Brooklyn, NY – While Avraham Fried has released over thirty albums, in this second segment of the video interview celebrating his thirtieth anniversary in the music business, he recalls his earliest days as a child singer. His first audience, perhaps, was his next door neighbor, the wife of the Alter Rebbe, who used to ask the five year old Avremel to sing for her. He went on to sing on Amudai Shaish, Sdei Chemed and a Suki and Ding wedding album.

It is clear that much has changed in the past thirty years, and Fried describes how Jewish music has evolved over that time, going from the typical Chassidic sound of the 80s to the vast array of styles that are around today. While Fried seems very comfortable embracing the new sounds and performers that make up the Jewish music scene today, including his nephews, 8th Day and Benny Friedman, he clearly has very strong feeling on the subject of performers using secular music on their albums. Taking a strong stance on a controversial topic, Fried unequivocally states that, in his opinion, attempting to kasher secular music by using Jewish words is wrong and not something he ever plans to do.

While Mordechai Ben David may have been the one to inspire Avraham Fried to become a singer, it is clear that he has found his own niche in Jewish music. Aside from a long list of Moshiach-themed songs, some hopeful and upbeat, some poignant and heartfelt, pieces like Tanya and Aderaba are among his biggest hits. Despite his mission to entertain and inspire Klal Yisroel, Fried has a special place in his heart for songs that were made popular by other singers that have clearly inspired him.

In a very rare opportunity, Avraham Fried offers the listening public the chance to shape the future of Jewish music, asking VIN readers to give him feedback so that he has a better idea of what his fans want to hear, promising to read the comments on this post and, if possible, respond to them.