Bruce Springsteen is playing multiple concerts across Canada this month. The Boss isn’t Jewish—but his E Street Band drummer of 50 years Max Weinberg is.
Weinberg performed at bar mitzvahs in the New Jersey area starting at age seven, and even played at his own 13th birthday bash. He has publicly said that he embraces seriously the Jewish concept of tikun olam (repairing the world) and his way of doing that is through music, and specifically drumming.
The River Street Band was a Toronto-based Springsteen tribute band which performed from 1982-1988 and 2006-2017. Lead singer Don Denaburg is pictured here with saxophonist Steve Dudek in this 1985 poster for a “Youth Campaign Event” in support of Larry Grossman’s leadership campaign for the Ontario Progressive Conservatives after the retirement of premier Bill Davis.
Grossman was elected as an MPP in 1975, succeeding his father Allan in the riding of St. Andrews-St. Patrick (you might say that Larry Grossman was “Born to Run”). He was a cabinet member in the Davis government, holding every significant portfolio including health, finance and industry. Davis announced his retirement, and Grossman ran to replace him as leader—but lost to Frank Miller at the January 1985 leadership convention.
Miller resigned later that year, and yet another leadership convention was held. Grossman won this time, becoming the first Jewish leader of the Ontario PCs. (The provincial Liberals and NDP previously had Jewish leaders—Stuart Smith and Stephen Lewis, respectively).
Prior to Grossman winning the leadership, party organizer Eddie Goodman was asked whether the party would ever consider electing Grossman as leader. Goodman responded: “You never know. They may conclude our problems are so severe, we need a smart Jew to clean things up.”
In the 1987 provincial election, the Conservatives were soundly defeated by David Peterson’s Liberal Party with Grossman losing his own seat. He never ran for office again and died a decade later of brain cancer, at age 53.
In 2004, Toronto’s Forest Hill Memorial Arena was named after Larry Grossman in honour of his public service to the community and the province. It’s a fitting tribute as he was a staunch advocate for the programs at the arena, played there, and was a beloved coach and mentor. The hand-written notes he gave his players at the end of a season, which shared life lessons and encouragement, remain cherished possessions to this day.
