Before the election of Barack Obama, a group of musicians recorded and released a collection of 43 original songs, one for each of the U.S. presidencies. Titled Of Great and Mortal Men, the three-CD set ended with George W. Bush. Now, just in time for the inauguration, the creators have completed their 44th song.
For the first 43 presidents, the songwriters behind Of Great and Mortal Men had hindsight on their side. But that wasn't an option this time.
"Because I didn't have an actual presidency to write about, the only thing I could write about was his effect on people," songwriter Christian Kiefer says of President-elect Obama. So Kiefer started out by exploring where the country has been.
Read the full article and download "Someone to Wake" for free at NPR Online.
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