22 Comments

Great stories about Jay Black! A great voice and an icon who certainly did it his way! I too have been to The Bergen Hunt and fish club. But it was while executing a search warrant! I know all to well the feeling of one who is, was summoned there!

Harold Schiffer

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I was introduced to Jay by Richie Kessel, then a New York state official+lifetime Jay-groupie. Richie told him, accurately, I was an environmentalist. "Dree-hugga," Jay mused.

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I was born in December of 65, the year of "Cara Mia". I was told my dad played that song incessantly during the summer of 66. Fast forward to 2005, my father played Cara Mia at a party my folks held for my 40th birthday. I immediately stopped dead in my tracks and began to cry. I immediately asked dad to dance, a real oddity as neither of us dance, ever.

It was after this dance that mom shared a bit more. During that 1966 summer, dad danced around their apartment, to Cara Mia, cradling me close to him. As far as I was concerned, I had never heard of Jay and the Americans, let alone Cara Mia. However, for one summer, in 1966, a 6 month old baby girl developed a forever connection with your cousin Jay. I never danced with dad again, he passed some 2 yrs later but we will have always that Cara Mia connection and a love for Jay's music. Thanks for sharing this Wayne.

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Nov 5, 2021Liked by Wayne Robins

I should be so lucky to have Jay as a family member, said in a New York accent, I am from Queens, just like Jay was.

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Good job, Wayne. I'm not much of a pop music aficionado and thus was surprised to read in the Times obit that the signature song of my old friend Jane Olivor (nee Janie Cohen), "Some Enchanted Evening," was also a hit for Jay. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWpWem5Z4tw). I'll have to ask her what she thought off it when we next speak.

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What a beautiful tribute to ties to family, thank you Wayne, Dolores Carillo

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Very good story. I'm a sucker for anything about New Yawk.

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I just loved the voice and the sound and the wild singing-along on a school bus. Thanks for improving my Six Degree of Separation score again.

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What a great yarn, Wayne! Funny part is, I remember Scot mentioning that when you two got to his hotel room, Jay ordered an entire chocolate cake and then ate the whole thing himself. It's the main thing that's stuck in my memory. Maybe Scot was cleaning up the story for me!

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I had the pleasure of meeting Jay Black when he visited his granddaughter's nursery school class for her birthday. All the children sang "Come a Little Bit Closer" to HIM. He was a sweet grandfather and enjoyed the innocence in the classroom that day. Your article is chock-full of interesting stories about your cousin. Well done, Mr. Robins!

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Wayne, I really enjoyed this remembrance of Jay Black. Just a couple of corrections:

(1) "...and lost the best." (He lost the bet.)

(2) "No one as around." (No on was around.)

(3) "He asked Jay if he would honor him by singng 'Cara Mia' at Junior Gotti's forthcoming wedding." I'm almost certain that Jay sang at the 1984 wedding of Victoria Gotti (to Carmine Agnello) but can't cite a source. Maybe he sang at both nuptials?

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Kenny Vance told me a story about the time the whole band got fired by their mob handlers. They took everything they had including their costumes.

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