We spent a wonderful weekend at the Library of Congress symposium on the musical Seeger Family. Needless to say, Pete, Mike and Peggy have been large influences on our music through the years as collectors, interpreters of traditional music and songwriters. We are lucky that they have also become friends and sometimes collaborators on concerts and recording projects. Their parents were musicians and folklorists. Peggy and Mike’s mother, Ruth Crawford Seeger, put together excellent book collections of “American Folk Songs for Children”, “Animal Folk Songs for Children” and “American Folk Songs for Children”. The Seeger family recorded all of these songs on CD’s released by Rounder Records and they represent a wonderful repertoire for families to sing together.

It is truly amazing what this family has created and shared with all of us through the years. If you have trouble finding the recordings, you can mail order them from 1-800-443-4727. Also check out Pete’s children’s recordings on Smithsonian Folkways Records and his live children’s concert at Carnegie Hall. Next January and February, we’ll be teaching a class for families at Strathmore Hall with Betty Scott on this wonderful family repertoire.

The Library of Congress will make material from the symposium and from the donated collections by the Seegers available. Just make a trip down there and check it out at the Archive of Folk Music.

Woody Guthrie is on our minds this week as we prepare for a concert with Pete Seeger, Joe Uehline, Baldemar Valasquez, Sarah Lee Guthrie & Jonny Irion. The concert is raising money for a new organization Joe Uehline is launching called “Culture Works”, “dedicated to integrating art and activism in ways that help unite and inspire people to achieve progressive change.” He’s organized the concert around a “Tribute to Woody Guthrie”. Woody wanted to use music to bring people together and to help folks find strength and community. He wrote “This Land Is Your Land” as a rebuttal to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” and originally called it, “God Blessed America”. Well, it was the Great Depression and Woody’s protest song has become our unofficial national anthem. What’s this got to do with kids’ songs?

Woody’s children’s songs were written with whim and imagination, often while simply playing with his own kids. “Put Your Finger in the Air”, “Take You For a Ride in the Car” and “Don’t You Push Me Down” are amongst the classics that have been recorded and performed by generations of artists. Who would have thunk that the U.S. Postal Service would choose Woody’s song, “Mail Myself To You” for their holiday promotion on TV? They used a wonderful version by John McCutcheon from his CD, “Howjadoo”. You won’t find slick production on Woody’s kids albums recorded in the 1950’s, but you’ll find a dad who knew how to tickle the funnybone of his own kids and turn around and sing those same songs in a family concert, understanding what was universal enough to entertain all young hearts. his songs are all simple, singable and set a great example of the timeless nature of a good song. www.woodyguthrie.org for CD’s & info. There’s a whole section of Woody’s kids songs, including recordings with Woody, Arlo & the family. And if you are following Woody’s example, you and your kids will sing these songs together! That’s what they’re for.