Re: Richard Farina

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

At 12:34 AM 5/4/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>Regarding Richard Farina: I've often wondered if Farina himself might have 
>been Sephardic.  It's just a pet theory of mine (with absolutely nothing to 
>back it up!) that I've had for years, since I first heard the song in 
>question.  I can't remember the name of his novel, but the hero is Greek, as 
>I remember.  If it's true that Farina was Sephardic, he could have learned 
>the song from family members.  

The novel was called "Been down so long it looks like up to me."  There was 
nothing in it, however, to suggest any Jewish cultural awareness, which all 
things considered, wasn't such a bad thing--it's a highly misogynistic novel. 
The idea of learning the song via Carolyn Hester or Theo Bikel seems likelier. 
But who knows.... I wouldn't mind claiming the music--those albums are among my 
favorites from the Sixties ;-).

ari


Ari Davidow
ari (at) ivritype(dot)com
list owner, jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
the klezmer shack: http://www.klezmershack.com/

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