Richard "Handsome Dick" Manitoba (born Richard Blum; January 29, 1954) is an American punk rock singer and radio personality, best known as the original lead singer of New York City-based band

The Dictators The Dictators are an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1973. Critic John Dougan said that they were "one of the finest and most influential proto-punk bands to walk the earth." Origins The band was formed in 1972 by Andy "Ad ...

and the reunion singer of

MC5 MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...

Background

Manitoba is Jewish, and was born in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York City, in 1954. He started out his singing career as a roadie for The Dictators. He made his official stage debut with The Dictators at Popeye's Spinach Factory in

Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn Sheepshead Bay is a neighborhood in southern Brooklyn, New York City. It is bounded by Ocean Parkway to the west; Avenue T and Kings Highway to the north; Nostrand Avenue and Gerritsen Avenue to the east; and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. S ...

, in 1975. The band's first major-label album, '' The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!'' (

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

, 1975), featured his picture on the cover and he was listed as the "Secret Weapon". While he sang some lead and some background, he was still considered a "mascot" of the band. He took on a larger singing role on The Dictators' second offering, ''

Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny was a cultural belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America. There were three basic tenets to the concept: * The special vir ...

'', a 1977 release on the

Asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

label. On '' Bloodbrothers'', the third and final Dictators studio recording from the 1970s (also on Asylum, 1978), Manitoba sang lead vocals on most tracks. The Dictators disbanded in late 1981. In 1986, Manitoba, along with other former members of the Dictators, formed

Wild Kingdom ''Wild Kingdom'', also known as ''Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom'', is an American documentary television program that features wildlife and nature. It was originally produced from 1963 until 1988, and it was revived in 2002. The show's second ...

. In 1989, the band rebranded itself to Manitoba's Wild Kingdom and, in 1990, released an album ''...And You?'' on

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

. The Dictators reformed in 1991.

Career

In 2004, Manitoba threatened to sue independent electronic musician Dan Snaith for using the band name "Manitoba". Snaith changed his musical name to Caribou. Manitoba appeared in the 2004 documentary '' Kiss Loves You''. In 2004, Manitoba began hosting "The Handsome Dick Manitoba Radio Program" in Little Steven Van Zandt's Underground Garage channel, on

Sirius XM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

. In 2005 the

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

awarded him "Best Satellite Radio DJ". Manitoba's gig on the Underground Garage continued for 14 years. Soon after the program was terminated, Manitoba moved on to other projects. In 2005, Manitoba joined the reformed

on vocals, replacing original singer

Rob Tyner Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ( ...

, who died in 1991. The band split up with the death of bassist Michael Davis in 2012. In 2007, Manitoba co-authored ''The Official Punk Rock Book of Lists'' with Amy Wallace. A re-formed Manitoba's Wild Kingdom played at the 2008 Joey Ramone Birthday Bash. In January 2012 the band Manitoba, featuring Manitoba,

Ross the Boss Ross Friedman (born January 3, 1954), also known as Ross the Boss, is a guitarist, known as a founding member of both the punk band the Dictators, and the heavy metal band Manowar. History Friedman was born in the Bronx, New York, and formed t ...

, Dean Rispler (ex- Murphys Law), JP Paterson, and

Daniel Rey Daniel Rey (born Daniel Rabinowitz) is an American musician, record producer and songwriter from New York City, best known for his work with the punk rock band Ramones. As a teenager Rey played in punk band Shrapnel, which also featured Dave Wyn ...

, was formed to play the Light of the Day Festival in Asbury park, a benefit for medical charities. After a handful of shows, in September 2012, the band toured Europe. In April 2013, the band name was rebranded to The Dictators NYC. Further tours of the US and Europe followed in subsequent years. A single, "Supply and Demand", composed by Boss, Manitoba, and Manitoba's son Jake, and backed with a live version of the MC5's " Kick Out the Jams", was released in November 2015. In July 2017, it was announced that the band name would be changed back to Manitoba, "due to legal threats by ex-bandmates, Andy Shernoff and Scott Kempner". Manitoba's first solo album, ''Born in the Bronx'', was released November 2019, on Liberation Records, distributed by MVD. Manitoba owned and ran a bar for over 20 years. Manitoba's opened January 14, 1999 in the

East Village, Manhattan The East Village is a neighborhood on the East Side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is roughly defined as the area east of the Bowery and Third Avenue, between 14th Street on the north and Houston Street on the south. The East Villag ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and closed June 25, 2019. Manitoba pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, in New York State on May 3, 2018 after an incident with his then-girlfriend, Zoe Hansen. In February 2019, Manitoba started his own

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

, ''You don’t know Dick''. He also has a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel.

References

External links

*
Manitoba's
A bar operated by Manitoba.

2009 New York Times article. {{DEFAULTSORT:Manitoba, Richard Living people 1954 births American punk rock singers MC5 members People from the Bronx Singers from New York City Jewish American musicians Jews in punk rock The Dictators members 21st-century American Jews