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Chanukah celebrations are joyous occasions, with lots of holiday gifts, decorations and parties.
The eight-day festival of Chanukah retells a story that teaches about hope, the importance of maintaining Jewish traditions, and the symbolic power of light.
The question that everyone has been asking me since Nathan Tinanoff retired from his position as Director of the JSA on September 30th is,”What will happen to the Judaica Sound Archives?
The JSA will continue to thrive…but, there will be changes.
“The Jazz Singer,” released in 1927, was the first commercially successful “talking motion picture.” One of the most iconic moments in movie history occurs in this film when Al Jolson on stage, turns to his enthusiastic audience and says, “Wait a minute! You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!” This promise of even more exciting entertainment to come is fulfilled as he sings “Toot-toot-tootsie” using moves that could have made Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson jealous. The effect is electrifying.
Known as “The World’s Greatest Entertainer” during his lifetime, Al Jolson’s life story (on which the movie was based) tells of a young Jewish boy who is driven to become a Pop singer despite the fact that his Orthodox father wants him to be a Cantor.
The JSA is saddened by the sudden loss of one of our most beloved volunteers, Rene Yucht. She was a dedicated worker who felt deeply about her work at the Judaica Sound Archives. She succumbed on September 27, 2010 after a brief battle with pneumonia. She will be missed by all of us at the JSA. Our heartfelt condolences to her family.
Thanks to Rene’s dedication in entering recordings into the RSA database, any track you find through Google or the RSA website is easier to discover.
Several of the Vogue Picture records in the Recorded Sound Archives at FAU Libraries capitalize on America’s love affair with Latin rhythms during the 1930s , 40s and 50s.
During the Prohibition Era (1920-1933), Havana, Cuba was a popular tourist destination for Americans seeking fun and excitement. One of the pleasures they discovered there was the rhumba. Popularized by performers such as Spanish-Cuban bandleader Xavier Cugat and Desi Arnaz, Latin ballroom dances and rhythms became a common staple of American entertainment for decades.
