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Paul Jabara

May 11, 2024

Paul Frederick Jabara (January 31, 1948 – September 29, 1992), was an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He was born to a Lebanese family[1] in Brooklyn, New York.[2] He wrote Donna Summer's Oscar-winning "Last Dance" from Thank God It's Friday (1978), as well as "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)", Summer's international hit duet with Barbra Streisand. He also co-wrote the Weather Girls' iconic hit "It's Raining Men" with Paul Shaffer.

Paul Jabara
Jabara at the premiere of The Rose in 1979
Born
Paul Frederick Jabara

(1948-01-31)January 31, 1948
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedSeptember 29, 1992(1992-09-29) (aged 44)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actor, singer, songwriter
Years active1960s–1992
Known for

Early life edit

Jabara was born in Brooklyn, New York.[3] He graduated from Fort Hamilton High School in 1965, and briefly attended Long Island University in Brooklyn. His sisters, Delores and Claudette, also graduated from that high school.

Acting career edit

Jabara's Broadway debut was in the original cast of the stage musical Hair. He originated the role of King Herod in the London production of Jesus Christ Superstar.[3]

In 1969, he appeared in John Schlesinger's film Midnight Cowboy, as a hippie handing out pills ("Up or Down?") at the counterculture party.

He moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s[3] and acted in a number of films during the decade. He took over the role of Frank-N-Furter in the Los Angeles production of The Rocky Horror Show when Tim Curry left the production to film the movie version in England. and in Schlesinger's 1975 film The Day of the Locust, where he sang a cover of the Marlene Dietrich song "Hot Voo-Doo" in drag.

Jabara played the role of a lovelorn and nearsighted disco-goer named Carl in the 1978 film Thank God It's Friday. He contributed the song "Last Dance" to the film's soundtrack, which went on to win an Academy Award and Grammy Award.[3] He also contributed as a singer on two tracks on the original soundtrack.

In 1981, Jabara starred in another John Schlesinger film, the comedy Honky Tonk Freeway, as truck driver/songwriter T. J. Tupus, hauling lions and a rhino.

Songwriter and singer edit

Jabara wrote the book, music, lyrics and starred in the aborted Broadway musical Rachael Lily Rosenbloom (And Don't You Ever Forget It) when he was 24 years old.[4] The musical starred Ellen Greene, and played the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City in 1973. It closed in previews prior to its official opening and was never reviewed by the press. No recording was made of the score, which featured both Jabara's trademark disco music and traditional Broadway-style numbers.[5]

In 1976, Jabara contributed a song to the 20th Century Fox motion picture sound track of Mother, Jugs & Speed, starring Bill Cosby, Raquel Welch and Harvey Keitel. The upbeat, disco-flavored "Dance", both written and sung by Jabara, which was popular in clubs featuring high energy dance music.[6]

Jabara released his debut album Shut Out in 1977. Jabara's solo albums on the disco label Casablanca Records include three duets with Donna Summer: "Shut Out" (1977), "Something's Missing (In My Life)" (1978) and "Never Lose Your Sense of Humor" (1979).

Donna Summer performed his song "Last Dance" for the 1978 film Thank God It's Friday winning Jabara the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song, the Academy Award for Best Original Song.[3] It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

In 1979, with Bruce Roberts, he co-wrote Barbra Streisand's top 3 hit "The Main Event/Fight",[4] and the pair wrote their biggest success with the international smash "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)",[4] recorded as a duet by Streisand and Donna Summer.

In 1981, he wrote "No Jinx" for Bette Midler as the theme tune to her movie Jinxed! Diana Ross scored a 1982 UK top hit with his song "Work That Body".[4]

In 1982, Two Tons O' Fun, renaming themselves as the Weather Girls, agreed to record his song "It's Raining Men", previously rejected by Summer, Streisand, Cher and Ross. The song became an international hit, topping the US Dance chart and peaking at No. 2 in the UK. That song was re-recorded in 1998 by RuPaul and Martha Wash as "It's Raining Men...The Sequel" and later by Geri Halliwell in 2001 when it reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.

The original Weather Girls' recording of "It's Raining Men" was included on Jabara's 1983 album Paul Jabara & Friends, which included one of the early recordings by then 19-year-old Whitney Houston on "Eternal Love" (previously recorded by Stephanie Mills) as well as a Jabara/Diana Ross co-write "Ladies Hot Line". Other songs Jabara had covered by major artists include "Hope" by Billy Preston (1981), "Two Lovers" by Julio Iglesias (1984)[4] and "This Girl's Back in Town" by Raquel Welch (1987).

In 1986, Jabara released his final album, the concept musical De La Noche: The True Story – A Poperetta, featuring guest vocals from Leata Galloway, Diva Gray and Pattie Brooks.

In 2005, a workshop of a musical titled Last Dance played New York City. It was a musical assembled from Jabara's well known disco songs and told the story of a modern-day teenager who goes back in time to spend one night at Studio 54.

Death edit

On September 29, 1992, Jabara died from complications from AIDS[7] in Los Angeles, California at the age of 44. A memorial service was held on October 4, 1992, at the Forest Lawn Cemetery, in the Hollywood Hills.[4] Jabara is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery.[8]

He died at his Los Angeles home and was survived by his sisters, Delores Jabara and Claudette Hadad. At the time of his death, major outlets including The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times were simply told by a spokesman and Claudette, respectively, that he had died due to "a long illness".[3][4] This was possibly due to stigma of AIDS.[9][10]

On June 14, 2014, Jabara was featured in the first gay-themed tour of Green-Wood Cemetery.[11][12]

Discography edit

Studio albums edit

Soundtracks and compilations edit

Singles edit

  • "One Man Ain't Enough" (1975)
  • "Dance" (1976)
  • "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1976)
  • "Shut Out" duet with Donna Summer (1977)
  • "Slow Dancing" (1977)
  • "Dancin' (Lift Your Spirits Higher)" (1978)
  • "Pleasure Island" (1978)
  • "Take Good Care of My Baby" / "What's a Girl to Do", Paul Jabara & Pattie Brooks (1978)
  • "Trapped in a Stairway" (1978)
  • "Disco Queen" (1978)
  • "Saturday Matinee" (1978)
  • "Never Lose Your Sense of Humor", duet with Donna Summer (1979)
  • "Disco Wedding" (1979)
  • "Honeymoon (In Puerto Rico)" (1979)
  • "Disco Divorce" (1979)
  • "Ocho Rios" (1986)
  • "This Girl's Back in Town" (1986)

Filmography edit

References edit

  1. ^ [1] August 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ . The Official Web Site of Paul Jabara. Olga Music. Archived from the original on February 27, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Sheila Rule (October 2, 1992). "Paul Jabara, 44, Actor, Singer And Disco Songwriter, Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Paul Jabara; Actor and Songwriter". Los Angeles Times. October 1, 1992. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  5. ^ Mandelbaum, Ken (1991), Not Since Carrie: 40 Years of Broadway Musical Flops, New York: St. Martin's Press, pp. 29–31, OCLC 23901074
  6. ^ "Original Soundtrack - Mother, Jugs and Speed Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  7. ^ . Artistswithaids.org. Archived from the original on May 16, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  8. ^ Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 23189). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
  9. ^ Gregory M. Herek (April 1999). "AIDS and Stigma". American Behavioral Scientist. 42 (7). Sage Journals: 1106–1116. doi:10.1177/0002764299042007004. S2CID 143610161. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  10. ^ "David J. Sencer CDC Museum: In Association with the Smithsonian Institution / The AIDS Epidemic in the United States, 1981-early 1990s". cdc.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. April 29, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  11. ^ "Gay Green-Wood Trolley Tour". Green-Wood. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021.
  12. ^ "The Gay Graves Tour". Walk About New York. June 18, 2014. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2014.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paul Jabara.

May 11, 2024
paul, jabara, paul, frederick, jabara, january, 1948, september, 1992, american, actor, singer, songwriter, born, lebanese, family, brooklyn, york, wrote, donna, summer, oscar, winning, last, dance, from, thank, friday, 1978, well, more, tears, enough, enough,. Paul Frederick Jabara January 31 1948 September 29 1992 was an American actor singer and songwriter He was born to a Lebanese family 1 in Brooklyn New York 2 He wrote Donna Summer s Oscar winning Last Dance from Thank God It s Friday 1978 as well as No More Tears Enough Is Enough Summer s international hit duet with Barbra Streisand He also co wrote the Weather Girls iconic hit It s Raining Men with Paul Shaffer Paul JabaraJabara at the premiere of The Rose in 1979BornPaul Frederick Jabara 1948 01 31 January 31 1948Brooklyn New York U S DiedSeptember 29 1992 1992 09 29 aged 44 Los Angeles California U S Occupation s Actor singer songwriterYears active1960s 1992Known for Last Dance It s Raining Men Contents 1 Early life 2 Acting career 3 Songwriter and singer 4 Death 5 Discography 5 1 Studio albums 5 2 Soundtracks and compilations 5 3 Singles 6 Filmography 7 References 8 External linksEarly life editJabara was born in Brooklyn New York 3 He graduated from Fort Hamilton High School in 1965 and briefly attended Long Island University in Brooklyn His sisters Delores and Claudette also graduated from that high school Acting career editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Paul Jabara news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message Jabara s Broadway debut was in the original cast of the stage musical Hair He originated the role of King Herod in the London production of Jesus Christ Superstar 3 In 1969 he appeared in John Schlesinger s film Midnight Cowboy as a hippie handing out pills Up or Down at the counterculture party He moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s 3 and acted in a number of films during the decade He took over the role of Frank N Furter in the Los Angeles production of The Rocky Horror Show when Tim Curry left the production to film the movie version in England and in Schlesinger s 1975 film The Day of the Locust where he sang a cover of the Marlene Dietrich song Hot Voo Doo in drag Jabara played the role of a lovelorn and nearsighted disco goer named Carl in the 1978 film Thank God It s Friday He contributed the song Last Dance to the film s soundtrack which went on to win an Academy Award and Grammy Award 3 He also contributed as a singer on two tracks on the original soundtrack In 1981 Jabara starred in another John Schlesinger film the comedy Honky Tonk Freeway as truck driver songwriter T J Tupus hauling lions and a rhino Songwriter and singer editJabara wrote the book music lyrics and starred in the aborted Broadway musical Rachael Lily Rosenbloom And Don t You Ever Forget It when he was 24 years old 4 The musical starred Ellen Greene and played the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City in 1973 It closed in previews prior to its official opening and was never reviewed by the press No recording was made of the score which featured both Jabara s trademark disco music and traditional Broadway style numbers 5 In 1976 Jabara contributed a song to the 20th Century Fox motion picture sound track of Mother Jugs amp Speed starring Bill Cosby Raquel Welch and Harvey Keitel The upbeat disco flavored Dance both written and sung by Jabara which was popular in clubs featuring high energy dance music 6 Jabara released his debut album Shut Out in 1977 Jabara s solo albums on the disco label Casablanca Records include three duets with Donna Summer Shut Out 1977 Something s Missing In My Life 1978 and Never Lose Your Sense of Humor 1979 Donna Summer performed his song Last Dance for the 1978 film Thank God It s Friday winning Jabara the Grammy Award for Best R amp B Song the Academy Award for Best Original Song 3 It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song In 1979 with Bruce Roberts he co wrote Barbra Streisand s top 3 hit The Main Event Fight 4 and the pair wrote their biggest success with the international smash No More Tears Enough Is Enough 4 recorded as a duet by Streisand and Donna Summer In 1981 he wrote No Jinx for Bette Midler as the theme tune to her movie Jinxed Diana Ross scored a 1982 UK top hit with his song Work That Body 4 In 1982 Two Tons O Fun renaming themselves as the Weather Girls agreed to record his song It s Raining Men previously rejected by Summer Streisand Cher and Ross The song became an international hit topping the US Dance chart and peaking at No 2 in the UK That song was re recorded in 1998 by RuPaul and Martha Wash as It s Raining Men The Sequel and later by Geri Halliwell in 2001 when it reached No 1 on the UK Singles Chart The original Weather Girls recording of It s Raining Men was included on Jabara s 1983 album Paul Jabara amp Friends which included one of the early recordings by then 19 year old Whitney Houston on Eternal Love previously recorded by Stephanie Mills as well as a Jabara Diana Ross co write Ladies Hot Line Other songs Jabara had covered by major artists include Hope by Billy Preston 1981 Two Lovers by Julio Iglesias 1984 4 and This Girl s Back in Town by Raquel Welch 1987 In 1986 Jabara released his final album the concept musical De La Noche The True Story A Poperetta featuring guest vocals from Leata Galloway Diva Gray and Pattie Brooks In 2005 a workshop of a musical titled Last Dance played New York City It was a musical assembled from Jabara s well known disco songs and told the story of a modern day teenager who goes back in time to spend one night at Studio 54 Death editOn September 29 1992 Jabara died from complications from AIDS 7 in Los Angeles California at the age of 44 A memorial service was held on October 4 1992 at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills 4 Jabara is buried at Green Wood Cemetery 8 He died at his Los Angeles home and was survived by his sisters Delores Jabara and Claudette Hadad At the time of his death major outlets including The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times were simply told by a spokesman and Claudette respectively that he had died due to a long illness 3 4 This was possibly due to stigma of AIDS 9 10 On June 14 2014 Jabara was featured in the first gay themed tour of Green Wood Cemetery 11 12 Discography editStudio albums edit Shut Out Casablanca Records 1977 Keeping Time Casablanca 1978 The Third Album Casablanca 1979 Paul Jabara amp Friends with the Weather Girls Leata Galloway Whitney Houston Columbia CBS 1983 De La Noche The True Story A Poperetta with Leata Galloway Warner Bros 1986 Soundtracks and compilations edit Original Soundtrack Thank God It s Friday Greatest Hits and Misses Casablanca PolyGram 1989 The Casablanca Records Story PolyGram 1994 Mother Jugs and Speed soundtrack Singles edit One Man Ain t Enough 1975 Dance 1976 Yankee Doodle Dandy 1976 Shut Out duet with Donna Summer 1977 Slow Dancing 1977 Dancin Lift Your Spirits Higher 1978 Pleasure Island 1978 Take Good Care of My Baby What s a Girl to Do Paul Jabara amp Pattie Brooks 1978 Trapped in a Stairway 1978 Disco Queen 1978 Saturday Matinee 1978 Never Lose Your Sense of Humor duet with Donna Summer 1979 Disco Wedding 1979 Honeymoon In Puerto Rico 1979 Disco Divorce 1979 Ocho Rios 1986 This Girl s Back in Town 1986 Filmography editMidnight Cowboy 1969 The Party 2 Medea 1969 Pelias The Out of Towners 1970 First Hippie uncredited Necropolis 1970 uncredited Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me 1971 Heap The Ski Bum 1971 Rocco Brothers Blue 1973 Teddy Fog The Lords of Flatbush 1974 Crazy Cohen The Day of the Locust 1975 Nightclub Entertainer Peeper 1975 Janitor Thank God It s Friday 1978 Carl Honky Tonk Freeway 1981 T J Tupus Legal Eagles 1986 Taxi Driver Les Patterson Saves the World 1987 Leroy Slaves of New York 1989 Derelict 9 1 2 Ninjas 1991 Mr Ninja voice Light Sleeper 1992 EddieReferences edit 1 Archived August 7 2009 at the Wayback Machine Biography The Official Web Site of Paul Jabara Olga Music Archived from the original on February 27 2013 Retrieved January 22 2013 a b c d e f Sheila Rule October 2 1992 Paul Jabara 44 Actor Singer And Disco Songwriter Is Dead The New York Times Retrieved September 11 2023 a b c d e f g Paul Jabara Actor and Songwriter Los Angeles Times October 1 1992 Retrieved September 11 2023 Mandelbaum Ken 1991 Not Since Carrie 40 Years of Broadway Musical Flops New York St Martin s Press pp 29 31 OCLC 23901074 Original Soundtrack Mother Jugs and Speed Album Reviews Songs amp More AllMusic AllMusic The Estate Project Artistswithaids org Archived from the original on May 16 2014 Retrieved July 4 2014 Wilson Scott Resting Places The Burial Sites of More Than 14 000 Famous Persons 3d ed 2 Kindle Location 23189 McFarland amp Company Inc Publishers Kindle Edition Gregory M Herek April 1999 AIDS and Stigma American Behavioral Scientist 42 7 Sage Journals 1106 1116 doi 10 1177 0002764299042007004 S2CID 143610161 Retrieved September 11 2023 David J Sencer CDC Museum In Association with the Smithsonian Institution The AIDS Epidemic in the United States 1981 early 1990s cdc gov Centers for Disease Control and Prevention April 29 2021 Retrieved September 11 2023 Gay Green Wood Trolley Tour Green Wood Archived from the original on October 23 2021 The Gay Graves Tour Walk About New York June 18 2014 Archived from the original on October 23 2021 Retrieved October 16 2014 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paul Jabara nbsp Biography portal Official website Paul Jabara at IMDb nbsp Paul Jabara at the Internet Broadway Database nbsp Paul Jabara at Find a Grave nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Paul Jabara amp oldid 1216933560, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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