Seymour Rechtzeit's entry into the USA has become legendary. A child prodigy, he was allowed to immigrate to America in 1920 with his father and brother. But immigration quotas prevented his mother and other siblings from joining them. Taking their case to the White House, Seymour sang before President Calvin Coolidge who was so moved by the performance that he personally granted the required entry visas.
Some have said that the voice of Seymour Rexite became as important to the Yiddish-speaking home as food. He appeared on stage, television and in films. He had his own regularly scheduled radio program and was a recording star. He was known for his beautiful renditions of Yiddish songs and also for singing many songs with lyrics wittily translated into Yiddish by his wife, Miriam Kressyn.
The Judaica Sound Archives has created this special collection of Seymour Rexite's music. Although Rexite recorded with RCA Victor, Columbia and Banner Records, the JSA online collection only contains six albums: two LP albums produced by Famous Records and four cassette tapes produced by Musique Internationale.
Music in this collection courtesy of Musique Internationale.