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Marlene Dietrich recorded a version of "Lili Marlene" (Photo by CLEMENS BILAN/AFP/Getty Images)
During World War II, a song about a young woman longing for her sweetheart was popular with German soldiers as well as the Allies. On the eve of Veterans' Day, we look back at an unusual crossover hit, "Lili Marlene." Plus: New York-based singer-songwriter Alfonso Velez performs live.
Guests:
Alfonso VelezProvocative director leaves City Opera, opera fans wonder: what next?
On Friday, it was announced that the New York City Opera and its new director, the Belgian-born impresario Gerard Mortier, are parting ways. Mortier was to have brought a provocative, even risky agenda to the company, with major 20th century operas and new works a key priority. As the company ...
Love, Longing and "Lili Marlene"
"Lili Marlene" was the unlikely anthem of the World War II, a song popular with German and Allied soldiers. The love song -- about a young woman waiting for her lover to return from the battlefield -- began as a poem written by a German soldier during World War I. ...
Alfonso Velez
The son of a Mexican mathematician and a Cuban architect, Alfonso Velez was raised in Mexico City and later lived in Buenos Aires and Moscow. He earned his chops as a member of the Washington, D.C. indie band Monopoli. His solo work is filled with folk-style fingerpicking and high, sweet ...
The remarkable story of "Lili Marlene"
I think “Lili Marlene” is a great example of how a song can be appreciated by people for things that were never intended by its author. Liel Liebovitz and Matthew Miller have told the gripping story of how the song spanned two World Wars, and became a kind of unofficial ...