Dean Friedman
Encyclopedia
Dean Friedman is an American
singer-songwriter
who plays piano
, keyboard
, guitar
and other instruments, including the harmonica
.
, Friedman received his first guitar when he was 9, in 1964, and started writing songs. When he was a teenager
, he played weddings and bar mitzvahs as part of Marsha and the Self-Portraits, sent out demos
and majored in music at City College of New York
where one of his teachers was guitarist David Bromberg
. By the time he was 20, in 1975, he had a manager and a recording contract
with Cashman
and West's Lifesong label
.
In the United States
he is described as a one-hit wonder
, following his 1977 hit
song
"Ariel", which reached # 26 on the Billboard
Hot 100
chart
and stayed in the chart for five months. "Ariel" has been described as a "quirkily irresistible and uncategorizable pop song about a free spirited, music loving, vegetarian
Jewish girl", from Paramus, New Jersey, where he grew up. It is the only Billboard Top 40 song to contain the word Paramus. It describes the girl Ariel, "standing by the [since dismantled] waterfall at Paramus Park
", one of the many shopping malls in Paramus. The quarters she was collecting for "friends of BAI" refers to the New York radio station WBAI-FM, and their listener association, while the song also makes reference to "channel 2," which refers to local CBS
affiliate WCBS-TV
.
Although "Ariel" did not make the UK Singles Chart
, "Lucky Stars", a duet
with Denise Marsa
taken from his second album
Well Well Said the Rocking Chair, made #3 in the UK
in late 1978, and both "Woman of Mine" and "Lydia" were lesser chart hits there.
Friedman also provided vocals
for a series of television commercials in the 1970s in the New York
metro area. The electronics chain Crazy Eddie's hired him to sing their doo-wop
styled commercial: "When you think you're ready, come down to Crazy Eddie's".
Unlike many one-hit wonders, Friedman has continued to write and perform songs into the 2000s.
, including The Barenaked Ladies
, Ben Folds Five
, Ariel Pink
, The Tone Rangers, and The Blenders
. The lead singer of Barenaked Ladies, Steve Page, sang background vocals
on Friedman's album Songs For Grownups (1998).
to several TV series including Boon
(for which he did all of the music apart from the theme song which was performed by Jim Diamond
), starring Michael Elphick
. Other TV credits include Nick Arcade
(Nickelodeon
) and Eerie, Indiana
(NBC
). He also composed, performed and produced the soundtrack to the cult
horror film
, I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle, in which he performs the track "She Runs on Blood, Not Gasoline".
In 1986, Friedman saw a demo of a powerful virtual reality
program that put the user right inside a video game using a video camera (similar to the technology used by the Eye Toy).
Friedman was impressed by the technology and wrote an article for Electronic Musician magazine. In 1989 he designed a game called Eat-A-Bug which was licensed to Nickelodeon TV, used on the series
Total Panic and served as a prototype for the series Nick Arcade, for which Friedman produced a dozen games. He is now the President and Creative Director of InVideo games.
ous Ariel as "a Jewish girl", believing that radio station
s might use it as an excuse not to play the record
. The third verse was also removed to make the single shorter for radio. The management company received threats from the Jewish Defense League
protesting against the edit and, at Friedman's insistence, the original version was put on the album.
Friedman's second single "McDonald's Girl" was officially banned by the BBC
because the chorus
mentioned the name of the fast food
restaurant.
During 2005, as part of a tie-in to one of his tour sponsors, Friedman's tour of the United Kingdom
was almost canceled after it was revealed he intended to distribute cannabis
seeds to purchasers of his new album. Although it is not illegal to own or distribute cannabis seeds in this manner "unless they get wet", the suggestion caused friction with a number of venues on the tour, so the intended distribution was not carried out.
. He continued to tour, playing small venues.
He copied this tactic again in 2005, with the album Squirrels in the Attic.
His sister, Racelle Rosett Schaefer, is a noted television writer who was executive producer of the show Blossom
, starring Mayim Bialik
.
he lived in New York
with his wife, Alison, and two children: Hannah Friedman
(born 1986), and Sam Friedman (born 1990).
recorded, in 1986, a song entitled "The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman", a claim Friedman considered improbable, as he was only seven years old when lyricist Nigel Blackwell was conceived. At the Edinburgh Festival
in 2003, The Scotsman
newspaper
arranged a get together between Friedman and the band, in which he acknowledged that Blackwell had at least surmised right the underlying story in the song "Lucky Stars": "That guy Nigel was hip to the fact Lisa and I didn't just do lunch. You can't interpret a song that way unless you understand what it's about." It also transpired that Blackwell had a copy of a rare vinyl version of Well Well Said the Rocking Chair.
In 2009, Friedman wrote a 'reply' called "Tale Of A Baker's Son", in which he firmly placed Blackwell's parentage as being that of the local baker, posting it on Half Man Half Biscuit's MySpace
site. The band mentioned it on their own website as "Dean Friedman's Revenge/Dean Friedman strikes back". On September 15, 2010, Dean Friedman appeared at a Half Man Half Biscuit gig at the Robin 2 venue in Bilston, West Midlands (UK) and performed "Tale Of A Baker's Son" to rapturous applause from the partisan crowd. Half Man Half Biscuit's riposte was, naturally, The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
who plays piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and other instruments, including the harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
.
Music
Born and raised in Paramus, New JerseyParamus, New Jersey
Paramus is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 26,342. A suburb of New York City, Paramus is located between 15–20 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan and approximately west of Upper Manhattan.Paramus is one of...
, Friedman received his first guitar when he was 9, in 1964, and started writing songs. When he was a teenager
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
, he played weddings and bar mitzvahs as part of Marsha and the Self-Portraits, sent out demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
and majored in music at City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
where one of his teachers was guitarist David Bromberg
David Bromberg
David Bromberg is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Bromberg has an eclectic style, playing bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock and roll equally well. He is known for his quirky, humorous lyrics, and the ability to play rhythm and lead guitar at the...
. By the time he was 20, in 1975, he had a manager and a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Cashman
Terry Cashman
Terry Cashman is a record producer and singer-songwriter, best known for his 1981 hit, "Talkin' Baseball." While the song is well recognized today, it was all but ignored by typical Top 40 radio during its chart life, making only the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.Cashman was the lead singer...
and West's Lifesong label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
.
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
he is described as a one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
, following his 1977 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
"Ariel", which reached # 26 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
and stayed in the chart for five months. "Ariel" has been described as a "quirkily irresistible and uncategorizable pop song about a free spirited, music loving, vegetarian
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
Jewish girl", from Paramus, New Jersey, where he grew up. It is the only Billboard Top 40 song to contain the word Paramus. It describes the girl Ariel, "standing by the [since dismantled] waterfall at Paramus Park
Paramus Park
Paramus Park is a shopping center located on From Road in Paramus, New Jersey, United States, sandwiched between Route 17 and the Garden State Parkway, a little more than two miles north of Route 4. The mall is owned by General Growth Properties and offers a Gross leasable area of...
", one of the many shopping malls in Paramus. The quarters she was collecting for "friends of BAI" refers to the New York radio station WBAI-FM, and their listener association, while the song also makes reference to "channel 2," which refers to local CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
.
Although "Ariel" did not make the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, "Lucky Stars", a duet
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
with Denise Marsa
Denise Marsa
Denise Marsa is an American singer/songwriter, born in Trenton, New Jersey.She moved to New York City in the 1970s and formed her own band. When performing in a club she was approached by Dean Friedman, who invited her to sing on his next album. She sang a duet - "Lucky Stars" - with Friedman, on...
taken from his second album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Well Well Said the Rocking Chair, made #3 in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in late 1978, and both "Woman of Mine" and "Lydia" were lesser chart hits there.
Friedman also provided vocals
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
for a series of television commercials in the 1970s in the New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
metro area. The electronics chain Crazy Eddie's hired him to sing their doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
styled commercial: "When you think you're ready, come down to Crazy Eddie's".
Unlike many one-hit wonders, Friedman has continued to write and perform songs into the 2000s.
Influences
The songs of Dean Friedman have been covered by several contemporary bandsMusical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, including The Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
, Ben Folds Five
Ben Folds Five
Ben Folds Five is an alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds , Robert Sledge , and Darren Jessee . The group achieved mainstream success in the alternative, indie and pop music scenes...
, Ariel Pink
Ariel Pink
Ariel Pink is a Los Angeles-based recording artist who is sometimes associated with the freak folk scene.-Biography:...
, The Tone Rangers, and The Blenders
The Blenders
The Blenders are a vocal quartet based in Minneapolis, Minnesota ....
. The lead singer of Barenaked Ladies, Steve Page, sang background vocals
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
on Friedman's album Songs For Grownups (1998).
TV and films
Friedman has written, performed and produced the theme musicTheme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
to several TV series including Boon
Boon (TV series)
Boon is a British television drama and modern-day western series starring Michael Elphick, David Daker, and later Neil Morrissey. It was created by Jim Hill and Bill Stair and filmed by Central Television for ITV...
(for which he did all of the music apart from the theme song which was performed by Jim Diamond
Jim Diamond (Scottish musician)
James "Jim" Diamond is a Scottish singer-songwriter. Diamond is best known for his three Top 5 hits. The first was "I Won't Let You Down" , as the lead singer in the trio Ph.D., with Tony Hymas and Simon Phillips. His solo performance, "I Should Have Known Better", was a United Kingdom number one...
), starring Michael Elphick
Michael Elphick
Michael John Elphick was an English actor. Elphick was known in the UK for his trademark croaky voice and his work on British television, in particular his roles as the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series Boon and later Harry Slater in BBC's EastEnders.Robust and ruggedly good-looking...
. Other TV credits include Nick Arcade
Nick Arcade
Nick Arcade is an American children's game show created by James Bethea and Karim Miteff and hosted by Phil Moore, with Andrea Lively announcing, that aired on Nickelodeon from 1992 to 1993 , airing originally during weekend afternoons...
(Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
) and Eerie, Indiana
Eerie, Indiana
Eerie, Indiana is an American television series that aired on NBC from 1991 to 1992 and then on syndication on Fox from 1997 to 1998. The series was created by José Rivera and Karl Schaefer, with Joe Dante serving as creative consultant.-Premise:...
(NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
). He also composed, performed and produced the soundtrack to the cult
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle, in which he performs the track "She Runs on Blood, Not Gasoline".
Other (non-musical) work
In 1985, Friedman produced a seminal work on the newly emerging synthesizer industry called Complete Guide to Synthesizers, Sequencers, and Drum Machines. Whilst dated, this tome is still of use in evaluating devices that crop up on the second-hand market. Friedman also set up the "New York School of Synthesis" and provided a series of videos entitled "Intro to Synthesis". Friedman presents the rudiments of this topic in an audio-visual format, whilst incorporating a unique sense of humor.In 1986, Friedman saw a demo of a powerful virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
program that put the user right inside a video game using a video camera (similar to the technology used by the Eye Toy).
Friedman was impressed by the technology and wrote an article for Electronic Musician magazine. In 1989 he designed a game called Eat-A-Bug which was licensed to Nickelodeon TV, used on the series
Total Panic and served as a prototype for the series Nick Arcade, for which Friedman produced a dozen games. He is now the President and Creative Director of InVideo games.
Controversy
The record label which produced "Ariel" insisted Friedman change the song's second verse, which refers to the eponymEponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous Ariel as "a Jewish girl", believing that radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s might use it as an excuse not to play the record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
. The third verse was also removed to make the single shorter for radio. The management company received threats from the Jewish Defense League
Jewish Defense League
The Jewish Defense League is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"...
protesting against the edit and, at Friedman's insistence, the original version was put on the album.
Friedman's second single "McDonald's Girl" was officially banned by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
because the chorus
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
mentioned the name of the fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
restaurant.
During 2005, as part of a tie-in to one of his tour sponsors, Friedman's tour of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
was almost canceled after it was revealed he intended to distribute cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
seeds to purchasers of his new album. Although it is not illegal to own or distribute cannabis seeds in this manner "unless they get wet", the suggestion caused friction with a number of venues on the tour, so the intended distribution was not carried out.
Revival
Friedman's album, The Treehouse Journals was financed entirely by his fans via his website. Friedman invited people to finance the cost of the as-yet unrecorded album by making an advance purchase and by making limited edition signed copies available. This tactic has been adopted by other bands, including MarillionMarillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...
. He continued to tour, playing small venues.
He copied this tactic again in 2005, with the album Squirrels in the Attic.
His sister, Racelle Rosett Schaefer, is a noted television writer who was executive producer of the show Blossom
Blossom (TV series)
Blossom is an American sitcom broadcast on NBC from January 3, 1991 to May 22, 1995. The series stars Mayim Bialik as Blossom Russo, a teenage girl living with her father and two brothers. It was created by Don Reo.- Synopsis :...
, starring Mayim Bialik
Mayim Bialik
Mayim Hoya Bialik is an American actress who also holds a PhD in neuroscience.Her most notable TV roles have been as Blossom Russo on NBC's Blossom and as Amy Farrah Fowler on CBS's The Big Bang Theory.-Early life:...
.
he lived in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with his wife, Alison, and two children: Hannah Friedman
Hannah Friedman
Hannah Friedman is a writer, director, and musician from New York.-Biography:Hannah Friedman is the elder of two children born to notable singer-songwriter Dean Friedman. Hannah's mother worked for a time training monkeys...
(born 1986), and Sam Friedman (born 1990).
Dean Friedman and Half Man Half Biscuit
The British band Half Man Half BiscuitHalf Man Half Biscuit
Half Man Half Biscuit, often "HMHB", are an English rock band from Birkenhead, Merseyside, active since the mid-1980s, known for satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs. The group comprises Nigel Blackwell , Neil Crossley , Ken Hancock , and Carl Henry...
recorded, in 1986, a song entitled "The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman", a claim Friedman considered improbable, as he was only seven years old when lyricist Nigel Blackwell was conceived. At the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
in 2003, The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
arranged a get together between Friedman and the band, in which he acknowledged that Blackwell had at least surmised right the underlying story in the song "Lucky Stars": "That guy Nigel was hip to the fact Lisa and I didn't just do lunch. You can't interpret a song that way unless you understand what it's about." It also transpired that Blackwell had a copy of a rare vinyl version of Well Well Said the Rocking Chair.
In 2009, Friedman wrote a 'reply' called "Tale Of A Baker's Son", in which he firmly placed Blackwell's parentage as being that of the local baker, posting it on Half Man Half Biscuit's MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
site. The band mentioned it on their own website as "Dean Friedman's Revenge/Dean Friedman strikes back". On September 15, 2010, Dean Friedman appeared at a Half Man Half Biscuit gig at the Robin 2 venue in Bilston, West Midlands (UK) and performed "Tale Of A Baker's Son" to rapturous applause from the partisan crowd. Half Man Half Biscuit's riposte was, naturally, The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman.
Albums
- Dean Friedman (1977)
- Well Well Said the Rocking Chair (1978) - UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#21 - Rumpled Romeo (1981)
- Live! At The Duke of York (1985)
- Bloomsbury Live! (1995)
- Dean Friedman In Concert – Shepherds Bush Empire (1998)
- Songs for Grownups (1998)
- The Treehouse Journals (2002)
- Squirrels in the Attic (2005)
- Submarine Races (2010)
Others
- Music From "Boon" - TV soundtrack
- I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle - soundtrack
- Dean's "Kids Songs"
- A Million Matzoh Balls
Singles
- "Ariel" (1977) - U.S.Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
#26 - "Woman of Mine" (1977) - UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#52 - "Lucky Stars" (1978) - UK #3
- "Lydia" (1978) - UK #31