Folk Songs for Young People

by Pete Seeger

Overview

Pete Seeger recorded a number of children's albums in his early solo career, some of which suffered from overt cuteness or too-elementary presentation. Perhaps this was consciously aimed at somewhat older kids, but those problems aren't a factor on this straightforward collection. The instrumentation (just Seeger and banjo) and recording (sometimes live, and often with spoken intros and outros) is basic, but the performances are respectfully enthusiastic and the selection of material diverse. Some of the songs are kiddie record staples ("Skip to My Lou"), "On Top of Old Smokey" and "Goodnight Irene," of course, were big numbers in Seeger's Weavers days, "Dayenu" is a Jewish religious number known to virtually everyone in that faith, and "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" and "John Henry" are traditional tunes hardly limited to children's music sets. The brief song satirizing a "Pepsi-Cola" jingle doesn't have currency now that the commercial is long in the past, though. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	09/24/2002
Label:	Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
UPC:	0093074502426
Rank:	97649

Tracks

1. Skip to My Lou
2. Blow the Man Down/Weave Room Blues
3. Weave-Room Blues
4. The Farmer Is the Man
5. Wood-Chopping Song
6. Four Pence a Day
7. Vigndig a Fremd Kind
8. Way Down Yonder in the Cornfield
9. Pepsi-Cola
10. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
11. Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho
12. Oh, Worrycare
13. On Top of Old Smokey
14. Goodnight Irene
15. John Henry
16. Dayenu
17. It Could Be a Wonderful World

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Pete Seeger   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar,Banjo

Technical Credits

Dorsey M. Dixon   Composer
David Gahr   Cover Photo
Irwin Silber   Composer
Mary Monseur   Production Coordination
Jacob Love   Editing Assistant
Ned Berndt   Production Assistant
Hy Zaret   Composer
D.A. Sonneborn   Production Supervisor
Moses Asch   Producer
Pete Reiniger   Mastering
Lead Belly   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Pete Seeger   Adaptation,Engineer
John A. Lomax   Composer