New Albums from Old Friends

Several albums were released over the busy summer months by some of our favorite artists. Here are just a few that everyone should have in their collections.

Camp Songs performed by Ella Jenkins & Friends (released June 23)
It’s hard to believe, but Ella Jenkins, the grande dame of children’s music, has been recording music with Smithsonian Folkways for 60 years. Recording camp songs is something that she had wanted to do for over a decade so when her voice wasn’t strong enough to take the lead on the 25 songs chosen for this album, she enlisted the help of the children and parents from Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music along with Kate and Tony Seeger to bring each song to fruition. The result is a rich compilation of folk songs, sing-alongs, nonsense songs and rounds capturing America’s diversity.

 

Time Machine Guitar performed by Ralph’s World (released August 4)

Ralph Covert’s latest Ralph’s World album is a raucous voyage through time that provides fun history lessons about such subjects as Ben Franklin, King Tut and Christopher Columbus. A 1960s/1970s rock treatment is given to many of the songs while others get a jazz or Latin music flair.

 

 

Lead Belly, Baby! performed by Dan Zanes and Friends (released August 25) 

This introduction to the music of the incomparable Lead Belly is presented by Zanes and a whole host of guests including Father Goose, Sonia De Los Santos, Elena Moon Park, Aloe Blacc and Chuck D. The fifteen folk songs are given a modern twist making them easily accessible to today’s audiences.

 

 

Laurie Berkner: The Dance Remixes performed by Laurie Berkner (release September 22)

This collection presents 14 of Berkner’s classic songs such as “We Are the Dinosaurs,” “Bumblebee,” and “Telephone” in a way that listeners have never heard them before. Each of the songs is given an EDM makeover that will really appeal to older children who want to listen to “grown-up” music but aren’t quite ready for grown-up lyrics.