Cass was born as Ellen Naomi Cohen in Baltimore Maryland, on September 19, 1941, and grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. She, of course, was one of the mainstays of "The Mamas and The Papas" along with John Philips, Michele Philips and Denny Daugherty. She also had a very successful solo career before her passing in 1974 due to a heart attack..

Answer: Bette Midler

Bette Midler came into this world on December 1, 1945, in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is the daughter of Fred and Ruth Midler, who re-located to Honolulu from Paterson, New Jersey, shortly before her birth. For those of you not familiar with the story, her musical arranger was none other than Barry Manilow.

He helped her produce her debut album "The Divine Miss M'. She has also starred in a number of movies, most notably the aforementioned "The Rose" in which she played a character patterned after Janis Joplin.

She also has had major roles in films like "Down and Out In Beverly Hills", "Beaches", and "The First Wives Club" among others.

Answer: Bob Dylan

Mr. Dylan (Hebrew name Shabtai Zisel ben Avraham), was born in Duluth Minnesota to Abram and Beatrice Zimmerman, the children of Russian and Lithuanian immigrants. He also lived in Hibbing, Minnesota for a while. Dylan changed the course of musical history with his folksy type protest music. All his music had a message, which was not that common at that time. Songs like "Like a Rolling Stone" and "The Times They Are A Changing" reflected a more serious side to the music. "Like a Rolling Stone" was selected by Rolling Stone magazine (coincidence?) as the greatest rock and roll song of all time.

Answer: Linda McCartney

Linda Louise Eastman was born on September 24, 1941 in New York City. She was the daughter of Jewish-American parents Lee Eastman, and Louise Linder Eastman. When Linda finished school, she went to work for "Town and Country" magazine, with the intent of becoming a world renowned photographer.

She met Sir Paul while on assignment in London in 1967, and after a courtship of a little less than two years, they were married. With Paul's help she became an accomplished musician over the years. She even shared an Oscar nomination with Paul for co-writing "Live and Let Die".

Unfortunately, her life was cut short by cancer, and she passed away in 1998.

Answer: Donald Fagen

Donald Jay Fagen was born in Passaic New Jersey on January 10, 1948, to a Jewish-American family. Fagen graduated from South Brunswick High School in 1965, and met his longtime partner Walter Becker while attending Bard College. Another alumnus, Chevy Chase, was part of The Leather Canary as well. Chevy Chase has been quoted as calling it "a bad jazz band." Of course Chase went off on his merry way, and Fagen and Becker spent some time touring as a back-up musicians for Jay and The Americans, before forming the highly successful Steely Dan in 1972.

Answer: Taylor Dayne

Taylor Dayne was born Leslie Wunderman, to a Jewish family, in Baldwin, New York on March 7, 1962. She has had a total of 17 Top 10 hits on the Billboard charts, notably, "Tell It To My Heart", "Don't Rush Me", and "Love Will Lead You Back" among others. She has also appeared on Broadway in the production of "Aida".

Answer: Lesley Gore

Lesley Gore was born on May 2, 1946 in New York City. She was raised in a Jewish family in nearby Tenafly, New Jersey. "It's My Party" hit the charts in 1963 when Lesley was only 16 years old. Her other hits included "Judy's Turn To Cry", "She's A Fool", and "You Don't Own Me".

Answer: Barry Manilow

This could have been anyone, unless you put all the clues together. Barry Manilow was born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943 in Brooklyn New York, to parents Harold and Edna Pincus, and was raised in the Williamsburg section of New York. He played his first musical instrument, an accordion, at age five.

He started piano at age 13, after getting a new piano as a Bar-Mitzvah gift. His career is well known and he has worldwide career record sales of close to 80 million records. He still performs regularly, both on tour, and as a regular in Las Vegas. If you've ever seen any of his shows, you know about the flashy outfits and the many costume changes during his performances.

His work on television commercials is legendary. He has written jingles for State Farm Insurance, Stridex, Band Aid, and performed many others including ads for Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper (I'm a Pepper, You're A Pepper....) and McDonald's (You Deserve a Break Today...).

He also helped jump start the career of Bette Midler, producing her first solo album.

Answer: Norman Greenbaum

Norman Greenbaum was born November 20, 1942 in Malden, Massachusetts. He studied music at Boston University. "Spirit In The Sky" is the song that was a one hit wonder, selling almost two million copies in 1970. Greenbaum was born Jewish, and is still a practicing Jew. The song itself was considered to be a "Jesus Rock" type song, although Greenbaum says that was not his intention.

Answer: Paul Simon

I hope none of you went for Art Garfunkel. His solo career could not ever be considered wildly successful, and he certainly was never married to Carrie Fisher, daughter of 50s singer Eddie Fisher, and actress Debbie Reynolds. Paul Fredric Simon was born in Newark, New Jersey to Louis and Belle Simon on October 13, 1941.

He moved to Kew Gardens, Queens as a child and that is where he met Art Garfunkel while going to Forest Hills High School. Their successful career started in the late 50s when they performed as Tom and Jerry, and took off for good in 1965 with the release of "Sounds Of Silence".

After a string of hits that lasted into the early 70s, they parted as a duo and embarked on solo careers. Art went into acting, and Paul launched his very successful solo career, which still thrives today.

Answer: Gene Simmons

Chiam Witz was born in Haifa, Israel on August 25, 1949. He came to this country as young boy, age eight and settled in New York City with his mother, and took the name Eugene Klein. Later in the late 60s, he changed his name legally to Gene Simmons. Kiss was formed in 1974 and they released their first album that year.

They virtually never performed without their make-up until a memorable performance in 1983 when they removed their makeup and let the public see their real faces. Their popularity has continued into the new millennium and they continue to have a loyal following.

Answer: Melissa Manchester

Melissa Manchester was born in The Bronx, New York, on February 15, 1951, to a musical family of Jewish descent. Her father was a musician with the Metropolitan Opera. After high school, she went to New York University and studied songwriting with Paul Simon.

She was discovered by Barry Manilow, and Bette Midler in 1971, and was hired as a back-up singer. Her first album was released in 1973, but it was her second album, titled simply "Melissa" that brought her to the forefront when "Midnight Blue" became a Top ten hit.

She subsequently appeared on the soap opera, "Search For Tomorrow". In 1979 she scored again with "Don't Cry Out Loud" which yielded her a Grammy Award. Two years later in 1981, she had her biggest hit with "You Should Hear How She Talks About You", which gave her a second Grammy Award.

She also has appeared on the soap opera, General Hospital, and appeared in the film "For The Boys" with Bette Midler.

Answer: David Lee Roth

David Lee Roth was born on October 10, 1953 in Bloomington Indiana. He was the son of Nathan Roth, an ophthalmologist, and Sybil Roth. Uncle Manny Roth was an influential nightclub owner in New York City, and David spent a lot of time in his clubs as a child, and there he got his first taste of show business.

As a teenager, Roth moved to Pasadena, California, and it was there that he hooked up with Alex and Eddie Van Halen to form the band Mammoth which was changed to Van Halen in 1974. Their first album was not released until 1978, and they were very successful after that, but Roth's flamboyant style led Rolling Stone's Record Guide to label him as "the most obnoxious singer in human history, a notable achievement in the face of heavy competition". Roth has subsequently gone solo, and also tried a career as a radio personality.

Answer: Carole King

Carole King was born on February 9, 1942, to a Jewish household in Brooklyn, New York. She attended Queens College and was a classmate of Neil Sedaka, and met both Gerry Goffin, and Paul Simon. She went to work in the legendary Brill Building, and was responsible for numerous hits of the 60s by groups such as The Shirelles, The Chiffons, The Drifters, The Animals, Dusty Springfield, and The Monkees, just to name a few.

She embarked on her own singing career in the 70s and recorded an album called "Tapestry" which was released in 1971, and was still on the charts an amazing six years later, in 1977.

The album was the top selling album ever, until it was surpassed by Michael Jackson and his "Thriller" album in 1982.

Answer: Susanna Hoffs

Ming Tea was a fictitious group which appeared in the first "Austin Powers" movie. The band consisted of Mike Myers, Matthew Sweet, Christopher Ward, and Susanna Hoffs. Hoffs was born January 17, 1959 to a Jewish family in Los Angeles. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1980.

The Bangles were formed in 1984, and yielded such hits as "Manic Monday", "Walk Like an Egyptian, and "Eternal Flame". Susanna embarked on a less than successful solo career, and even tried her hand at acting, but couldn't match the success of The Bangles.

Answer: Billy Joel

William Martin Joel was born in the Bronx, New York on May 9, 1949, to Howard Joel, and the former Rosalind Hyman. Howard was from Germany and Rosalind was from England. Joel was raised in Hicksville, New York, and followed in the path of his dad who was an accomplished classical pianist. Joel should have graduated from high school in 1967, but missed a final exam, and never graduated.

He began his musical career in 1965, and released his first album in 1971, called "Cold Spring Harbor". A Philadelphia radio station started playing the cut "Captain Jack", and the rest is history.