Alan Light: Last News

“Born in the U.S.A.,” “Purple Rain” and “Like a Virgin,” respectively — there was another classic that never saw the light of day.Leonard Cohen’s towering tune “Hallelujah” was rejected — along with the rest of his “Various Positions” album — by then-CBS Records head Walter Yetnikoff. “He said, ‘Leonard, we know you’re great, but we don’t know if you’re any good,’ ” recalls the late singer-songwriter in the new documentary “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song,” which opens in theaters Friday.But that would turn out to be only a “minor fall” in the song’s long ascent to the pantheon of iconic tunes.

Alan Light If Leonard Cohen built a tower of just one song, it was “Hallelujah” — the subject of a film that hits theaters in July,  “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song.” That documentary is inspired by music journalist Alan Light’s much-acclaimed book, “The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & the Unlikely Ascent of ‘Hallelujah’,” originally published in 2012 and being reissued June 7 with substantial additions that have Light bringing the history of one of the 20th century’s most remarkably enduring songs forward into its arguably most impactful years yet.In this excerpt from the afterward, exclusive to Variety, Light explores some of the unlikely lives that “Hallelujah” has taken on in recent years — starting with its adaptation into a country song, and especially focusing on how it’s become a favorite pick for singers to include on their Christmas albums, as a holiday hymn… quite a contrast to the more carnal connotations that many associate with the original lyrics. (Pre-order the new edition of Light’s book here.) Our excerpt has Light picking up the song’s story in the 2010s:“Hallelujah” continued making inroads into other genres of music.

“Exile on Main St.” album.In fact, the drug-fueled debauchery had Keith Richards — in the throes of a heroin addiction — going MIA within his French villa where the Stones recorded the sprawling double LP, which was released 50 years ago on May 12, 1972. “Keith had his son Marlon with him, and he would say, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go put Marlon to bed.’ And then you wouldn’t see him for a day and a half,” said Anthony DeCurtis, who wrote the liner notes for the 2010 reissue of “Exile on Main St.” as well as the 2021 book “The Rolling Stones: Unzipped.” “And I think that that was beginning to create issues in the band. One of your main songwriters and, in many ways, the musical driving force of the band is somebody who’s having drug problems.

“Life After Death” — his second and final studio album — the rapper was making plans to hypnotize London in support of the ambitious double LP. And while the bottles were popping at Vibe magazine’s post-Soul Train Awards party in Los Angeles, he was trying to convince DJ Clark Kent to be his spinning sidekick across the pond.“He was like, ‘Yo, you gotta go on the road with me. We gonna go to London for this new album,’ ” Kent — who at the time was senior vice president of A&R at Motown Records — told The Post.

Sony Pictures Classics has taken global rights sans France and Germany, to Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine’s documentary Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song.

died  “peacefully” at 80 in a London hospital on Tuesday — was the foundation of the British band that was the foundation of rock and roll as we know it today.“The heartbeat — both literally and figuratively — of that band came outwards from Charlie Watts,” Alan Light, co-host of SiriusXM Volume’s “Debatable” show, told The Post.“And I think you could see it when you would see them play live. It was when Keith [Richards, the Stones’ guitarist] would turn around, sometimes put his foot up on the drum riser, and he and Charlie would lock in.

Jewel is honoring her first album! Following the 25th anniversary of her debut album, , the 46-year-old singer announced on Tuesday that she's rereleasing the record on Friday, Nov. 20.The limited-edition box set will be sold in a hardback portfolio book, which will include liner notes by music journalist Alan Light and new insights from Jewel herself, as well as lyrics, poetry, photographs, and never-before-seen content.Four discs will be included in the set, which will feature a remastered version of , outtakes, demos and live recordings.