Re: Naches and nachos, Jerry Ragovoy

[Alex J. Lubet <lubet001...>]

I'm a bit concerned that folks aren't aware that I know the diff between
naches and nachos and that the pun was intended, based on comments I've
received.  I'm reminded a bit of the character Juan Epstein on the old
Welcome Back, Kotter show with Gabe Kaplan.  Anyone for tortilla chips
smeared with chopped liver?  If you used the Sabra brand kosher for
Pesach pareve mock liver you can melt Miller's cheese on them, although
in the judgment of some rabbis the appearance of eating treyf would be
problematic.



Eva Broman wrote:

> Hi everyone, For a Gentile like myself, this list is surely a treasure
> trove of information on everything Jewish, and not only Jewish music!
> The naches/nachos discussion reminded me of a post submitted to a list
> devoted to vintage soul music, where I am a longstanding member.
> Anyway, the post refers to the legendary producer Jerry "Rags"
> Ragovoy, who recently hooked up with his old protege from the sixties,
> the blues/soul singer Howard Tate. Howard Tate had been lost to the
> world for decades, when a list member accidently came across him and
> passed on the news to Ragovoy that he was alive and still in glorious
> voice. "Rags" happily agreed to produce his new CD (which is to be
> released soon). The reason why I post about this wildly off-topic
> event is that during the rehearsals for a Howard Tate live
> performance, Ragovoy made the following comment, reported by list
> member Phil:  > I was sitting next to him (wow) and commented that it
> was
> > sort of like seeing your children or grandchildren all grown up, to
> which
> > he smiled and said "it's naches, you know what that is?"... to which
> I said
> > yes!
> > ["Naches" is Yiddish for a joyous blessing, more or less] Another
> list member felt to the need to make the following clarification:
> Phil,
>
> Ever the showman - you leave us wanting more. I anxiously await the
> rest of the story on Howard Tate's performance.
>
> However, you gotta realize that the ethnically challenged on the list
> will still not quite get the Yiddish reference, and probably don't
> realize that Yiddish has become common currency slang for anyone who
> lives within a 50 mile radius of N.Y. City, regardless of national,
> racial, or ethnic origins. To avoid any possible problems, it may help
>
> to point out that the pronounciation is like "KNOCK-US," pronounced
> like
> you're clearing your throat. Knowing this will prevent list members
> visiting N.Y. from the UK or Ireland (or Alabama) using the expression
>
> in a restaurant, and ending up with a plate of tortilla chips with a
> bunch of Cheez-Whiz and hot peppers on top.
>
> Chris WarrenEnd of quote.... Jerry Ragovoy worked with many great soul
> artists, such as Garnett Mimms and Lorraine Ellison, but he is
> probably most well-known through the covers that Janis Joplin made of
> his songs, such as "Cry Baby". Here's his bio, if anyone is
> interested:  
> http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=product&id=1927174035&clink=dmmu.artist&a=b 
> Of
> course, the Jewish involvement in the R&B and soul record industry is
> a fascinating chapter in the history of American music-I would say
> that the presence of Jewish record label owners (the Chess Brothers,
> Art Rupe at Specialty, Jerry Wexler at Atlantic to name the most
> prominent), song writers, producers, musicians, promoters, DJ's etc.
> is massive, in what is commonly regarded as an African-American
> musical genre. All the best, Eva

--
Alex Lubet, Ph. D.
Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music
Adjunct Professor of American and Jewish Studies
Head, Division Of Composition and Music Theory
University of Minnesota
2106 4th St. S
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612 624-7840 612 624-8001 (fax)


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