Rick Recht

Richard Samuel "Rick" Recht (born August 28, 1970) is an American rock musician who was one of the early pioneers of contemporary Jewish rock music in the early 2000s, performing for Jewish teenage and young adult audiences.[1]

Career

Recht grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. By the late 1990s, he was a member of a band and worked as a song leader at a Jewish day camp in St. Louis.[1]

By the early 2000s, Recht and his band were touring nationwide, delivering about 150 performances a year, included for an estimated audience of 30,000 people at the Los Angeles Jewish Festival in 2003.[2]

In 2010, Recht founded Jewish Rock Radio, one of the first exclusively Jewish rock online radio stations in the United States.[3][4]

Recht is the Artist-in-Residence at the United Hebrew Congregation in Chesterfield, Missouri, where he provides music for Shabbat, High Holidays, and other programming.[5]

In October 2023, the nonprofit Judaism Alive (of which Recht is executive director) organized the virtual event nity in Harmony: Standing in Solidarity, Song, and Prayer for Israel. Recht appeared with fellow musicians and community leaders, including David Broza, Nefesh Mountain, JFNA board member Julie Platt, Winnie Grinspoon of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, and Rabbi David Ingber of the 92nd Street Y.[6]

Discography

Recht has released eight studio albums, two children's albums, and four live albums.[5]

Studio albums

Year Title Label Notes
1992 Collage Independent Sole album with the band Collage.[7]
1994 Reality Debut solo album.
1998 Good Thing Vibe Room
1999 Tov Debut Jewish-themed album. Features a backing choir of USY, NFTY, and BBYO singers.
2004 What Feels So Right
2005 Tear Down The Walls Jewish Rock Collection of songs themed around social justice and anti-racism.
2009 Simply Shabbat Collection of original melodies for Shabbat songs.
2013 Halleluyah
2018 Here I Am Independent

Live albums

Year Title Label Notes
2001 Shabbat Alive! Vibe Room Released as multimedia CD. Features six youth choirs from St. Louis and Kansas City, as well as guest appearances from Craig Taubman, Dan Nichols, and Peri Smilow.
2003 The Hope (Live) Features Recht's successful song "The Hope".
2005 Shabbat Alive! Live Jewish Rock Recording of Recht's Shabbat Alive! service, recorded at United Hebrew Congregation in St. Louis. Includes originals as well as compositions from Craig Taubman, Debbie Friedman, Julie Silver, Dan Nichols, and others.
2008 Knockin' Holes in the Darkness Recorded on April 19, 2007 at Hope Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee. Includes three bonus studio tracks.

Children's albums

Year Title Label Notes
2002 Free to Be the Jew in Me Jewish Rock Collection of children's songs as well as short stories, poems, and skits, with themes of diversity and Jewish identity.
2010 Look At Me! Jewish Rock/PJ Library Collaborative album with musician Sheldon Low.

Singles

Year Title Album
2018 "Oseh Shalom" Here I Am
2021 "Chosen Family" non-album single

Music videos

  • "The Hope" (2006)[8]
  • "Summer of Our Lives" (2012)[9]
  • "The Rainbow Song" (2017)[10]
  • "Sanctuary" (2017)[11]
  • "Here For You" (2019)[12]
  • "Oseh Shalom" (2019)[13]
  • "Chosen Family" (2022)[14]

References

  1. ^ a b Daniels, Cynthia (2004-08-28). "Teenagers get down with Jewish rock". JewishRock.com. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original (reprint) on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
  2. ^ Aushenker, Michael (2003-09-05). "Rock 'n' Roll Rules at 2003 Valley Fest". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
  3. ^ Miller, Jason (November 16, 2010). "Jewish Rock Gets Internet Radio Channel". The Jewish Week. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  4. ^ Michelle Boorstein (December 19, 2011). "Jewish musician rocks during Hanukkah". Washington Post. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Rick Recht". United Hebrew Congregation. November 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  6. ^ Palmer, Jordan (2023-10-24). "Rick Recht and 'Judaism Alive' to lead star-studded musical lineup to support Israel". St. Louis Jewish Light. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  7. ^ CD Album: Collage [90s] - Collage (1992), retrieved 2023-12-12
  8. ^ The Hope Video, 6 October 2006, retrieved 2023-12-12
  9. ^ Summer of our Lives - Rick Recht, 17 May 2012, retrieved 2023-12-12
  10. ^ The Rainbow Song - Rick Recht, 24 January 2017, retrieved 2023-12-12
  11. ^ Sanctuary - Rick Recht (feat. Songleader Boot Camp), 23 April 2017, retrieved 2023-12-12
  12. ^ Here For You -. Rick Recht, 11 June 2019, retrieved 2023-12-12
  13. ^ Oseh Shalom - Rick Recht, 11 June 2019, retrieved 2023-12-12
  14. ^ Rick Recht - Chosen Family (Official Music Video), 31 August 2022, retrieved 2023-12-12