Steph H and Mary N totally ROCK!!! Your constant support and encouragement are thoroughly appreciated. The inspiration, cheerleading, kibitzing, editing, and extremely useful comments and suggestion you gave me made this story so much better than it would have been. It's been truly wonderful having you as sounding boards for my crazy ideas. I cannot possibly thank you enough, but thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
yarmulke is pronounced "ya ma ka"
(which always makes me think of that Hannukah song:
Put on your yamukah
Here comes Hannukah
So much funnukah
To celebrate Hannukah)
I know nothing about jazz. I know even less about jazz in the 1950s. Thank goodness for Google. ;)
Willie "The Lion" Smith, Barry Galbraith, Red Norvo, and Tal Farlow were all Jazz musicians who would have been known in the 1950s.
Harry Volpe was a jazz guitarist who also taught guitar in New York out of a music store that he ran.
Bill Haley, the Platters, Perry Como, Muddy Waters, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, and Fats Domino were popular singers/groups in the 1950s
Why Do Fools Fall in Love? topped the charts in February, 1956.
Neil Diamond is a real person. Neil, please don't sue me. I'm one of your biggest fans.
Harvey Diamond is also a real person, and Neil's younger brother. I don't know why I've made him a bit uptight here -- he just is. I hope to feature him in some other stories and show a nicer side of him.
Rose and Akeeba (Kieve) Diamond are also real people, and they are Neil's parents. Kieve ran a store called "Diamond's Dry Goods" in Flatbush. In 1956 (not sure when exactly, but for my story I decided it was at the beginning of summer), he moved the store and his family to Brighton Beach.
Everything I know about Neil I read a long time ago in a biography. I can't remember the title, nor can I remember the author. Half the "facts" I remember, I probably remember incorrectly. Therefore, please remember that this is a work of fiction. If I didn't know, I made it up. I have no idea if Neil ever wore a yarmulke. I don't know if he even liked Jazz, nor do I know where he lived, etc. However, any nods towards Neil's real life are completely intentional.
All personalities of the characters and all dialogue are completely made up. I only know a few facts about the Diamond family — I don't know what they were really like. Hope I don't offend them!
Neil was born January 24, 1941, making him 15 in this story. Dan is 14. Harvey is 13. I don't ask the parents' ages. ;)
Neil did not seriously consider becoming a song writer until after he met Pete Seeger during summer camp in 1956. He wrote his first song, "Hear Them Bells" in 1956, but I'm not sure when exactly. He got his first guitar on his 16th birthday, Jan 24, 1957.
"My darling, I need you more each day.", "I'll be yours forever, sweetheart.", "To be with you love is my one desire." All lines are lyrics from Neil's first song, Hear Them Bells.
While I'm at it — "If I Close My Eyes" is a line from Brooklyn Roads; "On Some Dark Quiet Street" is a line from At Night; "I'll Be What I Am" is a line from Solitary Man; and "Go Find Your Brother" is also a line from Brooklyn Roads.
Timmy Mangan is not a real person, but in my universe he's a jazz musician who recorded a few albums. I don't know who made Tim Mangan a musician, but I'm certain it's not canon. I've always liked the idea, though, so I hope you don't mind my stealing it.
I decided to make Tim's death a Jeep accident in Korea, combining the war and car accident stories from the two different versions of Black Jacket.
The Korean War ended in 1953, so Neil could have seen him play anytime between 1950 and 1952, and did, in this fiction, see him play in 1951.
Bagels and blintzes have been around for a very long time, but they weren't widely popular outside the Jewish community back in the 1950s. I don't think Danny would have recognized them.
Thank you to PatK, Terry, and CLynn for help with the bits of Yiddish, or at least for trying and providing some super helpful links.
King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green was first published in 1953.
Arizona Roundup by William Hopson was published in 1948. Other than knowing it's a western novel, I have no idea what it's about.
Es vert mir finster in di oygen. Nisht fur dich gedacht! = It is getting dark in my eyes. It shouldn't happen!
The following sites provided gobs of useful information on various subjects:
Neil Diamond: http://www.iaisnd.com/
Judaism: http://www.jewfaq.org/
Yiddish: http://www.pass.to/glossary/Default.htm
Fifties music, slang, fashion, etc.: http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fifties.htm
Jazz Guitarists: http://www.classicjazzguitar.com/
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