Genya Ravan (born Genyusha Zelkowitz; April 19, 1940), also known as Goldie, is an American rock singer and music producer. She was lead singer of the Escorts, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, and Ten Wheel Drive.

Early life

Genyusha Zelkovicz was born in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, Poland 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 the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

in Europe. Two brothers, grandparents, and multiple aunts and uncles died in

concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...

. The family did not speak any English when they arrived. Genya was named 'Goldie' by her mother, who claimed Genyusha was not American enough.

Career

Early success and Goldie and the Gingerbreads

Goldie's career started in 1962 in a

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

club called The Lollipop Lounge, which is also the title of her autobiography published by Billboard 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 band the Escorts, which featured Richard Perry as one of the members. After signing to Decca's subsidiary

Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head ...

and being produced by Henry Jerome, she found success with a cover of "Somewhere" from ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

'', 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, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

bar. After seeing the band at a party for the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

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 the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

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 com ...

. 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 Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

, Mike Jeffries,

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the rhythm and blues, R&B and Rock music, rock band The Animals and the funk band War (band), War. He is regarded as one of the Br ...

, 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 music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...

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

, the Hollies and

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

. They released their hit song " Can't You Hear My Heart Beat" in 1965, which reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart. 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 renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

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 L ...

composition "

Goin' Back "Goin' Back" (also recorded and released as "Going Back") is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King in 1966. It describes the loss of innocence that comes with adulthood, along with an attempt, on the part of the singer, to recapture tha ...

" 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), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...

three months later, making the top 10 in the UK Singles Chart. 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 Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a 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 ...

: ''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 reco ...

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 1 ...

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, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

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 Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

, 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 the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

. She appeared on television shows including ''

The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' is an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland in 1961 before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went i ...

'', ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

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

2000s

Many Ten Wheel Drive tracks have been sampled by

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

artists, including "Ain't Gonna Happen", which

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

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), also 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 the ...

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 Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American retired singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of Rock music, rock, Country music, country and Gospel music, gospel. She was among th ...

, Martha Reeves,

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 h ...

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, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...

; 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 tha ...

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

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

'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 Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band Dead Boys (1977), and the comeback album ''Siren'' by Ronnie Spector (1980). 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 and his blue-eyed soul group Rosie to Mike Berniker at

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, 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 and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared i ...

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'' 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

Sources

External links

* *

Genya Ravan Genya Ravan (born Genyusha Zelkowitz; April 19, 1940), also known as Goldie, is an American rock music, rock singer and music producer. She was lead singer of the Escorts, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, and Ten Wheel Drive. Early life Genyusha Zel ...

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 Mus ...

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 American 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 American punk rock singers American women punk rock singers