"I’ll tell you about one combination of singers I’ve never forgotten"

"I don’t think people realize how much vocalists put into their singing, how much skill and effort are involved. I’m behind the keyboard, and I appreciate all those I work with tremendously. But I’ll tell you about one combination of singers I’ve never forgotten. Not long after my marriage, I used to travel to play concerts. We had a big concert in Miami Beach, and because it was a Thursday night, we stayed at the Crown Hotel over Shabbos. My wife and I were seated at the table together with MBD, Shlomo Carlebach, and Jo Amar, and I can tell you that the singing at those seudos was incredible. They sang on for hours, and the entire hotel came to sit around and listen. When Mashiach comes, if I could invite those three to sing around the table again, it would be a highlight.”

—SHABSY PARNES

veteran one-man-band player

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 874)