Newsweek has ranked the top 60 versions of Leonard Cohen’s famous song “Hallelujah,” which he performed for the first time 30 years ago, on Jan 31, 1985.
At that time the song didn’t get much of a reception, but today there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of versions, and on YouTube the song has millions of views. So what is this song’s appeal?
Author Alan Light joined Here & Now’s Robin Young back in December 2012 to discuss the famous hit. We revisit that conversation
- See Newsweek’s ranking of the 60 top versions of “Hallelujah”
- Hear the original interview and read an excerpt of Alan Light’s book
Newsweek’s Top 5 Versions Of ‘Hallelujah’
5. k.d. lang (Hymns of the 49th Parallel, 2004)
4. Regina Spektor (concert for the Jewish Heritage Festival, 2005)
3. Rufus Wainwright (Shrek: Music from the Original Motion Picture, 2001)
2. Jeff Buckley (Grace, 1994)
1. John Cale (I’m Your Fan, 1991)
Guest
- Alan Light, author of the 2012 book “The Holy Or The Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & The Unlikely ascent Of Hallelujah.”
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