Children's Music Great Ella Jenkins to Release 'Camp Songs' Set June 23

Ella Jenkins, The First Lady of Children's Music, celebrates 60 years as a Smithsonian Folkways artist with the release of 'Camp Songs with Ella Jenkins and Friends', out June 23. Jenkins has wanted to record camp songs for more than 15 years and assembled a group of children, parents, and teachers from the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, along with Tony and Kate Seeger from Camp Killooleet, to sing these rounds, nonsense songs and campfire sing-alongs. The 25-track collection includes familiar camp songs "Michael Row the Boat Ashore," "Kumbaya" and "This Land Is Your Land."

Pre-order the album here: folkways.si.edu/ella-jenkins/camp-songs-with-ella-jenkins-and-friends

Many of the tunes on 'Camp Songs with Ella Jenkins and Friends' have been sung by generations of campers, including many of the 14 million children and adults who attend camp every year in the United States. The album has its roots in the songs Jenkins' brother brought home with him from Boy Scout camp when she was a child, and begins with a chorus of children singing the familiar round "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." But these selections come from a variety of traditions, among them African-American spirituals, European folk songs, and Jewish summer camps where Jenkins has performed. "Everybody Loves Saturday Night" has lines in a dozen languages, including Mandarin, Hindi, Serbian and Nigerian. The album's final five numbers, which include "Sloop John B." and "Goodnight Irene," are sequenced to resemble a campfire sing-along.

'Camp Songs with Ella Jenkins and Friends' was produced by Tony Seeger, nephew of folk-music icon Pete Seeger. Tony Seeger also wrote the included liner notes and lyric annotations for all the songs in the 36-page booklet that accompanies the album. Throughout the album, Jenkins sings and plays harmonica, often offering reminiscences and spoken-word introductions to the songs.

Though Jenkins takes the lead on "Sipping Cider Through a Straw," she is almost everywhere on this recording -- singing, harmonica playing, teaching, reflecting about camp, engaging with children and their parents, and of course in the selection of the songs. Jenkins is joined in her performances by 13 children and a group of adults that includes Erin Flynn; Bucky Halker; Judy, Kate, and Tony Seeger; Barbara Silverman; and Chris Walz. At its cored, this is a collection of music by and with children.

Jenkins, who turns 93 in August, has devoted her life to instilling a love of music in children. She released her first album for Folkways in 1957, and her 1966 album 'You'll Sing a Song and I'll Sing a Song' remains one of the best-selling titles in the history of Smithsonian Folkways. She received a Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY Award from The Recording Academy in 2004.

 

Track listing for 'Camp Songs with Ella Jenkins and Friends':

1 Row, Row, Row Your Boat

2. Down by the Riverside

3. Vive la Compagnie

4. This Land Is Your Land

5. Tumbalalaika

6. Shalom Chaverim

7. Tzena, Tzena, Tzena

8. Kumbaya

9. Down in the Valley

10. Union Maid

11. One Bottle of Pop

12. Hill Was Steep and Tall (When I Signed Up for This Hike)

13. Mrs. Murphy's Chowder

14. Sipping Cider Through a Straw

15. The Damper Song

16. To Stop the Train

17. The Court of King Caractacus

18. Sweetly Swings the Donkey

19. The Cuckoo

20. Michael Row the Boat Ashore

21. Everybody Loves Saturday Night

22. I'm on My Way

23. Sloop John B.

24. This Little Light of Mine

25. Goodnight, Irene

 

About Smithsonian Folkways:

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is dedicated to supporting cultural diversity and increased understanding among people through the documentation, preservation, production, and dissemination of sound. Part of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, it is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States. NOTE: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings retail distribution in the US is through ADA (Alternative Distribution Alliance) at 800.239.3232. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings releases are available through record and book outlets. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, as well as Folkways Records, A.R.C.E., Arhoolie, Banjo Builders, Blue Ridge Institute, Cook, Collector, Dyer-Bennet, Fast Folk, I.L.A.M., The Mickey Hart Collection, Monitor, M.O.R.E., Paredon, and UNESCO, are available via mail order at 888.FOLKWAYS or 800.410.9815. Visit the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings website at folkways.si.eduor write to 600 Maryland Ave. SW, Suite 2001, Washington, DC, 20024.

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