Richard Blum (born January 29, 1954), known by his stage name Handsome Dick Manitoba, is an American

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 ...

musician and radio personality. He was the singer of New York City-based band The Dictators from 1974 to 2008. With The Dictators, Manitoba sang on the albums '' The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!'' (1975), ''

Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny was the belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American pioneer, American settlers were destined to expand westward across North America, and that this belief was both obvious ("''m ...

'' (1977), '' Bloodbrothers'' (1978) and D.F.F.D. (2005). Manitoba also sang with a reunited version of

MC5 MC5 was an American rock music, rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The classic lineup consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis (bassist), Michael Davis, and drummer ...

from 2005 to 2012.

Background

Manitoba is Jewish, and was raised in the Gun Hill Projects in the neighborhood of Williamsbridge, Bronx,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He spent his last three teenage years living in Co-op City, Bronx, New York City. Manitoba was childhood friends with future bandmate, Scott "Top Ten" Kempner, since the 4th grade.

The Dictators

Manitoba began as a roadie for The Dictators. He made his official stage debut with the band at Popeye's Spinach Factory in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, in 1975. The band's first major-label album, '' The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!'' (

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

, 1975), featured his picture on the cover and he was listed as the "Secret Weapon". While he sang some lead and some background, he was still considered a "mascot" of the band. He took on a larger singing role on The Dictators' second offering, ''

'', a 1977 release on the Asylum label. On '' Bloodbrothers'', the third and final Dictators studio recording from the 1970s (Asylum, 1978), Manitoba sang lead vocals on most tracks. The Dictators disbanded in 1979. Manitoba's red-sequined wrestling jacket has been on display at 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 ...

since its opening in 1995. On January 24, 1986, The Dictators played a reunion show at The Ritz in New York City.

Manitoba's Wild Kingdom

In 1986, Manitoba, along with other former members of the Dictators, formed Wild Kingdom. In 1989, the band rebranded itself to Manitoba's Wild Kingdom and, in 1990, released an album ''...And You?'' on

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

. A re-formed Manitoba's Wild Kingdom played at the 2008 Joey Ramone Birthday Bash.

Music career

Manitoba appeared in the 2004 documentary, '' Kiss Loves You''. In 2005, Manitoba joined the reformed

on vocals. The band split up after the death of bassist Michael Davis in 2012. In January 2012 the band Manitoba, featuring Manitoba,

Ross the Boss Ross Friedman (born January 3, 1954), also known as Ross the Boss, is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of both the Punk rock, punk band the Dictators and the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Manowar (band), Manowar. Hist ...

, Dean Rispler (ex- Murphys Law), JP Paterson, and Daniel Rey, was formed to play the Light of the Day Festival in Asbury park, a benefit for medical charities. After a handful of shows, the band toured Europe in September 2012. In April 2013, the band was rebranded as The Dictators NYC. A single, "Supply and Demand", composed by Ross the Boss, Manitoba, and Manitoba's son Jake, was backed with a live version of

's " Kick Out the Jams" and released in November 2015. In July 2017, it was announced that the band name would be changed back to Manitoba "due to legal threats by ex-bandmates, Andy Shernoff and Scott Kempner". On February 23, 2022, Manitoba performed with Keith Hartel, Mike Fornatale, Alec Morton, CP Roth, Tish Bellomo, Snooky Bellomo, and Arno Hecht(The Uptown Horns) at The Bowery Electric in New York City. On December 28, 2022, Manitoba performed a live multi-media performance with Keith Hartel and Mike Fornatale on guitars and vocals at Berlin in New York City. The opening act was Adam Realman, "King of the Coney Island Freakshow". The performance was produced and directed by the Tony Mann, the theatrical leader of the show.

Satellite radio DJ career

In 2004, Manitoba began hosting "The Handsome Dick Manitoba Radio Program" on Little Steven Van Zandt's Underground Garage channel on Sirius XM Radio. In 2005, the Village Voice awarded Manitoba "Best Satellite Radio DJ". Manitoba's show on Underground Garage continued for 14 years.

Writing career

In 2007, Manitoba co-authored ''The Official Punk Rock Book of Lists'' with Amy Wallace.

Podcasts and YouTube

From February 2019 to November 2021, Manitoba produced a

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

, ''You Don’t Know Dick''. Manitoba has a

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel
''Handsome Dick Manitoba show''
that was last updated in April 2023. It has 343 subscribers as of February 2024.

Solo discography

Studio

* '' Born in the Bronx'' (2019) - on Liberation Records, distributed by MVD. Included on this CD is a cover of Barry McGuire's 1965 hit Eve of Destruction.

Legal issues

In 2004, Manitoba threatened to sue independent electronic musician Dan Snaith for using the band name "Manitoba". Snaith changed his musical name to Caribou. Manitoba pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, in New York State on May 3, 2018, after an incident with the mother of his child, Zoe Hansen.

References

External links

*
Manitoba's
A bar operated by Manitoba.

2009 New York Times article.
"I Am Right The World of Handsome Dick Manitoba"
Manitoba's Youtube channel {{DEFAULTSORT:Manitoba, Richard Living people 1954 births American punk rock singers MC5 members Musicians from the Bronx Singers from New York City Jewish American musicians Jews in punk rock The Dictators members 21st-century American Jews