Pete Seeger - American Folk Songs For Children (1954)

For over 35 years, this heartwarming collection has introduced children to such folk classics as Jim Crack Corn, This Old Man, Frog Went A-Courting, and many others. Essential for homes, libraries, and schools. Includes a valuable subject index for parents and teachers, complete lyric sheet, and recommended activities for each song. "Pete sings them all with great enthusiasm." —Record Roundup

The eleven songs on this album were specifically selected from an identically titled book anthology of folk songs for children collected by Seeger's stepmother, Ruth Crawford Seeger. Pete Seeger renders them plainly and simply, singing and playing and banjo, on a program designed especially (but not solely) for children between three and seven years of age. "Jim Crack Corn," "Frog Went A-Courting," and "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" are some of the better-known tunes on the record, but not all of them are as overly familiar. 

On American Folk Songs for Children, Seeger brought tunes back to life that, today, seem naturally ingrained in our nation's psyche. Songs that are familiar to us now, like "Jim Crack Corn," "This Old Man," "Frog Went A-Courting," and "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain," were on the verge of being lost in the shuffle of the post-war prosperity of the 1940s and the New Frontier sheen of the 1950s. Seeger brought them back through a respect for musical and folkloric history, and by sheer dogged determination.
Just listen to Seeger's ringing banjo on "Jim Crack Corn," his unabashed joyfullness on "Clap Your Hands," his giggling at his own lyrical mistake on "There Was a Man and He Was Mad." Only the sourest of sourpusses could discount this great collection of family songs.
 

American Folk Songs for Children was the first in a long line of kids' classics from Seeger, and he did it with only his voice and banjo. This is a great album for family sing-alongs, for classroom use, and for children's entertainers who need a solid performance catalog.

Tracklist         

A1		Jim Along Josie
A2		There Was A Man And He Was Mad
A3		Clap Your Hands
A4		She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain
A5		All Around The Kitchen
A6		Billy Barlow
B1		Bought Me A Cat
B2		Jim Crack Corn
B3		Train Is A-Coming
B4		This Old Man
B5		Frog Went A-Courting

Pete Seeger - American Folk Songs For Children (1954)
(flac, front cover & booklet included)