Genya Ravan, a.k.a. Goldie (born Genyusha Zelkovicz; April 19, 1940) is an American rock singer and music producer. She was lead singer of The Escorts, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, and Ten Wheel Drive.

Life and career

Childhood

Ravan was born in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of ca ...

, Poland 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 the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

in Europe; she also had two brothers, who both died. The family did not speak any English when they arrived. Genya was named 'Goldie' by her mother, who claimed Genyusha was not American enough.

Music career

Early success and Goldie and The Gingerbreads

Goldie's career started in 1962 in a

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

club called The Lollipop Lounge, which is also the title of her autobiography published by

Billboard Books ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the mus ...

. 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 band The Escorts, which featured Richard Perry as one of the members. After signing to Decca's subsidiary Coral Records and being produced by Henry Jerome, she found success with a cover of "Somewhere" from ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

'', which went to number one in parts of the Midwest. In 1963, she formed Goldie and The Gingerbreads after meeting drummer Ginger Bianco in a

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

bar. After seeing the band at a party for the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

Chairman Ahmet Ertegün signed them to Atlantic subsidiary

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

. While playing at New York City's hot spot The Wagon Wheel on 45th Street in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

, Mike Jeffries,

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, pow ...

, Hilton Valentine, and Chas Chandler spotted them and wanted them to come to England. Goldie and The Gingerbreads toured with the Rolling Stones,

the Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwe ...

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

the Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band ...

and

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English rock band, formed in London and active between 1962 and 1969. The group were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The band had two diffe ...

. They released their hit song "

Can't You Hear My Heart Beat "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat" is a song written by John Carter and Ken Lewis, produced by Mickie Most, and performed by Herman's Hermits. It reached #2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1965. "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat" was kept from the #1 s ...

" in 1965, which reached number 25 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The band stayed in London for two years.

Ten Wheel Drive and solo career

Billed as "Goldie", she released the original version of the

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits " Will You Lo ...

composition " Goin' Back" in the spring of 1966. However, this single was withdrawn within a week by producer Andrew Loog Oldham due to disagreements with Goffin and King over altered lyrics. The song was covered by

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...

three months later, making the top 10 in the

. In 1969, Ravan and partners Aram Schefrin and Mike Zager formed Ten Wheel Drive, which lasted three years. They recorded three albums for

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

: ''Construction number 1'', ''Brief Replies'', ''Peculiar Friends Are Better Than No Friends''. Ravan left the band in 1972. She was signed to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 19 ...

where she made one album in 1972 titled ''Genya Ravan''. She made four more solo albums through the 1970s. Ravan performed at the Atlanta Pop Festival, twice at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

and twice at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

, along with various clubs in Boston, and Philadelphia, and New York City, including the famous

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

. She appeared on television shows including ''

The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into natio ...

'', ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

'', ''Della,'' and '' The Dick Cavett Show''.

2000s

Many Ten Wheel Drive tracks have been sampled by hip hop artists, including "Ain't Gonna Happen", which

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one o ...

used in his song "1-900-Hustler" on the 2000 album '' The Dynasty''. He also sampled Ravan's version of " Whipping Post" from her album ''Goldie Zelkowitz'' for his song "Oh My God" on the 2006 album ''Kingdom Come''. In 2011, the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

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 the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, alongside legends like Wanda Jackson,

Martha Reeves Martha Rose Reeves (born July 18, 1941) is an American R&B and pop singer. She is the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas which scored over a dozen hit singles, including " Come and Get These Memories", " Nowhere to R ...

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song " Midnight at the Oasis" and has ...

and Tracy Nelson as part of the museum's "Women Who Rock" exhibit. She and Reeves discovered professional connections in that both worked with Richard 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 by

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

; Reeves had performed the song while starring in the road show of ''Ain't Misbehavin. The two planned on working on a future project together. A retrospective of her career is the subject of the

Off Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

musical ''Rock and Roll Refugee'', which was profiled on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

's '' Weekend Edition Sunday'' on February 14, 2016.

Producer

Ravan has worked as a producer for multiple record labels. Among others, she was responsible for the debut album '' Young Loud and Snotty'' by the punk rock band

Dead Boys The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist Stiv B ...

(1977), and the comeback album ''Siren'' by

Ronnie Spector Veronica Yvette Greenfield (; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022) was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group The Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll". Ronnie formed the ...

(1982). She also contributed vocals to the latter album. In 2001 Ravan discovered

Tripod A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads ...

and produced their demo CD, adding backup vocals to one track. She brought

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

and his

blue-eyed soul Blue-eyed soul (also called white soul) is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly-black Motown and Stax ...

group Rosie to Mike Berniker at

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

, got them a deal and produced their album Better Late Than Never.

Radio host

In 2006,

Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandoli ...

recruited Ravan to host two monthly radio shows: ''Chicks and Broads'', playing women from the 1950s to the present day, and ''Goldies 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's ''

Underground Garage ''Underground Garage'' is the name shared by two related but different radio outlets, a syndicated show and a satellite radio station, both created and supervised by American musician Steven Van Zandt (best known as a guitarist in Bruce Springst ...

'' radio channel, aired on SiriusXM Satellite Radio in North America and on SiriusXM Internet Radio worldwide. Ravan joined a team of hosts that includes original

manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham, whom she worked with as Goldie.

Discography

*''Construction #1'', Ten Wheel Drive with Genya Ravan, 1969 *''Brief Replies'', Ten Wheel Drive with Genya Ravan, 1970 *''Peculiar Friends'', Ten Wheel Drive with Genya Ravan, 1971 *''Genya Ravan'', 1972 *''They Love Me, They Love Me Not'', 1973 *''Goldie Zelkowitz'', 1974 *''Urban Desire'', 1978 - AUS #66 *''...And I Mean It!'', 1979 *''Best of Ten Wheel Drive'' Compilation, 1995 *''For Fans Only!'', 2003 *''Genya Ravan Live'', 2006 *''Undercover'', 2010 *''Cheesecake Girl'', 2013 Aha Music *''Icon'', 2019 Aha Music *''Genya Live at CBGB'' (recorded in 2005) 2020 (Remaster/Reissue of 2006 CD) (Rum Bar Records) *''Thinking About the Good Times: Complete Recordings 1964-1966'' Compilation, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, 2021 Ace

Publications

*''Lollipop Lounge, Memoirs of a Rock And Roll Refugee'', Genya Ravan, 2004, .

Stage production

In early 2016, Royal Family Productions produced a workshop for a musical based on the life of Genya Ravan titled ''Rock and Roll Refugee''.

Movies

In the movie '' The 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 on '' The Warriors'' soundtrack album. Ravan was portrayed by Stana Katic in the 2013 film ''

''.

References

External links

* * Genya Ravanat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

Genya Ravan
YouTube *
Retrospective appreciation of Ravan's career profile of Rock and Roll Refugee broadcast on NPR, 02/14/16
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravan, Genya 1945 births Living people musicians from Łódź American rock singers Jewish American musicians 20th-century Polish Jews Polish emigrants to the United States American record producers Women rock singers Dunhill Records artists Jews in punk rock Jewish rock musicians 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers American women record producers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American Jews Women punk rock singers