While I don't always agree with some of the politics espoused on public radio, the one reason why I will continue to listen, particularly to NPR, is because I always learn something new. It's kinda like what Bill Cosby said in the Fat Albert intro: "This is Bill Cosby Coming at you with music and fun, if you're not careful you may learn something before it's done". Dang I loved that show.
Anyways, sometime before Christmas, this episode of NPR's Fresh Air program discussed, of all things, Jewish American music after World War II. I thought, "hmmm that's random, let's see what they say". One of the points brought out was how, as is usually the case, there was one man that promoted this music among Jewish Americans, but also attempted to make the music more mainstream. One tactic he used was to have various artists, including African-American R&B groups, record these cultural songs. The oldie today is one example, "Mazel", as recorded by the doo-wop group, The Ravens.
Mazel tov!
