It’s that time of year again when our beloved Jewish singers belt out catchy Christmas carols instead of traditional Chanukah nigguns.
1. Idina Menzel– The Queen’s Hebrew school dropout has made great strides since her days supporting herself as a wedding and Bar Mitzvah singer. On Tuesday, Billboard announced that the If/Then Broadway star’s Christmas duet with Michael Buble, Baby It’s Cold Outside, debuted at #1 on the Adult Contemporary Billboard chart.
2. Barbara Streisand– The former director and star of Yentl, and graduate from the Jewish Orthodox Yeshiva of Brooklyn, has transitioned from Chanukah songs for Christmas carols. She has released two Christmas albums over the years, and her first, A Christmas Album, went platinum four times.
3. Adam Levine- The Maroon 5 front man and the first Jewish man to be bestowed the honor of People’s Sexiest Man Alive, performed "Happy Christmas" with Sara Bareilles last year. However, his rendition of the Christmas classic is not as jarring as Streisand. Levine recently took the intermarriage plunge and married the Namibian Victoria’s Secret Angel, Behati Prinsloo.
4. Beastie Boys- The rumored Yeshiva University High School for Boys dropout Beastie Mike D released the album Country Christmas under the name of Country Mike in 2000.
5. Barry Manilow- Are you a fanilow of this Yid? Than you might have listened to his platinum Christmas record, Because It’s Christmas.
6. Simon & Garfunkel- These two Jewish mensches debuted their Christmas lullaby for baby Jesus in 1997. Just a snippet from the song: “Jesus our lord, was that baby so small. Lay down to sleep, in a humble stall.” Not quite your typical Chanukah song, eh?
7. Carol King- After over four decades of not succumbing to the Christmas album phenomena, the former Carol Klein of Manhattan, NY released A Holiday Carole in 2011.
editor@jewishweek.org
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