Music News

Music & Culture

Barry Manilow: I Jump At The Chance To Do A Christmas Album

7:00am December 25, 2014

David Greene talks to Barry Manilow about his favorite Christmas music. In 2012, he released a compilation of his 3 Christmas albums. (This piece initially aired on Dec. 17, 2012 on Morning Edition).

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Committed's 'Home For Christmas' Has Fun Songs And Some Classics

7:00am December 25, 2014

David Greene talks to members of the a cappella group Committed about their new holiday album, Home For Christmas. Committed won season two of NBC's a cappella competition series, The Sing-Off.

Queue Listen Now

The Waitresses' members were in the middle of a tour behind "I Know What Boys Like" when "Christmas Wrapping" took over the radio in 1981.

Music & Culture

Couldn't Miss This One: Behind 'Christmas Wrapping'

8:02am December 24, 2014

It's a short story about a woman who just wants to spend the holiday alone, from a band that had no interest in writing what would become a holiday classic.

Queue Listen Now

Los Aldeanos' Aldo Rodriguez (left) and El B.

What A Failed Hip-Hop Experiment Can Teach Us About The Future Of U.S.-Cuba Relations

11:55am December 23, 2014

A report suggests that USAID infiltrated Cuba's nascent hip-hop scene several years ago. Now that Cuba-U.S. relations have officially begun to thaw, what is the future of programs like these?

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Moreno's 'El Burrito Sabanero', Welcomed Update To A Holiday Song

7:28am December 23, 2014

by Felix Contreras

"Mi Burrito Sabanero" is about a little donkey making its way to Bethlehem on the night Jesus was born. We hear about a reimagined version of the classic Latin American Christmas song by Gaby Moreno.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Charismatic Singer Joe Cocker Dies At 70

5:54pm December 22, 2014

by Neda Ulaby

The British singer, who won American hearts for his performance at Woodstock, died of lung cancer.

Queue Listen Now

Singer Joe Cocker, famous for his powerful and raspy voice, has died at age 70.

Music & Culture

Singer Joe Cocker Dies At Age 70

4:02pm December 22, 2014

by Bill Chappell

Joe Cocker, the raspy-voiced British singer famous for hit songs such as "Feelin' Alright" and "Up Where We Belong," has died, his management agency says.

Music & Culture

When The Beatles Gave Fans A 'Crimble' Present

9:08pm December 21, 2014

In the 1960s, the Beatles sent their most loyal fans a Christmas gift every year — a flexi-disc. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to music writer Colin Fleming about the annual holiday single.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

How Tchaikovsky's 'Nutcracker' Became A Holiday Tradition

12:31pm December 18, 2014

Renee Montagne talks with Miles Hoffman about the history of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite. Hoffman is the violist of the American Chamber Players, and authored The NPR Classical Music Companion.

Queue Listen Now

Handel & Haydn Society perform Handel's Messiah.

Music & Culture

A Bicentennial For Boston's Handel And Haydn Society

3:14pm December 17, 2014

by Andrea Shea

The group gave the first U.S. performance of Handel's Messiah, and still plays it today. Yet the ensemble has constantly evolved.

Queue Listen Now