How Long Ace

Civil rights ace now seeks to trump anti-Semitism

Though IJCR is headquartered in San Francisco, Marcus, 44, is based in Washington, D.C., where he conducts research, writes reports and articles, sends out news and information over Twitter and speaks out against anti-Semitism.

A graduate of U.C. Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law, Marcus said he has seen plenty of anti-Semitism — and to right those wrongs, he often recommends remedies he drew on during his government service days.

Such as the full force of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“When I entered into civil rights enforcement, it was to protect the rights of all people,” he said during a recent phone interview, “thinking it was primarily racial minorities, women and the disabled. I was horrified that not only were there remaining problems of anti-Semitism, it was worsening in some areas. Once I found it, I had to deal with it.”

A native of Sharon, Mass., Marcus grew up in a proudly Jewish home. After getting his law degree in Berkeley, he went on to serve as a litigator for 10 years before beginning six years of public service.

First, he held a position in which he was the principal civil rights adviser to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Then, from 2002 to 2004, he became head of the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, again serving as a top adviser, this time to DOE bigwigs.

In 2004, he got a promotion, being appointed by President George W. Bush to be the staff director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Until 2008, he served as the commission’s CEO, providing leadership and direction to the agency’s staff.

The Wall Street Journal wrote that he took an agency that was in disarray and turned it around. “The Commis-sion has rarely been better managed,” the paper wrote, adding that it “deserves a medal for good governance.”

Through his government work, Marcus befriended the late founder of IJCR, Gary Tobin, who launched the anti-Semitism initiative shortly after 9/11 when he witnessed a worsening of anti-Jewish hatred on college campuses.

Marcus saw the same thing while at the Department of Education, and realized the federal government was not equipped to handle it.

Recalled Marcus: “We needed a change in policy. When I told Gary I was leaving the government to teach, he recruited me to do work for the [IJCR], first as a consultant.

How Long - Ace |

I’m pretty sure I’m awarding “How Long” by Ace bonus points due to my affinity for “Tempted” by Squeeze.

Both songs are ably sung by Paul Carrack, a man who found success with Ace, British critical darlings, Squeeze, and as a singer with Mike and the Mechanics in the mid- to late-1980s.

Carrack obviously does something right to hit the Billboard charts with three different bands. But he doesn’t need a band to get airplay; he can do it on his own just as well, having reached the Billboard Top 40 four times on his own. I think it’s his voice that is effortlessly soulful as he belts out “How Long” and “Tempted.”

“How Long” is from the soft-rock school of music that features soaring choruses, three-part harmonies and bands with names like Ambrosia, Firefall and Orleans who continue to play the county fair circuit today.

To my ears, “How Long” sounds more like a 1978 hit than one from 1975. It’s all in the production that mixes a persistent but unobtrusive drum beat, a slightly dirty guitar solo, Carrack’s electric keyboards and, of course, those killer harmonies.

It’s a song that worked as a stylistic influence for many bands that came afterward, including one of the my all-time favorite two-hit wonders, “Moonlight Feels Right” by Starbuck from 1976 (it’s #1 on my list of the Top 8 Moon Songs ).

“How Long?” by Ace reached #3 on the Billboard Top 40 in 1975 making Ace a one-hit wonder.

The song has aged well and sounds just as good today as it did in the mid-1970s. Especially if you like soft rock.

How long with soft-rock stations play this hit? Probably forever.

Bonus points to disco fans who remember one-hit wonder artists, Lipps Inc. (“Funkytown”) and their discofied version of “How Long” from 1981. It’s garbage, but fun. Check it on YouTube .

Walker,

I agree that “Moonlight Feels Right” and “How Long” don’t sound the same. Paul Carrack’s vocals are way better for Ace. What I hear is a kind of breezy, laid-back vibe of mid-1970s soft rock in both songs. They can be compelling as foreground music or blend into the background just as easily. That’s the beauty of ’70s soft rock and, I believe, a big reason many of the ’70s soft-rock hits are played on the radio today. They’re comforting without being challenging.

The Virginia magazine of history and biography

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