Duvid Crockett, King of Delancey Street [Video]
Pop song parody did exist before Weird Al Yankovic burst on scene with “Another One Rides the Bus.” Mickey Katz scored considerable success with the format in the forties and fifties, writing Klezmer parodies of mainstream songs, including “Duvid Crockett.” Katz played clarinet and paired English-Yiddish lyrics to his versions. Son Joel Grey discovered acting instead, and gained popularity in Cabaret, achieving the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the 1972 film adaptation.
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Why bring up this truncated history lesson? Well, some years ago, actress Jennifer Grey appeared on pre-TBS Conan, and paid homage to her grandfather by singing “Duvid Crockett.” After all, he is the inherent king of Delancey Street, “home of gefilte fish and Kosher meat”! But unfortunately, the legal minions at NBC won’t let us embed that clip, so head directly to YouTube to check it out. In the meantime, below is the audio-only original…
You can purchase his music here.
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