Hard Rock Hanukkah

Happy Thanksgiving from everyone here at the Hawk.  For many legendary rockers, tonight also marks the beginning of Hanukkah.  Here's our salute to the Festival of Lights and those eight crazy nights.

1.  David Lee Roth - Van Halen's singer not only lights the menorah, he actually learned to sing when he was preparing for his bar mitzvah.

2.  Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons - The Starchild and the Demon are both members of the tribe.  In fact, Gene was actually born in Israel with the name Chaim Weitz.  Gene's mother grew up in Germany and survived a Nazi concentration camp in WWII.  Kiss drummer Eric Singer and former guitarist Bruce Kulick also belong to the Jewish faith.

3.  Geddy Lee, Alex LIfeson and Neil Peart from Rush - All three members of Rush were raised in Jewish homes.   Both of Geddy Lee's parents were holocaust survivors.  His mother's rescue from the infamous Bergen-Belsen camp was the subject of the 1984 song "Red Sector A".

4.  Mark and David Knopfler from Dire Straits - Born to a Hungarian Jew who fled his homeland during World War II, these "brothers in arms" went on to form one of the most influential bands of the 70's and 80's.

5.  Bob Dylan, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker from Steely Dan, Lou Reed, Eric Bloom from Blue Oyster Cult, Slash from Guns n Roses, Perry Farrell from Jane's Addiction, Joey Ramone, the entire J. Geils Band, Lenny Kravitz, Billy Joel, Simon and Garfunkel, Marc Bolan from T Rex, Leslie West from Mountain, Arlo Guthrie, the Beastie Boys, Phish, Dee Snider from Twisted Sister, Brad Wilk from Rage Against the Machine, Warren Zevon, Max Weinberg from the E Street Band, David Draiman from Disturbed, Peter Green from Fleetwood Mac, Mick Jones from the Clash and Paul Rodgers from Bad Company...and that's just the short list.