For nearly 100 years, the legendary British recording label Decca Records has released albums by some of the greatest artists of our time, including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Bing Crosby, Bill Haley and the Rolling Stones. In a rare move, Decca Gold, the label’s classical subsidiary, recently signed a young Chasidic Jew, 28-year-old Shulem Lemmer. A Belz Chasid who was born and raised in Borough Park, Brooklyn, and now lives with his wife and family in Toms River, N.J., Lemmer goes by the recording name of Shulem.Although Lemmer works in the tech world and serves as a guest cantor at various Orthodox synagogues in New Jersey and New York, he was discovered by Decca Gold President Graham Parker when Parker was searching for Passover music to share with his family. He stumbled across a YouTube video of Lemmer singing “Chad Gadya,” and the rest, as they say, is history.
To date, Decca has released two of Shulem’s singles, Naomi Shemer’s “Jerusalem of Gold” and “Bring Him Home” from the musical “Les Miserables.” His debut album, “The Perfect Dream,” will be released this fall.