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Genya Ravan | |
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 Goldie and the Gingerbreads in 1963 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Genyusha Zelkowitz |
| Also known as | Goldie |
| Born | (1940-04-19)April 19, 1940 (age 84) Łódź, Poland |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1962–present |
| Formerly of | |
Genya Ravan (bornGenyusha Zelkowitz;[1] April 19, 1940), also known asGoldie, is an Americanrock singer and music producer. She was lead singer of the Escorts,Goldie and the Gingerbreads, andTen Wheel Drive.[2][3]
Genyusha Zelkovicz was born inŁódź, Poland[4] in a Jewish family in 1940 and emigrated to the United States in 1947, accompanied by her parents and one sister. They were her only family members who had survived theNaziHolocaust in Europe.[4] Two brothers, grandparents, and multiple aunts and uncles died inconcentration camps.[5] The family did not speak any English when they arrived. Genya was named 'Goldie' by her mother, who claimed Genyusha was not American enough.
Goldie's career started in 1962 in aBrooklyn club called The Lollipop Lounge, which is also the title of her autobiography published byBillboard Books. On a dare, she jumped up to sing, which she states was the first time she had heard her voice. She was asked to join the bandthe Escorts, which featuredRichard Perry as one of the members. After signing toDecca's subsidiaryCoral Records and being produced by Henry Jerome, she found success with a cover of "Somewhere" fromWest Side Story, which went to number one in parts of the Midwest.[citation needed]
In 1963, she formedGoldie and the Gingerbreads after meeting drummer Ginger Bianco in aGreenwich Village bar. After seeing the band at a party for theRolling Stones,Atlantic Records ChairmanAhmet Ertegün signed them to Atlantic subsidiaryAtco Records.[2][6]
While playing at New York City's hot spot The Wagon Wheel on 45th Street inTimes Square, Mike Jeffries,Eric Burdon,Hilton Valentine, andChas Chandler spotted them and wanted them to come to England. Goldie and the Gingerbreads toured with the Rolling Stones,the Yardbirds,the Kinks,the Hollies andManfred Mann. They released their hit song "Can't You Hear My Heart Beat" in 1965, which reached number 25 on theUK Singles Chart.[2] The band stayed in London for two years.[citation needed]
Billed as "Goldie", she released the original version of theCarole King-Gerry Goffin composition "Goin' Back" in the spring of 1966.[7] However, this single was withdrawn within a week by producerAndrew Loog Oldham due to disagreements with Goffin and King over altered lyrics.[6] The song was covered byDusty Springfield three months later, making the top 10 in theUK Singles Chart.
In 1969, Ravan and partners Aram Schefrin andMike Zager formedTen Wheel Drive, which lasted three years.[7] They recorded three albums forPolydor Records:Construction number 1,Brief Replies,Peculiar Friends Are Better Than No Friends. Ravan left the band in 1972.[8][7] She was signed toColumbia Records byClive Davis where she made one album in 1972 titledGenya Ravan.[7] She made four more solo albums through the 1970s.[4]
"She oversings, the band's ordinary, and the lyrics (both hers and those she chooses) often get blowzy; the only grade-A cuts are 'Jerry's Pigeons' and (A plus) 'The Sweetest One.' So maybe I'm soft—maybe I just can't resist a realNew York doll. In a woman who combines the hip cool ofLou Reed with the emotionality ofSpringsteen, a case ofJoplinitis—a rare disease these days—is rather endearing."
Ravan performed at theAtlanta Pop Festival, twice atCarnegie Hall and twice atMadison Square Garden, along with various clubs in Boston, and Philadelphia, and New York City, including the famousCBGB. She appeared on television shows includingThe Mike Douglas Show,The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,Della, andThe Dick Cavett Show.
Many Ten Wheel Drive tracks have been sampled byhip hop artists, including "Ain't Gonna Happen", whichJay-Z used in his song "1-900-Hustler" on the 2000 albumThe Dynasty. He also sampled Ravan's version of "Whipping Post" from her albumGoldie Zelkowitz for his song "Oh My God" on the 2006 albumKingdom Come.
In 2011, theRock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum included Goldie and the Gingerbreads in their "Women in Music" exhibit, which traveled from state to state. Genya Ravan toured in 2013, selling out New York City's Iridium.
In 2013, Ravan appeared at theMusical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, alongside legends likeWanda Jackson,Martha Reeves,Maria Muldaur andTracy Nelson as part of the museum's "Women Who Rock" exhibit.[10] She and Reeves discovered professional connections in that both worked withRichard Perry and were signed by Clive Davis. Further, one of the first songs Ravan learned when she came to the US was "What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue", made famous byFats Waller; Reeves had performed the song while starring in the road show ofAin't Misbehavin'. The two planned on working on a future project together.[citation needed]
A retrospective of her career is the subject of theOff Broadway musicalRock and Roll Refugee, which was profiled onNational Public Radio'sWeekend Edition Sunday on February 14, 2016.
Ravan has worked as a producer for multiple record labels. Among others, she was responsible for the debut albumYoung Loud and Snotty by thepunk rock bandDead Boys (1977),[7] and the comeback albumSiren byRonnie Spector (1980).[4] She also contributed vocals to the latter album. In 2001 Ravan discoveredTripod atCBGB and produced their demoCD, adding backup vocals to one track. She broughtDavid Lasley and hisblue-eyed soul group Rosie to Mike Berniker atRCA, got them a deal and produced their albumBetter Late Than Never.[11][12][13]
In 2006,Steven Van Zandt recruited Ravan to host two monthly radio shows:Chicks and Broads, playing women from the 1950s to the present day, andGoldies Garage, which featured unsigned bands. Genya Ravan said, "So much talent out there and not enough places for them to be heard anymore" on Van Zandt'sUnderground Garage radio channel, aired onSiriusXM Satellite Radio in North America and onSiriusXM Internet Radio worldwide. Ravan joined a team of hosts that includes originalRolling Stones manager/producerAndrew Loog Oldham, whom she worked with as Goldie.
In early 2016, Royal Family Productions produced a workshop for a musical based on the life of Genya Ravan titledRock and Roll Refugee.[15]
In the movieThe Warriors (1979), the song that plays when Cochise, Rembrandt and Vermin are in the Lizzie's HQ is "Love Is a Fire" by Genya Ravan. The song is featured onThe Warriors soundtrack album.[16]
Ravan was portrayed byStana Katic in the 2013 filmCBGB.[17]
Emcee Beth McDonald of KEZ 99.9 FM hosted a Q&A session with Jackson and Reeves, as well as folk-blues singer Maria Muldaur, singer Tracy Nelson and Genya Ravan (aka Goldie of the groundbreaking all-female band Goldie and the Gingerbreads).
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