In Memoriam: Pete Seeger (1919-2014)

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Pete Seeger, the American folksinger whose clear voice entertained and inspired millions, died on Monday night at the age of 94.  Seeger's grandson, Kitama Cahill-Jackson, reported that he died of natural causes at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

I cannot hope to write an appropriate tribute to Seeger, a man with a tremendously long career who made many, many friends and lived his life with a sense of dignity and principle that I could only hope to live up to.  And, reading the obituaries that have been published since last night, most of them touch upon his work making music for families only briefly.

But with Seeger, distinctions between "kids music" and whatever you want to call music that wasn't "kids music" didn't exist.  He sang for audiences of all ages drawing upon the deep well of folk music of America and around the world.  His viewed his folk music as a way of communicating his ideals of community -- and if you were going to sing of a world where everyone was pulling with the same oar -- why wouldn't you want to reach the kids in addition to his parents?

Seeger was a prolific recording musician -- he recorded 38 albums for Folkways just between 1950 and 1964, for example.  He one one Grammy for his children's music, for 2010's Tomorrow's Children, but that was not his best work.  And while his Smithsonian Folkways work is essential, if I had to pick just one Pete Seeger family album to recommend to you, it would be his 1963 album for Columbia, Children's Concert at Town Hall (affiliate link). It's Pete at the prime of his career, a fine banjo player and his amazing voice (THAT VOICE!), all in service of bring an entire audience together in song.  It's joyous, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to someone of any age.

It is not hyperbole to say that without Seeger we wouldn't quite have "kindie" as we do today.  Set aside the artists such as Dan Zanes and Elizabeth Mitchell whose debts to Seeger are much more obvious and you'd still have countless others in genres often far afield from folk who carry on the idea that music can and often should be made for listeners of all ages.  We've lost a powerful voice with Pete's passing, but I think he'd expect us to pick up the melody and pass it along.

Monday Morning Smile: "New World"

There's nothing particularly complicated about this computer-animated video from Oliver Sin.  Except, of course, that it attempts to tell the story of the creation of a new world all the way to the exploration of space.  Features a sweet instrumental accompaniment from Jim Guthrie.  Worth 97 seconds of your time, particularly on a sunny Monday morning honoring a man who envisioned new worlds for all people.

Oliver Sin - "New World" [Vimeo]

Weekly Summary (1/13/14 - 1/19/14)

Lishy Lou and Lucky Too's Radio Show Hits NPR

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If you tuned into NPR's All Things Considered today, you may have heard a review of Lishy Lou and Lucky Too, the latest album from Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band.  It's an album done in the style of an old radio show with some some sparkly modern songs to fill the spaces in between.

If you found your way here due to the review, welcome!  Plenty of great music (and videos, mp3s, interviews) to be found here from Diaz and many more artists, many of whom I've previously reviewed on NPR.

You can also find podcasts on kids music and kid-friendly Kickstarters, iOS app reviews, and much, much more (just look at the sidebar on the right).

Anyway, thanks for stopping by.

Kids Music in Kids' Museums (Interactivity 2014)

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I've spoken about kids music in a number of settings over the years, and while it's always nice to talk with fellow kids' music nerds, I get a particular kick from talking about kids music with folks who aren't as dialed into the kids music scene.

Which is exactly what I get to do in May, when the Association of Children's Museums hosts their annual Interactivity conference in Phoenix.  I've been booking kids' shows at the wonderful Children's Museum of Phoenix for several years now, and I helped them put together a panel for this year's conference, which they're hosting.  The panel is called "How To Rock YOUR Museum!" (see page 27 of the preliminary program) and so on Thursday, May 17 I'll be joining Lucky Diaz and Alisha Gaddis from Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band and Jim Packard from the Long Island Children's Museum as well my main partner at CMOP and a local Music Together provider (from whom our family actually took classes).

I am really looking forward to sharing what I know about the world of kids music with who I believe are more than a thousand attendees at the conference -- no offense to the other sessions scheduled at the same time, but they should all attend our session.

And if you're planning on attending, stop by and say hello -- I'd love to meet a reader in person!