Benarde, Scott R. 1953–

PERSONAL: Born March 31, 1953 in Lansing, MI. Ethnicity: "Russian-Jewish." Education: University of Massachusetts, B.A., 1975; University of Missouri, M.A., 1977. Religion: Jewish.

ADDRESSES: Home—12645 Colony Preserve Dr., Boynton Beach, FL 33436. Office—Jewish Community Center of the Greater Palm Beaches, 3151 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach, FL 33436. E-mail—scottbenarde@aol.com.

CAREER: Writer. Evening Herald, Rock Hill, SC, reporter, 1978–79; Fort Lauderdale News, Fort Lauderdale, FL, feature writer and pop music column-ist, 1980–87; Palm Beach Post, West Palm Beach, FL, pop music columnist, feature writer, and copy editor, 1987–99. Also has presented lectures throughout the country, including "Jews and Blues and Rock 'n' Roll: A Musical History Tour" and "The Holocaust and Rock 'n' Roll."

WRITINGS:

Stars of David: Rock 'n' Roll's Jewish Stories, Brandeis University Press (Hanover, NH), 2003.

Contributor of articles on music and travel to numerous newspapers and magazines.

SIDELIGHTS: Scott R. Benarde told CA: "I first got into writing (poetry, songwriting) in high school and college as a way to express myself to myself, family, and close friends. Writing as a career didn't occur to me until it was time to graduate college and find a way to make a living. I tried journalism school as an experiment and found it suited my personality as a crusader for truth and justice. I also saw journalism as a great job for someone who didn't know what they wanted to be when they grew up as it allowed you to write about people in every profession and was rarely boring or repetitive. (Sure, deadlines were the same, but the subjects and the approach to a story, review, or column didn't have to be.)

"Writing Stars of David: Rock 'n' Roll's Jewish Stories combined three strong influences and passions in my life: Journalism, Judaism, and rock 'n' roll. I feel that no matter what I've done as a journalist until now, or what I will ever do, doing this book was one of my raisons d'etre. It was meant to be that I do this book to chronicle the Jewish contribution to music of the rock era and illuminate Judaism's surprising influence on the music and the people who made/make it.

"I view my book as really a social history book as well as a book about popular music and/or Judaism, of interest to those of any faith who love the music of the rock era. It was the most arduous, ambitious undertaking of my career, one of those projects that might not have been tackled had I known the amount of time, dedication, and frustration involved. I guess that's one reason I'm so proud of Stars."