The Maccabeats | |
---|---|
Origin | New York City |
Genres | A cappella, beatboxing, covers, parody |
Years active | 2007 | –present
Members | Chanina Abramowitz David Block Michael Greenberg Julian (Chaim) Horowitz Noah "Noey" Jacobson Joshua Jay Nachum Joel Ari Lewis Mordechai Prus Jeffrey Ritholtz Buri Rosenberg George Rubin Yona Saperstein Joey Senders Immanuel Shalev Meir Shapiro Yonatan Shefa Ely Shestack |
Website | www |
The Maccabeats are an American Orthodox Jewish all-male a cappella group. Founded in 2007 at Yeshiva University, Manhattan, New York, the 14-member group specializes in covers and parodies of contemporary hits using Jewish-themed lyrics. Their breakout 2010 Hanukkah music video for "Candlelight", a parody of Mike Tompkins' a cappella music video for Taio Cruz's "Dynamite", logged more than two million hits in its first ten days; the video has been viewed more than 16 million times as of 2022. They have recorded three albums and one EP, and frequently release music videos in conjunction with Jewish holidays. They tour worldwide and have performed at the White House and the Knesset.
The Maccabeats were founded in 2007 at Yeshiva University in Manhattan. [1] The group adapted their name from that of the university's sports teams, "The Maccabees". [2] [3] The original group was composed of full-time undergraduate students, many of them alumni of Bnei Akiva North America. [4] [5] The group sang together privately for the first year, developing their repertoire, and then began appearing at campus events. [6] They eventually hired themselves out to perform at bar mitzvahs, weddings, and other events in the New York Orthodox Jewish community. [4]
The Maccabeats released their first album, Voices from the Heights, in March 2010. This album, funded by a grant from the university, [6] sold about 5,000 copies. [2] In November 2010, they released "Candlelight", a Hanukkah-themed cover of Taio Cruz's "Dynamite" with a music video directed by Uri Westrich, a Yeshiva University graduate. [7] The video, a parody of Mike Tompkins' a cappella music video for "Dynamite", [1] [8] was intended for the group's target audience in the New York Orthodox Jewish community [3] [7] but it quickly went viral, being viewed more than 2 million times in ten days. [2] [4] As of December 2018, it had logged more than 14 million views. [9] The song entered Billboard 's Comedy Digital Tracks chart at #2 and the Billboard Holiday Digital Songs chart at #19. [10] That same month, the song rose to #1 on the Comedy Digital Tracks chart. [11]
As a result of the video, The Maccabeats received major media coverage and requests for bookings nationwide. [1] [3] [4] [8] In January 2011 they performed at the Knesset. [12] On May 17, 2011, they were invited to sing at the White House's Jewish American Heritage Month gala. [13] President Barack Obama commended "their outstanding performance", in which they performed a barbershop quartet. [1] [13] The Maccabeats returned to the White House on December 9, 2015 to perform at the afternoon reception of the White House Hanukkah Party. [14]
The Maccabeats have attracted both Jewish and non-Jewish fans via the Internet and on tour. In addition to the United States, they have performed in China, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Mexico, Chile, South Africa, London, and Italy. [1] [6] [4] [15] Members of the group lead Shabbat synagogue services for host communities. [6] [12]
As of 2018, the group is no longer officially affiliated with Yeshiva University. [9]
The Maccabeats are best known for their Jewish holiday songs. [1] These cover and parody contemporary hits while adding original lyrics written by group members. [15] [16] The lyrics are often educational, recounting the history of the holiday, mentioning pertinent symbols and customs, and using Hebrew phrases known to Jewish celebrants. [3] [8] [17]
Since 2010, the group has produced an annual Hanukkah music video. [18] These include a cover of Matisyahu's "Miracle" (2011), [19] with self-professed fan and Orthodox Jewish actress Mayim Bialik and her two sons appearing in the music video; [20] "All About That Neis" (2014), a parody of Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass", [21] and "Latke Recipe" (2015), a parody of "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon. [22] [23]
For Hanukkah 2016, the group produced a musical theatre parody called "Hasmonean: A Hamilton Hanukkah", featuring songs and music based on the musical Hamilton , rewritten with a Hanukkah theme. [24] The video covers the songs "Alexander Hamilton" (with changed lyrics referring to the Hanukkah hero Judah Maccabee), "You'll Be Back", "My Shot", and "The Story of Tonight". [18]
For Hanukkah 2017, the group released a music video marking the 10th anniversary since their formation. The holiday-themed song, "Candles on the Sill", parodied Ed Sheeran's 2017 release, "Castle on the Hill". [25] [26]
For Hanukkah 2018, the group released "I Have a Little Dreidel", a cover of the famous "I Have a Little Dreidel" tune, sung using the methods of various musical genres. [27] The lyrics were slightly modified in each genre, to better fit the theme. Musical genres included in this video are big band, bluegrass, hip hop, the 80's, blues, classical, reggaetón, and gospel.
Since 2019, the group has gone back to releasing annual parody videos, including "Pan Fry" (2019), a parody of Billy Eilish's "Bad Guy" and Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road", [28] "Candlelight 2020" (2020), a parody of BTS's "Dynamite", [29] and "Illuminating" (2021), a parody of Dua Lipa's "Levitating". [30]
"Purim Song" (2011) covers Pink's "Raise Your Glass". [6] [31] "Purim Song" charted in the top 10 of Billboard's Comedy Digital Songs. [32]
"An Encanto Purim (We Don't Talk About Haman)" (2022) covers Encanto's "We Don't Talk About Bruno" and "Surface Pressure".
A 2013 music video featured a medley of songs from the musical Les Misérables , performed over reenactments of scenes from the Passover story. [17] The video included covers of "Work Song" (over a reenactment of the Jews' lives as slaves in Egypt), "At the End of the Day" (Jochebed putting the baby Moses in a basket in the Nile), "I Dreamed a Dream", "Who Am I?" (Moses questioning if he is worthy to lead the Jews out of Egypt), the Thénardiers' section and the students' section of "One Day More" (the Ten Plagues and Moses speaking to Pharaoh), and the finale of "Do You Hear the People Sing?".
A 2015 Passover mashup of "Dayenu" included eight different musical motifs, including doo-wop, polka, heavy metal, funk, hip-hop, "island", dubstep, and barbershop quartet. [17] [33] [34]
The 2016 Passover mashup included parodies of Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself", "Sorry" and "What Do You Mean?".
In 2012 The Maccabeats released a video parody of Psy's "Gangnam Style" titled, "What's next? Sukkos Style?" [35]
The group has also covered Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", incorporating the Hebrew lyrics of "Lekha Dodi"; [5] [7] Anna Kendrick's "Cups", set to the Shabbat morning table song "D'ror Yikra"; Ellie Goulding's "Burn"; and Sara Bareilles' "Brave". Their 2014 music video mashup "Home", filmed in New York and Jerusalem, covers songs by One Direction, Andy Grammer, Chris Daughtry, Diddy, and Phillip Phillips. [36]
In January 2016 the group covered James Taylor's "Shed a Little Light" in a joint performance with beatboxing vocal group Naturally 7 in commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The music video was filmed at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. [1] [37] [38] Taylor called the performance "one of the best covers of 'Shed a Little Light' I've ever heard". [38]
In September 2020 the group released a COVID-19 lockdown-themed music video in which they covered the traditional Rosh Hashana song " BaShana HaBa'a " with additional original English-language lyrics. The members were individually filmed in their homes accompanied by their young children. [39]
For Hanukkah 2012, the Maccabeats released their first original song, "Shine". [40] "Hanerot Hallalu" ("These Candles") is their bluegrass-inspired rendition of the hymn traditionally sung after lighting the Hanukkah candles. [41] In June 2020 four members of the group released the song "Say Your Name" in honor of African-American police victim George Floyd. [42] On December 3, 2023, the Maccabeats released "We're Still Here (Am Yisrael Chai)" to honor Israel's response to the October 7, 2023 terror attack. The song was written by Noah Jacobson and its video includes footage from the band's performance at the November, 2023 March for Israel in Washington, D.C.. [43]
While performing a range of musical styles, the Maccabeats' performance is strictly vocal. Members do beatboxing to imitate synthesizer, drums, and other instruments. [5]
Founding member Julian (Chaim) Horowitz is The Maccabeats' musical director and manager. [6] The group was initially composed of undergraduate students, but by 2012 all members were in graduate school, most of them pursuing studies in fields other than music. [4] Members have continued with the group after entering a profession, marrying, and moving out of New York. [1] While all the members practice together weekly, only half the group travels to live performances, as their music is arranged in seven- and eight-part harmony. [44]
Music video director Uri Westrich is a Yeshiva University graduate. Following the success of his 2010 video for "Candlelight", he left medical school to pursue a career in filmmaking. He has directed all of The Maccabeats' music videos. [45]
The Maccabeats have a "clean-cut" look, performing in white dress shirts, skinny black ties, dress slacks, and knit yarmulkes. [12] [20] [3] In keeping with the philosophical tenets of Yeshiva University, the group sees its mission as a fulfillment of Torah Umadda (Torah and secular knowledge). In the words of group member Ari Lewis, the group embraces the ideal of "living a life of Torah and Judaism, and simultaneously a successful secular life". [4]
In 2012 four members of The Maccabeats – David Block, Noey Jacobson, Nachum Joel, and Immanuel Shalev – formed the short-lived a cappella group StandFour. [46] In 2014 Jacobson launched a solo career, while still performing with The Maccabeats. [47]
Music performed a cappella, less commonly spelled a capella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term a cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato musical styles. In the 19th century, a renewed interest in Renaissance polyphony, coupled with an ignorance of the fact that vocal parts were often doubled by instrumentalists, led to the term coming to mean unaccompanied vocal music. The term is also used, rarely, as a synonym for alla breve.
Dayenu is a song that is part of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The word "dayenu" means approximately "it would have been enough," "it would have been sufficient," or "it would have sufficed". This traditional upbeat Passover song is over one thousand years old.
Moshav, formerly known as Moshav Band, is an Israeli-American Jewish rock band originating from Moshav Mevo Modi'im. Founded in 1996 by Yehuda Solomon and Duvid Swirsky, the group moved to Los Angeles in 2008 and have released ten studio albums. With a sound incorporating elements of alternative rock, folk, funk, and reggae, they were credited, alongside Soulfarm and Blue Fringe, with advancing Jewish rock in the early 2000s.
Lipa Schmeltzer is an American singer, entertainer, and composer. He is a headliner in Hasidic as well as modern Jewish communities worldwide. He has released 18 solo albums.
Yossi (Joseph) Toiv, known professionally as Country Yossi, is an American Orthodox Jewish composer, singer, radio show host, author, and magazine publisher. A composer and singer in the Jewish music genre, Toiv has to his credit three albums as a member of the group Or Chodosh circa 1971–73, seven albums under the name Country Yossi and the Shteeble Hoppers, and a series of six albums for children called Kivi and Tuki. He also released "Country Yossi's Classic Calls" a humorous collection of actual on-air phone calls to his radio show. He has also released two animated Kivi and Tuki DVDs.
Naturally 7 is an American music group with a distinct a cappella style they call "vocal play," which, according to group leader Roger Thomas, is "the art of becoming an instrument using the human voice to create the sound." They simulate the sounds of an instrumental band using only their voices, mouths and distortion effects. The group was formed in 1999 in New York City. It currently consists of the Thomas brothers Roger and Warren, Rod Eldridge, Ricky Cort, Dwight Stewart, Sean Simmonds, and N'Namdi Bryant.
Hanukkah music contains several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah.
Udi Davidi is an Israeli singer, musician, lyricist and composer.
"Candlelight" is a song by the band The Maccabeats that was released in November 2010. It achieved viral status. The song is a transformation of Mike Tompkins's a cappella cover of the Taio Cruz song "Dynamite" to lyrics about the holiday of Hanukkah. The Maccabeats are an all-male Jewish a cappella student group that formed at Yeshiva University.
Shtar is an Israeli Jewish rap rock band based in Beit Shemesh. Formed in 2006 by American rapper Ori Murray and English guitarist/songwriter Brad Rubinstein, the band released their debut album, Infinity, in Israel in 2010 and in the United States through Shemspeed Records in 2012. They have received considerable media attention, much of it focused on the contrast between their traditional Jewish dress and modern-sounding music. A second recording, Boss EP, was released through the band's own Heatseat Records in December 2012. In 2015, they were announced as contestants on the Israeli reality singing show HaKokhav HaBa.
StandFour is an American a cappella group from New York City made up of four former members of Yeshiva University's all-male a cappella group The Maccabeats. Formed in November 2012, the group is composed of four graduates of the university: David Block, Noey Jacobson, Nachum Joel, and Immanuel Shalev. StandFour is largely popular among the American Jewish community and the related blogosphere.
Benzion Hakohen "Benny" Friedman is an American Hasidic Jewish singer and a non-pulpit rabbi. Professionally trained in voice, he rose to prominence on the Orthodox pop scene with his first album in 2009. Singing mainly in Hebrew, Friedman tours extensively and also appears in music videos. He views his music as a shlichus (outreach) tool, with the goal of drawing Jews closer to Judaism.
Mike Tompkins is a Canadian musician from Ilderton, Ontario. He primarily records acapella covers and original songs, using only his mouth and voice. He has been partnered with Maker Studios, but is now an independent artist. He has been featured on both the Today Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Ari Goldwag is an American Orthodox Jewish singer, songwriter, composer, and producer of contemporary Jewish religious music, as well as an author and teacher living in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel. He was a soloist for the Miami Boys Choir at age 10 and starred on five albums and three videos before his voice changed at age 14. He launched a music career after his marriage and move to Israel. He has released nine solo albums, and composes songs and produces albums for other artists.
Aryeh Kunstler is an American Orthodox Jewish singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer.
Orthodox pop, sometimes called Hasidic pop, Hasidic rock, K-pop, Haredi pop, and Ortho-pop, is a form of contemporary Jewish religious music popular among Orthodox Jews. It typically draws stylistically from contemporary genres like pop, rock, jazz, and dance music, while incorporating text from Jewish prayer, Torah, and Talmud as well as traditional Jewish songs and occasional original English lyrics with themes of faith and positivity. The genre was pioneered in the 1970s by artists like Mordechai Ben David and the Miami Boys Choir, who incorporated secular pop and dance influences into their music in contrast to the more traditional Jewish music of the time, and has had continued success in the modern era with singers like Yaakov Shwekey, Lipa Schmeltzer, Baruch Levine, and Benny Friedman.
"Minyan Man" is a song composed in 1982 by Victor Shine, also known as the man who found Yosef Shapiro. It tells the fictional story of a traveling Jewish businessman who is looking for a minyan for Shabbat in the small Jewish community of Mobile, Alabama, and serves as the tenth man for a group of nine Jews. The song was popularized as a pop ballad by Lenny Solomon of Shlock Rock in 1987. In 2015, Solomon recorded an a cappella version with The Maccabeats. Two music videos have been produced.
Rogers Park is an American Hasidic folk rock duo from Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 2011 by childhood friends Yosef Peysin and Mordy Kurtz, the group is named after the Chicago neighborhood where they grew up. Their debut album, The Maggid, was released on January 19, 2016.
Tim Blais is a Canadian science communicator. He explains scientific topics via writing and performing a capella parodies of popular music which he records and posts on his YouTube channel, A Capella Science.
Six13 is a New York–based Jewish all-male a cappella singing group. Formed in 2003, the six-voice group is known for parodying contemporary pop songs by adding Jewish themes and lyrics. It also sings cover versions of pop hits and Yiddish and Israeli classics, and produces original compositions based on traditional Jewish prayers. Relying solely on vocals, the group achieves the effects of guitar, bass, drums, and electronic music through beatboxing and multiple layering of vocal tracks on its music videos. The group performs regularly for universities, synagogues, public and private groups, and in music festivals. It has released eight albums and won numerous awards.