Just yesterday, our friends at the California Report posed the question: Where are all the good Hanukkah songs?
After all, some of the world's best-loved Christmas songs -- “Let It Snow!,” “Winter Wonderland,” “White Christmas,” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” to name a few -- were written by Jews. But when it comes to Hanukkah, the pickins are mighty slim: You have traditional hymns (like "Rock of Ages") and you have parodies (like Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah Song"). Yawn. Pass the sour cream.
Enter the fierce, funky life-giving force that is Sharon Jones!
The singer-bandleader, who bounced back from cancer last year to deliver Give the People What They Want -- perhaps her most spirited record to date -- dropped a video for "8 Days (of Hanukkah)" on Dec. 7. The tune reimagines the Festival of Lights as the Festival of Love, complete with an irresistible horn riff, lyrics about buying brisket from the local kosher butcher, and animated, dancing dreidels, thanks to artist-director Rich Terrana. Give it a watch below.
