Dean Friedman

Dean Friedman’s soft rock smash of 1977, “Ariel” found its voice on the FM and AM radio waves before making its way to Number 26 on the Billboard chart. Born on May 23, 1955 in Paramus, New Jersey, Friedman started penning songs at a young age and studied music at City College New York under the invaluable tutelage of folk guitarist David Bromberg. Featured on Friedman’s self-titled debut album, “Ariel” is considered a one-hit wonder in the US, but the singer-songwriter carved out a prolific body of work over the years that included 1978 single "Lucky Stars", a duet with Denise Marsa from Friedman’s second album Well Well Said the Rocking Chair, which reached Number 3 in the UK. Friedman has also influenced a number of contemporary artists, including Ariel Pink, Ben Folds Five and The Barenaked Ladies, all of whom have covered his songs. Cult British post-punkers Half Man Half Biscuit namechecked Friedman on one of their tracks in 1987 and in 2009 Friedman recorded his response, "A Baker's Tale", also appearing at the band’s West Midlands performance the following year. Friedman released four studio albums during the 2000s and three albums in the 2010s, including 2017’s 12 Songs.

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