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Marc Silver Marc Silver edits NPR's global health blog.
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Marc Silver

Thursday

Review

Song Of The Day

Bobby Lounge: Finally, It's Time For 'Rudolph'

A pianist hammers out a jaunty intro that sounds familiar, yet seems hard to place. There are octave runs and an insistent bass line, as well as repeated chords that conjure up "Heart and Soul." Wait, could it be? It sure could, as Bobby Lounge begins yelping like Jerry Lee Lewis and singing words that everyone knows by heart: "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer / Ow, he had a shiny nose..."

'Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer' by Bobby Lounge

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Tuesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Joplin's 'Bethena' Sounds As New As It Is Old

When Scott Joplin wrote "Bethena (A Concert Waltz)" in 1905, his wife of two months had just died; Bethena may well have been her nickname. Now, more than a century later, "Bethena" sounds as fresh as it if were written just minutes ago, a tender and heartfelt remembrance of a love lost.

'Bethena (A Concert Waltz)' by Scott Joplin (performed by Randy Kerber)

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Monday

Review

Song Of The Day

Jimmy Thackery Takes The Wheel Of A Classic

Jimmy Thackery is a musical hitchhiker: He jumps on Chuck Berry's "Promised Land" and takes off without a second look. The bluesman uses his stinging, ringing guitar to set the pace for a cross-country journey that begins on a bus in Southwest Virginia.

'Promised Land' by Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers

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Tuesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Jon Cleary: Setting A 'Groove' On Fire

Nimble fingers glissando down the keys and launch into New Orleans-flavored funk. This pyrotechnic pianist sings, too, with just the right mix of mellow and sharp in his voice, reinventing King Floyd's 1971 soul classic "Groove Me." While the original bumped along at a mid-tempo pace, Jon Cleary sets it ablaze.

'Groove Me' by Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen

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Wednesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Labelle: Looking Back In The Here And 'Now'

Back to Now, the reunion release from Patti Labelle and her partners in Labelle, finds their piercing mid-'70s sound fitting perfectly amid today's music scene. In "Candlelight," the seemingly nonsensical title even makes sense: It looks back while sounding as fresh and funky as ever.

'Candlelight' by Labelle

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Monday

Review

Song Of The Day

Jimmy Hughes: Return Of A Lost Soul Classic

Alabama native Jimmy Hughes makes a strong all-around case for himself in "I'm Qualified," his first single from way back in the day (that would be 1964), now revived on The Best of Jimmy Hughes and the reconstituted Fame label.

'I'm Qualified' by Jimmy Hughes

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Friday

Song Of The Day

Silver Jews On A Pleasure Cruise

Silver Jews mastermind David Berman launches "Party Barge" on his new album, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. Berman isn't exactly a singer's singer, but his deep, unexpressive voice is weirdly mesmerizing if occasionally flat, and it goes well with the song's appealingly lazy beat.

'Party Barge' by Silver Jews

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Thursday

Review

Song Of The Day

Puppini Sisters' Lament In Three-Part Harmony

The Puppini Sisters' shtick is to take the style of The Andrews Sisters and add postmodern zing. In the group's outstanding original tune "Jilted," the result sounds like a confessional column from a Swing Era edition of Cosmo.

'Jilted' by The Puppini Sisters

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Wednesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Van Morrison Mocks His Alma Mater

Morrison's face bears the lines and concaves of a 62-year-old man. But in his new "School of Hard Knocks," his voice sounds as youthful and swaggering as it did when he was doing a moondance more than 30 years ago.

'School of Hard Knocks' by Van Morrison

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Tuesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Shelby Lynne Channels Her Inner Dusty

"I Only Want to Be with You" was Dusty Springfield's first solo hit, back in 1964. Now, rebellious alt-country singer Shelby Lynne, who's had an up-and-down career, has remade the song as part of a Springfield tribute album. It's a radically different version.

'I Only Want to Be with You' by Shelby Lynne

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Thursday

Review

Song Of The Day

Dr. John: Chicken Gumbo For The Soul

"Life is a near-death experience," Dr. John sings in "You Might Be Surprised," and he's clearly addressing Hurricane Katrina's devastating effect on his beloved New Orleans. As if to clarify the inspiration, he adds, "Hell is right here on this great big earth."

'You Might Be Surprised' by Dr. John

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Monday

Review

Song Of The Day

Bobby Womack: A Soul Icon Dreams Of L.A.

Womack calls himself the "last soul man," and his 1968 version of The Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreamin'" demonstrates that it's no exaggeration. A highlight of a just-released retrospective CD, Womack's cover finds his rough-hewn voice adding a load of psychic pain absent from the jaunty original.

'California Dreamin'' by Bobby Womack

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Thursday

Review

Song Of The Day

Josh Fix: A One-Man Band Says Goodbye

Fix's "Free at Last" is a spurned lover's declaration of independence from the woman who dumped him: a finely orchestrated power ballad, sung at a deliberate pace and dedicated to the proposition that he's through with her, even though she's come back around.

'Free at Last' by Josh Fix

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Wednesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Naomi Shelton Knows What You've Done

Naomi Shelton is gruff and she takes no guff. In an ominous minor key and a stern tone, the sixtysomething singer from Alabama asks the musical question, "What Have You Done?" Her backup singers in the Gospel Queens plead ignorance: "I don't know, I don't know."

'What Have You Done?' by Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens

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Thursday

Review

Song Of The Day

Marcia Ball Gets 'Right Back in It'

In "Right Back in It," Ball's awesome mélange of keyboard styles sets the tone: Call it the Zydeco boogie-woogie blues. Horns chug faster and faster throughout, and a guitar drops by for a rock 'n' roll interlude. In the end, there's even a moral that applies in a post-Katrina age.

'Right Back in It' by Marcia Ball

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