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New Hanukkah Song Launches Maccabeats To Stardom

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Credit: maccabeats.com

Credit: maccabeats.com

NEW YORK (AP/CBS 2/1010 WINS) – It’s not your mother’s dreidel song.

A singing group from Yeshiva University has a Hanukkah hit on their hands. The Maccabeats’ “Candlelight” is sung to the tune of the pop song “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz, and features latkes, candles and a telling of the Hanukkah story. The video for the song has gotten well over 2 million views since its release about a week and a half ago.

LINK: Yeshiva Maccabeats Perform Live In CBS 2 Studio


1010 WINS Reporter Al Jones talks with members of the Maccabeats about their hit song.

‘We really didn’t expect what happened,” said Julian Horowitz, musical director of The Maccabeats, made up of 14 current and former students at the school.

The song includes lines like, “I flip my latkes in the air sometimes,” and the video features a tongue-in-cheek re-enactment of the fight between the Greeks and the Maccabees.

Horowitz said the song and video were initially created as a promotional way to showcase the group’s abilities. Since the video’s release and popularity, though, there have been numerous news articles and even television appearances.

“We’re still just recovering from the shell shock,” he said Monday.

Horowitz said the group doesn’t know yet what any future musical offerings might be.

“We definitely want to make sure we continue to have fun and we continue to inspire others,” he said.

SING ALONG!

I’ll tell a tale
Of Maccabees in Israel
When the Greeks tried to assail
But it was all to no avail

The war went on and on and on
Until the mighty Greeks were gone

I flip my latkes in the air sometimes sayin ayy ohh spin the dreidel
Just wanna celebrate for all eight nights singin ayy oh, light the candles

We say al hanissim
Oh yea for all eight nights
Then we play dreidel
By the candlelight

And I told you once
Now I told you twice
Bout the miracle
Of the candlelight

They took the field
The rivals thought “are they for real?”
But those macabees they’d never yield
They charged ahead with sword and shield

The war went on and on and on
Until the mighty Greeks were gone

I flip my latkes in the air sometimes sayin ayy ohh spin the dreidel
Just wanna celebrate for all eight nights singin ayy oh, light the candles

We say maoz tzur
Oh yea for all eight nights
Then we play dreidel
By the candlelight

And I told you once
Now I told you twice
Bout the miracle
Of the candlelight

And the great menorah
For eight days it kept on burning
What a celebration
A great return to Torah learning

Cuz I can feel it
And Ay-ay-ay
Nes gadol, nes gadol
Nes gadol hayah sham

I flip my latkes in the air sometimes sayin ayy ohh spin the dreidel
Just wanna celebrate for all eight nights singin ayy oh, light the candles

We say al hanissim
Oh yea for all eight nights
Then we play dreidel
By the candlelight

And I told you once
Now I told you twice
Bout the miracle
Of the candlelight

Lyrics: David Block and Immanuel Shalev
(lyrics copyright David Block and Immanuel 2010)

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

View Comments
  • Wizard64

    Hey folks, this is a “makeover” of the Dynamite melody, similar to what Weird Al Jankovitz did to Michael Jackson songs and others. Lighten up! I think they did a great job and put a smile on many faces (over 2 million so far). Plus it tells a little history.

  • coloraturajoy

    “There is nothing new under the sun.”
    It takes as much skill and creativity to navigate the harmonies and come up with clever verses for a ‘spoof’ of a song as it does to create something from scratch.

    They don’t claim to have done anything original. They’re an A Capella group, not a singer/songwriter group.

  • jojo

    What this group did is put a spin on a popular song that is currently being played all over the radio. They did not wriite their own music. I am sure they have Taio Cruz’s blessing or it would not be played anywhere. It would have been nice if they were a little more original and wrote their own music instead of stealing it.

    • Latka King

      Actually what they wrote and performed was completely original. You’re just jealous.

      • Vincent

        @ Latka King. Are you kidding me? There is nothing original about the music. In fact its very common for artist to steal others groove and pass it off as their own. Jojo was correct. So I guess I am just jealous too.

  • chana

    If you enjoyed this video/ the Maccabeats, you should definitely check out I Light It by NCSY, a hilarious Chanukah-themed parody of Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Enrique Iglesias. Link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvY337zKttA

  • otto

    On the show “King of Queens”, Arthur & Spence tried writing a new Hanukkah song, but it didn’t go over too well.

    Hope these guys have better luck!

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