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The Leonard Lopate Show
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Ron ClancyHoliday Spirit
Leonard Lopate celebrates the Golden Age of Gospel by playing and narrating some of his favorite recordings in his annual, hour-long Christmas Gospel Special. Then, according to tradition, the first Christmas carol was sung 2,000 years ago by a choir of angels to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Ronald Clancy has been collecting and studying Christmas music for the past 20 years, and joins us for a look at its evolution over the centuries, from 13th Century carols to modern classics. And in our weekly Please Explain feature, we’ll focus on the history of Christmas, from how it came to be celebrated on December 25th, to the traditions behind Revels celebrations.
O Holy Night
Leonard Lopate spins some of his favorite music from the Golden age of Gospel in his annual Christmas Gospel special.
Music playlist:
CD22 When Was Jesus Born? (Selah Jubilee Singers… Norman “Crip” Harris w. Thurmon Ruth) 44/45 on Manor
CD10 No Room at the Hotel (Chosen Gospel Singers…Lou Rawls) 1954
CD9 The Holy Babe (Mahalia – Sings Songs of Christmas) Lionel Hampton and Milt Hinton ‘55
CD4 Go Tell It On the Mountain (Mahalia Jackson) Apollo ‘50
CD13 Silent Night (Mahalia – Sings Songs of Christmas) ‘55
CD11 No Room at the Hotel (Jessie Mae Renfro) ‘53
LPB/4 Silent Night (Sis. Rosetta Tharpe – 21 Gospel Stars) ‘49
CD4 Poor Little Jesus Boy (Mattie Williams - Black Nativity) ‘61
CD4 No Room at the Inn (O Holy Night) ‘59
CD7 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Marion – Through Many Dangers)
CD7 O Come All Ye Faithful (O Holy Night)
CD7 What Are You Gonna Name Your Baby? (Shirley Caesar)
CD8 The First Noel (Yolanda Adams)
CD8 Go Tell It On the Mountain (Mom and Pop Winans/A Gosple Family Xmas)
CD4 No Room at the Inn (Mahalia sings songs of Christmas)
Here We Come A-Caroling
Ronald Clancy—the scholar behind the Millennia Collection of Christmas music—discusses the enduring legacy of Christmas carols.
Christmas Past and Present
In our regular Friday feature, Please Explain, we look at the history of Christmas with Cathy Kaufman, a culinary historian and a contributor to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, and Tanya Gulevich, author of The Encyclopedia of Christmas.
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