Ariel - Dean Friedman

I was the Chief Engineer at 13-WAVZ in New Haven, CT from 1977-1981. One morning while driving to work I heard "Ariel" on WDRC-FM, Hartford, CT. They played the album version. I asked our MD if we were going to play that song. He asked where I heard it and it was added to our playlist. The next day I told him our version (the 45) did not mention "The Jewish girl".
He called the record rep and demanded the longer version. The next day the rep brought us like 10 copies of the album. My assistant and I were given copies of the album.

Fast forward years alter. I read a piece in Goldmine where a Rhino rep said they put the 45 versions on CD. I took written exception to this citing "Ariel" and my letter was printed as an Editorial. I went record shopping in NYC one Saturday. When I got home I had a voice mail. It was Dean Friedman. His message said his friend called him to tell him someone remembered that song. He read my letter.
I returned his call on Monday and we chatted about the 45 version. It is as is claimed on the quote from his webpage. He was now (then) in the video production business.
So nice that an artist took the time to personally acknowledge a fan.

Todd Ireland wrote: Pat: I know you posted your question about "Ariel" a long time ago, but I came across some information from Dean Friedman himself that you might find helpful! The following can be found on the FAQ section of his official website at www.deanfriedman.com: Q.    Are there two different versions of Ariel? A.    Yes. My first label insisted that I edit and change the second verse to Ariel, in which I refer to her as "...a Jewish girl". They were convinced that radio stations in the south would use it as an excuse not to play the record. (In fact, many stations in the south insisted on playing the full length version which included 'Jewish girl'.) Also, the entire third verse was edited out of the single version to make it shorter for radio. I fought to keep the original version intact on the album which is why the single version is different than the album. One of my biggest record biz regrets is that I let them do it. (Not that I had a lot of say over the matter as this was my very first release.) In fact, when the single was released my management company received threats from the JDL (Jewish Defense League) protesting the edit. While I was never a fan of Mayer Kahane, now deceased leader of the JDL, in this instance, they were 100% correct.

And I always thought the controversy over the Jewish girl reference was due to it being anti-Semetic.