Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' Turns 30

10:52

February 06, 2015

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'

Guest

Alan Light, author of the 2012 book "The Holy Or The Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & The Unlikely ascent Of Hallelujah."

This segment aired on February 6, 2015.