Jacques Levy

Songwriter, Musical Artist

1935 – 2004

54

Who was Jacques Levy?

Jacques Levy was an American songwriter, theatre director, and clinical psychologist.

Levy was born in New York City in 1935, and attended City College. He received a doctorate in psychology from Michigan State University. Levy was a trained psychoanalyst, certified by the Menninger Institute for Psychoanalysis in Topeka, Kansas. He later returned to New York and became a clinical psychologist.

In 1965, Levy directed Sam Shepard's play Red Cross. The following year he directed two of the short plays in Jean-Claude van Itallie's America Hurrah. In 1969, Levy directed the off-Broadway erotic revue Oh! Calcutta!, after which, Levy approached Roger McGuinn of The Byrds to collaborate on a project inspired by Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt. The musical stalled, but one song, "Chestnut Mare," co-written by McGuinn and Levy, became the single released from the album in 1970. Many further Levy-McGuinn songs appeared on Byrds and McGuinn albums during the 1970s. In 1973, Levy and Van Itallie reunited for Mystery Play, which starred Judd Hirsch and had a brief run off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre.

In the mid-seventies, Levy met Bob Dylan through McGuinn. Shortly after, the two collaborated on "Isis" and another six songs which appeared on Dylan's 1976 album Desire. These included "Hurricane" about imprisoned boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, and "Joey" about the mafia gangster and hit man, Joe Gallo. In 1975, Levy effectively directed Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue. Levy's lyrics also entered the repertoires of Joe Cocker, Crystal Gayle, and Carly Simon.

We need you!

Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!

Born
Jul 29, 1935
New York City
Also known as
  • Levy, Jacques
Spouses
Children
Ethnicity
  • Jewish people
Nationality
  • United States of America
Profession
Education
  • Michigan State University
Lived in
  • New York City
Died
Sep 30, 2004
New York City

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Jacques Levy." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/jacques_levy>.

Discuss this Jacques Levy biography with the community:

0 Comments

    Browse Biographies.net