1977 Dean Friedman – Ariel
Dean Friedman grew up in Paramus, New Jersey. He saved up his change, and when he turned nine in 1964, he bought his first guitar with a bag full of quarters.
Dean wrote his own songs and cut demo tapes that he submitted to record labels. In 1975, he signed a recording contract with the Lifesong record label. His first album generated two singles, the first of which failed to chart.
His second single was Ariel, a song about an unusual young woman from Paramus. The record peaked at #26 on the Hot 100 in 1977, the only time he reached that chart.
His second album in 1978 contained a duet with singer/songwriter Denise Marsa. Lucky Stars may not have charted on the Hot 100, but it reached #3 on the UK chart and the top ten in Australia and New Zealand.
Sixteen more albums followed, with the most recent coming out in 2017.
There was some controversy in the UK over one of Dean’s singles in 1981.
McDonald’s Girl mentioned the fast food location by name, so the BBC would not allow the song to be played on the radio in the UK. The song took on a life of its own, and thirty years later, The Blenders recorded the song. Their version was used in the background of an ad campaign that McDonald’s ran to promote their new coffees.
Dean continues to tour and record new music and maintains a website at http://www.deanfriedman.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Friedman
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