Lewis Furey

Lewis Furey, born Lewis Greenblatt (born 7 June 1949) is a Canadian composer, singer, violinist, pianist, actor and director. Born in Montreal, Quebec to French and American parents, Furey trained as a classical violinist, and at age 11 performed as a soloist in the Matinées pour la jeunesse concert series of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. From 1961 to 1965 he studied at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal. He later studied at the Juilliard School in New York City. In 1972, he began playing and recording his own rock music compositions. In the ensuing years, he produced three albums of pop music: Lewis Furey (1975, A & M 4522), The Humours of Lewis Furey (1976, A & M 4594) and The Sky is Falling (1979, Aquarius AQR-521). Distinguishing features of the albums were Furey's Lou Reed-like vocal stylings, a number of songs with gay content (particularly the local Montréal radio hit Hustler's Tango), and exotic arrangements featuring unusual uses of violin and banjo as well as elements of klezmer music.