When drummer Max Weinberg joined Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band in August 1974, the first people he bonded with were Springsteen’s Israeli touring violinist, Tzruya (Suki) Lahav, who died last week at 74 after a battle with cancer, and her then-husband and Springsteen’s recording engineer, Louis Lahav. Their common bond? Their Jewish heritage.
“Suki and Louie were quite literally the first people associated with Bruce and the band that I came to know, respect, admire, and yes, love,” he wrote to The Jerusalem Post from Portland, Oregon, where he was performing on the “No Kings” tour, which launched last week in Minneapolis.
“Naturally the three of us bonded over our common Jewish heritage, and when I mentioned that my great-great-grandfather, Joshua Mindlin, left Tsarist Russia (with a brief pit stop in New Jersey – too secular for him), to then relocate to Jerusalem at the turn of the 20th century and is buried on the Mount of Olives, Suki’s eyes lit up and her inquisitive nature took over,” he added.
“‘Tell me all about him,’ Suki asked. I related what little I knew from family stories handed down from generation to generation. Family stories were so important to her. That was such a lovely part of the way Suki lived life.”
She entered Springsteen’s camp after her husband engineered on Springsteen’s 1972 debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, and continued to work with him on its follow-up, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, and the career-changing Born to Run.
Lahav told the Post in 2007 that she joined the group as “a young girl in a flowing white dress from Kibbutz Ayelet Hashahar in the Upper Galilee, barely out of the army, barely married… I went from kibbutz harvest music to rocking with Bruce.”
Lahav’s tenure with the group lasted only between 1974 and 1975, yet she made her mark on Springsteen’s music. She sang backup on the ballad “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” and was featured during live shows at the time on a widely bootlegged, emotive cover version of Bob Dylan’s “I Want You.”
“The bond we forged grew stronger and stronger as we toured throughout the US Northeast and Midwest during the fall of 1974,” said Weinberg. “Suki, Louie, and Tal, their beautiful young daughter who received her own nickname, Scooter, were there along with the rest of us striving to spread what Bruce has always called the ‘Ministry of Rock and Roll.’ E Street style.”
Springsteen mourns Lahav's death
Springsteen issued a statement over the week mourning Lahav’s death.
“Here on E Street, we’re heartbroken over the passing of Suki Lahav. Her angelic voice shone on ‘4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)’ and her beautiful violin brought great drama to the ‘Jungleland’ intro. She also blessed our stage with her beauty and grace in our early touring days,” said Springsteen.
Weinberg, 74, recalled that Lahav’s contributions and presence played a big role in the band during her tenure.
“Everyone loved Suki. Her musical and cultural literacy, her radiance, her intelligence, and, of course, her stunning ethereal beauty were qualities, among others, that created a formidable woman who graced Bruce’s stage and studio work at such an important time in his early career,” he said.
The Lahavs returned to Israel in 1975, and tragedy struck when their daughter was killed in a car accident.
After the couple’s divorce, both Suki and Louis enjoyed high-profile musical careers in Israel. Suki emerged as a major artist, writing songs for the likes of Rita and Rami Kleinstein. She also won the ACUM Lifetime Achievement Award and the Arik Einstein Prize.
Kleinstein, in a loving post on social media, referred to both of their bonds with Springsteen. “Maybe our connection also came from your years in the United States, from your work with Bruce Springsteen, who was always a hero of mine, and maybe something of his way of writing found its way into you,” he wrote.
Weinberg, who lost touch with Lahav over the years, renewed contact about 10 years ago, thanks to their mutual friend, Israeli singer/songwriter David Broza.
“Suki carried on and lived her life with bravery and grace, forging a long, multifaceted career in her native land,” said Weinberg.
“We all missed Suki and I feel so fortunate to have received from time to time a note or card from Suki as she continued her journey. Through our great mutual friend David Broza, Suki and I reconnected again in 2015 and had kept up a correspondence since then.
“She faced her illness with the same grace and dignity she always displayed. Her friends, her family, anyone who knew her would know that her inner strength fortified her, her love of nature grounded her, and her genuine artistic sensibility sustained her during her final challenge.”
Weinberg said that to him, Lahav represented the time of their lives when the road was wide open and full of possibilities.
“Whenever we hear the lovely melody of Bruce’s ‘Jungleland’ – that’s Suki. Or the lilting strains of the chorus on ‘4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)’ – that’s Suki. Suki – the first woman E Streeter.
“When I think of Suki, I remember a time when we were young and the possibilities and potential of our lives seemed endless. Mostly though, when I think of Suki, I think of the love she shared wherever she went and to whomever she met along the way. Yehi zichra baruch.”