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Dean Friedman
Biography
One of '70s rock's one-hit wonders, Dean Friedman spent the spring and summer of 1977 as one of a small army of musicians invading the pop charts from New Jersey. He was there, in the wake of Bruce Springsteen, Phoebe Snow, and Patti Smith, with an infectious Top 30 hit called "Ariel" on Cashman and West's Lifesong label, and a considerable amount of newspaper press, spurred by his local-boy-makes-good story and the management of Allen Pepper and Stanley Snadowsky, who were also owners of New York's premiere rock club, the Bottom Line. It was over fairly quickly, but for a brief time Friedman was a pop/rock star.

Raised in New Jersey by parents who subsequently split up, Friedman lived a comfortable if nowhere near affluent suburban life, working at odd jobs (which included selling balloons at Palisades Amusement Park, and driving a cab) while working on his music. He played weddings and bar mitzvahs as part of Marsha and the Self-Portraits, and later studied at City College, where one of his teachers was guitarist David Bromberg who, in turn, helped hook Friedman up with Pepper and Snadowsky. A deal with Lifesong was concluded in 1976, and his self-titled debut album followed in February of 1977.
Selected Discography
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