Sonia De Los Santos and her band, sometimes in front of America's most potent nineteenth-century symbol the Statue of Liberty, sing Woody Guthrie's classic song from the twentieth century, refashioned for the twenty-first.
Sonia De Los Santos - "Esta Es Tu Tierra (This Land Is Your Land)" [YouTube]
Smithsonian Folkways Recording logo
Smithsonian Folkways Recording logo
Dr. Patricia Shehan Campbell
It's safe to say that the single biggest label for kids music is Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Oh, sure, perhaps your Disneys and KidzBops might have more in terms of total sales, but for sheer breadth of its offerings made over more than a half-century since Moses Asch founded Folkways Records in 1948 (it was acquired by the Smithsonian in 1987), no other label comes close.
They continue to release kids music regularly -- later this month they release ¡Come Bien! by José-Luis Orozco, the first Smithsonian Folkways release for the longtime bilingual educator. It's a rich tradition, the Folkways kids music oeuvre, numbering in the hundreds of albums and thousands of tracks.
So I was really hoping that I'd get someone associated with the Smithsonian to pen an entry in my "Intro to Kindie" series, featuring kids music experts listing tracks designed to, well, introduce a listener to kids music, knowing that there would be more than enough to make a list with only Folkways tracks.
And they said yes!
These songs were selected by Dr. Patricia Shehan Campbell, who teaches courses in children’s music and “the ethnomusicology of children” at the University of Washington. With a lifetime of singing experience, she has a long experience in sharing songs and singing games with children and their teachers, and is author of Music in Childhood, Songs in Their Heads: Music and Its Meaning in Children’s Lives, Musician and Teacher, and editor of The Oxford Handbook of Children’s Musical Cultures. She is also currently the Chair of the Board of Smithsonian Folkways.
In other words, there are few if any people in the world who would know better the breadth of the Folkways collection, especially in kids music, and I'm honored to present her list.
On a related note, one of the biggest thrills I've had in reviewing and discussing kids music is the opportunity to write liner notes for a Smithsonian Folkways release, Sarah Lee Guthrie and Family's Go Waggaloo. So you can imagine that I was happy when they asked if I'd be interested in writing an entry in their "People's Picks" series talking about favorite Smithsonian Folkways songs at the same time I was asking if they'd be interested in writing something for "Intro to Kindie." (Great minds, etc. etc.) So please head over there and read about (and listen to) the 20 great kids music tracks (mostly kids music, anyway) I chose. (Me! In amongst Valerie June, Jonathan Lethem, Warren Defever, and more!)
Enough about me: on to the list!
Children are wired to make music, to listen intently to music, and to understand their world through music. Children’s song-singers know the powerful ways that melodies, rhythms and words can convey messages to children, awaken their imaginations, and inspire them to think, feel, and do. Children’s own songs are filled with sounds of joy and wonder, even as adult singers express the best of children’s playful selves in the music they sing and play.
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, is a veritable treasury of “people’s music” from everywhere in the world, and the music of, by, and for the little people—children’s music—is a meaningful component of the collection. This twenty-song playlist samples several generations of singing children and children’s song-singers. Featured are musical glimpses of legendary musician Woody Guthrie and his granddaughter, Sarah Lee Guthrie, notable “folk-songsters” Pete Seeger, Lead Belly, and Elizabeth Cotten, and highly acclaimed singers like Ella Jenkins, Suni Paz, Tom Glazer, and Elizabeth Mitchell who have dedicated their lives to singing for and with children. Several selections feature children themselves in full vocal exuberance, singing to amuse and communicate with friends.
Altogether, these children’s songs represent historic renderings and contemporary expressions at the core of a vast collection of musical traditions collected, preserved, and readily available onsite of the vast and varied archive of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
1. “Little Bird, Little Bird” by Elizabeth Mitchell from You Are My Little Bird (2006)
2. “Go Waggaloo” by Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family from Go Waggaloo (2009)
4. “Bought Me a Cat” by Pete Seeger from American Folk, Game and Activity Songs (2000)
5. “Did You Feed My Cow?” by Ella Jenkins from You'll Sing a Song and I'll Sing a Song (1992)
7. “Why, Oh Why?” by Woody Guthrie from Songs to Grow on for Mother and Child (1991)
8. “Jambo” by Ella Jenkins from Jambo and Other Call and Response Songs and Chants (1996)
10. “Grey Goose” by Lead Belly from Lead Belly Sings for Children (1999)
11. “Camp Songs” by Tony Schwartz from 1, 2, 3 and a Zing Zing Zing (1953)
13. “Shoo Lie Loo” by Elizabeth Mitchell from Sunny Day (2010)
15. “Little Liza Jane” by Elizabeth Mitchell from You Are My Little Bird (2006)
17. “Jump Rope” by Tony Schwartz from 1, 2, 3 and a Zing Zing Zing (1953)
18. “All Around the Kitchen” by Pete Seeger from American Folk, Game and Activity Songs (2000)
20. “Golden Kids’ Rules” by Chip Taylor & The Grandkids from Golden Kids Rules (2011)
Dr. Patricia Shehan Campbell playing with children in Singapore
It's not rare these days for a musician who's made their living making music for adults to try their hand at making music for kids. Nor is it rare for bands to break up and have the individual members release solo albums.
Combining those two? That's way more unusual. But it's exactly that path that Walter Martin has chosen. In the wake of the "extreme hiatus" of The Walkmen, which he'd played in since helping to found the band in 2000, Martin, the father of 2 young kids, decided to release an album of family music, the delightful We're All Young Together, which will be released on May 13 (you can pre-order on iTunes, pre-order on vinyl, or pre-order the old-school CD). We chatted by phone last week about his musical memories, his decision to record music for families, and why it's hard for a lot of 25-year-olds to write music for kids.
Zooglobble: What are your first musical memories?
Walter Martin: I have a very vague recollection of listening to my parents' Pete Seeger records. But I'm not sure if that's something I invented after the fact -- I have those records now.
I remember going on long car trips over Spring Break, listening to the Beatles' greatest hits collections -- you know those, the red and blue ones?
Yeah, one was, like '62 through '65 and the other '66 through '70, or something like that?
Yes, those. I wasn't a big enough fan yet and I thought it was one guy doing lots of different voices -- "why does Ringo sound so different on 'A Little Help from my Friends'?"
Were your parents musical in terms of playing music, or just big fans?
Both, I guess. My mother's mother, who died before I was born, was a kids' music teacher. She passed down piano playing skills to my mom. My dad didn't play an instrument, but he was a big rock 'n' roll fan -- so was my mom.
You've been making music for -- I haven't done the math, but it must for more than half your life...
[Pauses] I think it's two-thirds, actually. Stewart [Lupton] and I -- we started our previous band, Jonathan Fire*Eater -- we took guitar lessons together. We sang "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" by The Clash at a girl's 12th birthday party. Matt [Barrick] joined us in 7th grade -- it's really all I've ever done.
When The Walkmen went on hiatus, you obviously had to think about what to do next, and while recording a solo album is an obvious choice, making that album a family album is not. What led you to do this?
Like a lot of people, when you're in your mid-30s, you need to think about what you'll be doing in your 40s -- what is Plan B? After our last [Walkmen] album Heaven, I knew that I wanted to do a record of my own. I wrote lots of different things, "Walkmen"-y things. But after I wrote the first couple songs that ended up on this record, I knew, that's me.
What were your musical inspirations in writing and recording We're All Young Together?
While I was focusing on the writing, I was hanging around the house in the kitchen a lot. We listen to '50s rock, tons of that. It had a very "light" tone, and I thought, why don't I make music like this? Stuff like the Coasters, or Lieber & Stoller. Or Jonathan Richman -- his solo stuff is whimsical and sweet. His cool Modern Lovers persona goes out the window, and he's singing a song about a flower.
Is it the innocence and lack of cynicism that draws you to that type of music?
Yeah, the innocence is hugely appealing. It appeals to the carefree side, which I think is valuable. I've been surrounded by brainy and serious music. The innocence [in those '50s songs] makes you want to listen with your family. Also, at the end of the night, it's what you put on at a party -- it's got a great dance beat, everybody wants to dance to it.
Were there differences in the recording process for this new album compared to your prior ones?
For the first Walkmen album, we had just started our own recording studio, so we were figuring out equipment and our own music. So it was not a great technical recording. For this album, I tied to rerecord some of the first kids' tracks and it totally lost its spark. I wanted the recording to be tied to the personalities.
You have a lot of guest artists [Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Matt Beringer from the National, and more] from the indie rock world on the album -- was it hard to convince them to join you?
No. When I sent them e-mails, I told them that I was attempting to make the sweetest, funniest family record ever -- set the bar high, right? But everybody was into it. In fact, I think it was probably easier than if I wanted to make an "indie rock" record, be all like "I'm Mr. Cool Guy, come hang with me." That would've been lame. That might have made sense when I was 22, but now...
Yeah, I think there's something about setting aside the need to be "cool" that is hard to do at 25 and much easier at 35 that may make it harder to write family music for a lot of people at the age of 25.
That's why I asked who I did to be on the album. They're into a different thing now.
I'm going to ask a questions that's probably on the list of Top 10 Most Annoying Questions asked of musicians, but do you have a favorite song from the album?
I really like "Hey Sister."
On the album, some are funny, and some are sweet. I tried to make the funny songs sweet, and the sweet songs funny, but I think on "Hey Sister" it's a perfect blend.
It's a great track -- the chemistry comes through.
Kat Edmonson, who sings with me, I love her voice. I sort of sound like Elmer Fudd, but she's great.
Changing gears a bit, I'm curious about your perceptions of the world of kids music before you started and what you think now.
I really knew nothing about kids music before starting this. I had albums from Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, that Johnny Cash children's album. But it was just mixed in with the rest of my music, and didn't know any albums. So when I started on the album, I did some research, and immediately found Dan Zanes. He lived in Brooklyn, played old songs on real instruments, started after his daughter was born -- there were just so many parallels with me. But I haven't done that much research -- I've now got 2 kids under the age of 21 months, so...
Any favorites among those old kids music albums?
That Woody Guthrie album, Songs to Grow On [For Mother and Child] -- it's so off-key, but like I said before, that's fine. It's so great, so funny, and it's so in line with his other stuff.
The Johnny Cash Children's Album is more thrown together, maybe 3 new songs along with other songs recorded elsewhere, but that song -- "I Got a Boy and His Name Is John" -- it's so great and funny and sweet.
Do you have a musical house?
Oh, there's a lot of music playing constantly on all the floors. We listen endlessly. I think it's rubbed off on my older daughter. She likes "Goober Peas," from Burl Ives. She's just learned to talk, so she calls "Aba Daba Honeymoon," "Aba Baba Honeymoon." She also likes this Ella Jenkins album we got after we started the kids music process.
We definitely sing with our kids -- my wife probably sings more to them than I do. We've got lots of instruments -- it's a loud house, I don't know how our neighbors stand it.
Would you think about doing another family music album?
If people like this, then... when I play this for close friends like the other members of The Walkmen, or my parents, they realize that this is me. It's what I really want to do. I've already written another album, I just need to record it.
You know, there are other kids music artists who made music for adults for which this started maybe as a lark, but once they started it, they realized it was their true calling. Dan Zanes, for example, passing out cassettes in a New York City park. Or Chris Ballew, who several times, has talked about his work writing songs for preschoolers as Caspar Babypants as being his best songwriting work, what he wants to do even as he occasionally does Presidents of the United States of America stuff. It's possible.
That's exactly how I feel. There's a lot more creativity than I've had in the past. People think there are more limits with this, but I feel like there are more limits with adult rock and roll. You can ditch the "cool factor."
That's definitely one of the things that keeps it interesting. There are so many more subjects available to sing and write about.
When I realized that, it was really exciting. I can write a song about a tiger, and a love song, and both at once. I'm really into it -- it's very creative.
I'll have more to say on Elizabeth Mitchell's Grammy nomination for Little Seed: Songs for Children by Woody Guthrie anon, but in the meantime, Mitchell is celebrating with the release of her latest video from the album, for "Sleep Eye."
The track is one of Guthrie's lesser-known tracks, but it's a sweet lullaby, and the gorgeously-filmed video features lots and lots of babies. It's a pleasant little visual break.
Elizabeth Mitchell and You Are My Flower - "Sleep Eye" [YouTube]
Here's my ugly Woody Guthrie secret: I never much liked Woody Guthrie's music. Not the songs themselves, just their presentation on record. Neither of his two albums for kids he recorded in 1947 and released in 1956 -- Songs to Grow on for Mother and Child and Nursery Days -- get much play in our house. To my ears, it almost sounds like Woody was just rushing to get these recorded, and nobody would suggest that these 65-year-old recordings of Woody and his guitar are sonically gorgeous.
The songs themselves, however? Those are great. They just needed someone to give them a little tender loving care.
Who better than Elizabeth Mitchell, possessor of one of kids' music most gentle and empathetic voices? In the decade-plus she's been recording kids' music, she and her husband Daniel Littleton have consistently been one of the best interpreters of songs, drawing both from the folk tradition as well as more modern tunes (Velvet Underground, anyone?). Each of her previous albums have included versions of Woody Guthrie songs and now on Little Seed: Songs for Children by Woody Guthrie she mixes those versions with some newly recorded tracks for what is now an essential Guthrie-related album, a nice tie-in to the bigger Woody 100th birthday celebrations.
The seven new tracks here are every bit as good as the five that have come before. "Bling Blang," quite possibly my favorite Woody kids' song, gets a sparse backing arrangement of little more than banjo, ngoni, and knee slaps that is quietly and intensely joyful. ("Why, Oh Why?," almost certainly my least favorite Woody kids' song -- and that's being generous -- is almost tolerable to me.) I love Clem Waldmann's percussion on "Rattle My Rattle" and the simplicity of Mitchell and Littleton on "Merry-Go-Round," reminiscent of those lo-fi afternoon recordings on You Are My Flower lo these many years ago.
These songs are most appropriate for kids ages 0 through 5, though kids raised on Mitchell's recordings (ahem) will enjoy them beyond kindergarten. As alluded to above, five of the tracks on the twelve-track album are previously released and on a 29-minute album, that's no small percentage, and really its only downside. (The mp3 version on Amazon, currently just $4.99, may be an acceptable compromise, though that would be mean forgoing the as-usual excellent physical packaging from Smithsonian Folkways.)
Longtime Elizabeth Mitchell fans will love the new recordings on Little Seed, and if you're a newcomer to Mitchell's music for families, it's a sweet half-hour introduction to the kids' artist most visible folk interpreter. She does right by Woody Guthrie. Definitely recommended.
Zooglobble
Zooglobble helps you find kindie music -- news, videos, mp3s, reviews -- for your whole family.
DIY for the kindie world.
