Genya Ravan

Rock & roll owes much to the contributions of Genya Ravan, a pivotal figure who has excelled as both a vocalist and a record producer. She entered the world as Genyusha Zelkowitz on April 19, 1945, in Lodz, Poland, though her mother would subsequently alter her given name to Goldie. Having arrived amid the turmoil of WWII, her family departed Poland only to face internment in a Russian camp. Reflecting on those wartime hardships, she recounted, "We lost everyone. I never had an aunt or an uncle, I had two brothers, they died. I never met my grandparents, it was me and my sister and my mom and dad. They came from big families and saw all of them die. We escaped to the U.S. via a ship. We were DPs and went straight to Ellis Island."

Goldie Zelkowitz remained unaware of her vocal talent until her late teens. During the summer of 1962 she requested an opportunity to perform with the Escorts at Brooklyn’s Lollipop Lounge in New York. Before long she joined the group’s rehearsals and became the first girlfriend of its bass vocalist Richard Perry, who later produced Ringo Starr, Carly Simon, Leo Sayer, the Pointer Sisters, and numerous others. The Escorts issued several singles on Coral Records in 1962 and 1963: “Somewhere” b/w “Submarine Race Watching,” “I Can’t Be Free” b/w “One Hand, One Heart,” and “Something Has Changed Him” b/w “Back Home Again.”

Following her departure from the Escorts, Zelkowitz established Goldie & the Gingerbreads, an all-female ensemble whose existence posed a considerable challenge within a male-dominated field. The Gingerbreads issued singles on Decca and Immediate in the U.K., one of which—“Can’t You Hear My Heart Beat,” produced by the Animals’ Alan Price—reached the British charts. Their manager, Michael Jeffries, also represented the Animals. Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun placed the band on his Atco imprint, thereby releasing their singles stateside. After the Gingerbreads disbanded, Zelkowitz assembled the electric and brass rock outfit Ten Wheel Drive and adopted the professional name Genya Ravan.

Drummer Les Demerle introduced Ravan to Bill Takas and the Brecker Brothers. Through manager Billy Fields she met Aram Schefrin and Mike Zager, leading to the formation of Ten Wheel Drive. The group recorded three albums for Polydor amid frequent personnel shifts in its rhythm and horn sections. Original members included Judy Collins’ bassist Bill Takas and drummer Luther “Leon” Rix, who had worked with Buzzy Linhart and Bette Midler; both appear on the debut album Construction #1. Midler later incorporated Ten Wheel Drive’s signature song, Jerry Ragovoy’s “Stay with Me,” into her film The Rose.

When Ravan departed Ten Wheel Drive to pursue solo work, philosophical differences arose with Clive Davis at Columbia; he believed her self-titled debut album, like the band’s earlier releases, lacked a unified direction. Refusing to be cast merely as the next Janis Joplin, Ravan recognized her stature as an exceptional vocalist and trailblazer. That first album features backing by the band Baby, and although she collaborated with numerous producers, she preferred working with Zager and Schefrin. The 1972 non-album single “Morning Glory” exemplifies her artistry during this period. It should be noted that this release did not mark her initial solo outing—she had already issued a 1966 Island Records 45 under the name Patsy Cole. “This is a whole other story,” she explained. “I walked in on a session in London to do background with Dusty Springfield. When she left, the session was over. I started to play piano and sing an old song that Baby Washington & the Hearts did and Chris Blackwell loved it, so he said ‘Let’s roll tape’ and he had to give me another name, I was under contract, and that single went on to be a hit in Jamaica and I believe it got to number one. I had Spencer Davis, Georgie Fame horns, and Stevie Winwood playing on that single and used the name Patsy Cole.”

Zager and Schefrin later revived Ten Wheel Drive and released an album on EMI in 1974 featuring former Rascals vocalist Annie Sutton on the Ravan co-write “Why Am I So Easy to Leave.” Meanwhile Ravan continued her solo output with the album Goldie Zelkowitz on Janus Records, produced by Gabriel Mekler, and They Love Me, They Love Me Not, produced by the late Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller alongside engineer Joe Zagarino. Despite the absence of Top 40 recognition, her catalog steadily expanded. She rejoined Miller in 1986 for the unreleased Buddy Guy sessions that also include Nils Lofgren, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, and singer Jo Jo Laine. During those dates in Warren, Rhode Island, both Ravan and Miller joined Buddy Guy onstage for a jam at a local nightclub—an evening she described as absolutely magical.

Ravan eventually took control of her career, citing Urban Desire and …And I Mean It! (both issued on 20th Century) as her most significant projects “because I wrote most of it and I got to produce it. (They were) also the best-sellers for me.” She began producing other artists, notably the pioneering punk band Dead Boys for Sire Records, followed by Ronnie Spector’s Siren album on her own Polish Records imprint, whose title bore the quip “Who Do I F*** to Get Off This Label?”

Beyond her work with female performers, Ravan ranked among the earliest women to produce major male acts. Dead Boys’ “Sonic Reducer” endures as an underground classic and one of the stronger-sounding albums associated with Sire’s new-wave roster. She produced additional acts ranging from Joy Rider, Crumbsuckers, and Certain General to Long John Baldrey, Kool & the Gang, Tiny Tim, and others. Her profile as a vocalist has at times been eclipsed by the extensive production and industry roles she undertook.

In 2001 she issued For Fans Only, a compilation of previously unreleased recordings made available solely through her website. Over the years she has worked as both a painter and a recording artist; at the turn of the millennium she was engaged in writing a book and screenplay chronicling her extensive music-industry experiences. From her beginnings as a prominent girl-group and blues vocalist to her pioneering production work and collaborations with Steve Winwood, Dusty Springfield, Buddy Guy, Kool & the Gang, and countless others, the music business would look markedly different without Genya Ravan’s far-reaching contributions.