an anniversary version was released, featuring 30 musicians including lin-manuel miranda and michael boltonwhen you were writing "felice navidad," were you thinking would be great to have christmas song in spanish and also in english, was that the idea? >> we thought there's got to be way of teaching the american people spanish. let's see if we can cross that bridge. we did. >> reporter: but wasn't a smash hit, not right away. >> first people had to get used to it. then the year after, it caught on big. how many times did susan and i travel around the world? >> reporter: married to his wife susan for 38 years. >> in russia for example, a russian guy whistle it when he picked up our bags and i thought, jose, you made it kid, you made it. you know what they used to call avocados? >> pears. >> you got it. >> reporter: two sons. >> wouldn't let us off the stage. >> reporter: born blind in puerto rico, jose moved with his family to spanish harlem in new york in 1950. jose was five years old. >> my father would take my brothers to see the movies. one day i said listen, dad, why don't you take me

just last month an anniversary version was released with lin-manuel miranda and michael bolton.ou thinking it would be great to have a song in spanish and english? >> we thought, there has got to be a way of teaching the american people spanish. i decided, let's see if we can cross that bridge, and we did. >> reporter: but it wasn't a smash hit, not right away. >> first people had to get used to it. and then a year after, it caught on big. how many times did susan and i travel around the world... >> reporter: he has been married to his wife susan for 38 years. >> like in russia, for example, there was a russian guy whistling feliÍz navidad when he picked up our bags. i thought, jose, you made it, kid. you made it. >> you know what they used to call avocados? alligator pairs, you got it. >> reporter: and he has traveled with his sons. born blind in puerto rico, jose moved with his family to spanish harlem in new york in 1950. jose was five years old. >> my father would take my brothers to see the movies. and one day i said, listen, dad, why don't you take me to the movies with yo

. >>> coming up on "hoda and jenna," michael bolton and matoma will sing a new christmas song. >>> inu. it's 8:56. i'm marcus washington. 2 million cases and counting. california passed that threshold last night and it continues to add more cases than any state in the country. averaging more than 40,000 per day over the past week. this has led to a dire warning from bay area health leaders who say the next two days will be critical with holiday gatherings threatening to add to the surge. hospitals are already overwhelmed. santa clara county's top doctor and other leaders are pleading with people to cancel any travel plans they may have for -- as well as those family gatherings. >>> happening now, one bay area county is starting to turn the corner on covid cases. the fear is it will all be undone by the christmas holiday. that full story at midday. >>> from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza, this is the "3rd hour of today." >> good morning, everybody welcome to the "3rd hour of today" on christmas eve. i'm al, along with dylan and sheinelle. i guess if folks sent you christmas cards, you

michael bolton, gloria gaynor, lin-manuel miranda are among 30 artists from around the planet who havee holiday classic made famous by jose feliciano 50 years ago. great song. >> amazing. getting us into the holiday spirit on this christmas eve. >>> but first, we have top headlines to get to. right now that monster winter storm on the move taking aim at the east coast already wreaking holiday havoc on the roads as millions of americans head out on their holiday travels. >>> also right now, as u.s. hospitalizations hit another record with another record with more than 119,000 current patients, a hopeful milestone. over 1 million americans receiving that first covid vaccine dose. >>> and in the nation's capital, it's not just christmas eve. it's dr. anthony s. fauci day. d.c.'s mayor issuing the proclamation. honoring the nation's top infectious disease expert. he turns 80 years old today. fauci has served six presidents and committed to serving as president-elect biden's chief medical adviser. happy birthday, dr. fauci. >>> and take a look at this very merry christmas card. there's the

"the room where it happened" by former ambassador john bolton, "disloyal," by michael cohen, "too muchnd never enough" by trump's niece, mary trump, "rage" by journalist bob woodward, "a promised land" by former president barack obama, and last but not least "rise up" by reverend al sharpton. y'all know him. what do you say, joy? >> i'm tempted to say, "rise up" but i'll make you a tie with mary trump. boo john bolton. should have testified. no respect. i'll never read your book. sorry. i thought mary trump told the deepest truths this year, and she took the risk because she is in litigation with her family who all tried to scam her side of the family out of the inheritance of the grandfather. if you really want to understand who donald trump is and you don't know reverend sharpton personally so you can't call him and be like, is this really what this guy is like, you need to read that book. mary trump told it all. >> she told it all. ali. >> "rise up" for me as well because you have helped us narrate what we have seen in this, the most important year we have seen since the civil right