Mark your calendars, set the clocks: Jon Solomon’s 24th Annual 24-Hour Holiday Radio Show is coming soon! The marathon begins on Saturday, December 24 at 6:00 PM ET and ends Sunday, December 25 at 6:00 PM ET.

It’s not Christmas without Jon’s annual holiday marathon. Seriously! From the absurd and bizarre to the beautiful and almost-kinda-holy, Jon’s show traverses the terrain of holiday music. No two marathons are alike, and perhaps that’s why listeners both near and far flock to the radio and/or webstream. So says Inside Jersey:

Forget the Bing Crosby-Nat King Cole-Mariah Carey loop that seems to air on every station in every mall – Solomon mixes covers of traditional hits with songs by bands from the region, recordings lost to attics and basements, and esoteric picks like “Mr. Russian, Please Don’t Shoot Down Santa’s Sleigh,” a Cold War-era number.

Which is not to be confused with “Can Santa Miss Those Missiles,” Solomon says.

You can RSVP for this show on Facebook.

Jon wants you to know that if you would like to make some requests, by all means get in touch.

Watch a live stream of everything happening in Studio A (goes live on December 24th):

Photo: Princeton Packet/ Centraljersey.com

Join Marvin Rosen, host of “Classical Discoveries” and “Classical Discoveries Goes Avant-Garde” for a 24-hour marathon totally devoted to music from the 21st century! “VIVA 21ST CENTURY: AMERICAN EDITION” begins Tuesday, September 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET and concludes on Wednesday September 9 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

The “Viva 21st Century” marathon devotes itself to music by American composers of all styles and genres. Approximately 100 American composers will be featured. Sounds like a lot but this marathon will
barely scratch the surface in illustrating the talent of our living American composers.

”I’ve already started pulling music from my collection and I’m thinking, ‘Oh no, I’m going to have to cut some stuff out,” Mr. Rosen says. “I’m so looking forward to making listeners aware of the amazing American music of the 21st century. There’s really a lot out there.” You can read more about Marvin’s marathon in the Princeton Packet this week!

We hope you can tune in during this awesome marathon! RSVP on Facebook to let us know you’re tuning in and stay up to date with the latest information!

On Wednesday 4/1 from 5PM ET until 10PM, WPRB’s Rhythm of the One program will host an extended five-hour broadcast featuring the “best 103 funk songs you’ve probably never heard of.”

DJ Matt is scouring the secret vaults as we write! Expect to hear lost gems by artists such as Chocolate Milk, Warm Excursion, Roy C. and the Honey Drippers, Billy Ball and the Upsetters, and many more.

Should be an evening to remember, so don’t forget to tune in!

What’s your favorite obscure funk tune? Share with us in the comments below!

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Here’s how you can play along from the comfort of your own home/office/etc (in addition to, ahem, tuning in):

1. Give us a call! Dial (609) 258-1033 or (609) 258-1233.
2. Drop us an email! The address is requests[AT]wprb[dot]com.
3. Instant message us! Our screenname is WPRBDJ.
4. Watch the “action” live on the webcam feed above!
5. Check on our Twitter feed for additional commentary!
6. Join the chatroom and share your thoughts!

See you soon and have a great New Year! Here’s to more great music in 2009!

[Webcam offline -- thanks for watching!]

Watch Jon Solomon slowly fall apart in real time during his 24-Hour Holiday Radio Show using the above webcam.

Festive requests? Call 609.258.1033 or email requests@wprb.com.

Want to take part in the Live Listener Chat? Click here!

Join WPRB 103.3 FM as we close out the year with a series of music marathons!

Jon Solomon’s 21st Annual 24-Hour Christmas Show kicks off our marathon season on December 24th, followed by Marvin Rosen’s “Viva 21st Century” marathon on December 26th; Maria T closes out 2008 with a 12-hour New Year’s Eve countdown of the top 103 releases heard on WPRB. Keep reading for full program details and additional information.

Last but certainly not least,don’t forget to stay tuned to WPRB throughout December as our on-air staff host their own “Best of 2008” programs and more! Have a wonderful holiday season! We look forward to sharing 2009 with you!

Wednesday, December 24th at 6:00 p.m.

Jon Solomon’s one man radio show runs from 6:00 p.m. ET Christmas Eve until 6:00 p.m. ET Christmas Day and has done so every year since 1988, back when he was fifteen years old. 2008 marks the 21st edition of Jon’s show – 24 hours full of rare, strange and confounding records that are all holiday-related. Over the past two decades this show has become a Delaware Valley tradition with a devoted following world-wide.

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Friday, December 26th at 6:00 a.m.

Join Marvin Rosen, the award-winning host of WPRB”s “Classical Discoveries,” for a second 24-hour marathon starting 6:00 a.m. ET on Friday, December 26th. The “Viva 21st Century” marathon will be devoted to new works composed during the last nine years and will represent composers from all over the world. To learn more about Marvin’s fantastic program, visit the Classical Discoveries website.

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Wednesday, December 31st at 12:00 p.m.

Closing out 2008 is Maria T, host of WPRB’s “Her Jazz” and Top Ten programs, with a 12-hour marathon counting down the top 103 new releases of the year. The “103 of 2008” marathon begins at 12:00 p.m. ET on New Year’s Eve and runs until the stroke of midnight.

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“Viva 21st Century” will be devoted to new works composed during the last 9 years and will represent composers from all over the world.

Marvin Rosen is the host of WPRB’s “Classical Discoveries” program. Marvin’s outstanding program won an ASCAP Deems Taylor Radio Broadcast Award in 2005.

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Mark your calendars, set the clocks: Jon Solomon’s 21st Annual 34-Hour Holiday Radio Show is almost here! The marathon begins on Wednesday, December 24 at 6:00 PM ET and ends Thursday, December 25 at 6:00 PM ET.

If the Pope can forgive John Lennon, then maybe 30 years from now they’ll forgive us for the following bold statement: it’s not Christmas without Jon’s annual holiday marathon. Seriously! From the absurd and bizarre to the beautiful and almost-kinda-holy, Jon’s show traverses the terrain of holiday music. No two marathons are alike, and perhaps that’s why listeners both near and far flock to the radio and/or webstream. So says the New York Times:

Mr. Solomon has been the host of “Jon Solomon’s Annual 24-Hour Holiday Radio Show” at WPRB-FM, the Princeton University station, since 1988, when he was 15. Besides “Kung Fu Christmas,” listeners who tune in from 6 p.m. on Dec. 24 to 6 p.m. on Dec. 25 are bound to hear everything from a version of “The 12 Days of Christmas” that makes sense only to fans of the 1980s-era Cleveland Browns to a car-horn-honk rendition of “Frosty the Snowman” to a funky, hard-to-find cut by Blondie and Fab Five Freddie called “Yuletide Throwdown.”

Between on-air bantering and chatting with callers, Mr. Solomon said he played roughly 360 songs — most of them new or freshly unearthed — during each year’s marathon; requests account for as many as a third of them.

Jon wants you to know that if you would like to submit music for airplay or make some requests, by all means get in touch.

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