Lost and Found: Goldie and the Gingerbreads

Goldie and the Gingerbreads -- Ginger Bianco, Margo Lewis, Carol MacDonald and Genya "Goldie" Ravan (Genyusha Zelkowitz) -- were the first all-female rock band signed to a major label, Decca in 1963, and Atlantic Records a year later. Raven fronted an earlier band called Goldie and the Escorts. From Bitch's B-Sides Blog:

"Genyusha Zelkowitz was born in Poland in 1940. A Holcaust survivor, she left for the United States in 1949 with her parents and her only surviving sibling. In her teens, Ravan's (now known as Goldie) music career started as a dare from a friend to go up on the stage of a Brooklyn bar and sing with The Escorts, the band playing that night. Weeks after her chance performance, Escorts member Richard Perry (who later became a huge music producer himself) called up Ravan and asked her to replace their singer."

The Gingerbreads, who shared bills with bands like The Hollies and The Rolling Stones, are best known for their 1965 single, "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat," which peaked at #25 on the British charts. If the title sounds familiar, it's because Herman's Hermits released a version of the same song two week prior to the Gingerbreads' version, and theirs went on to become a huge hit. Goldie and the Gingerbreads never went on to have that elusive hit single stateside, and disbanded a few years later. (Wikipedia)



Genya Ravan went on to publish and autobiography, Lollipop Lounge, in 2004, and has released several solo albums. This year's Undercover is mer most recent.