Tomorrow's Children

by Pete Seeger, Rivertown Kids

Overview

Pete Seeger has been making children's records for over 50 years, but he has never made one like this, a full-scale collaboration with a group dubbed the Rivertown Kids who were, when he started working with them, fourth graders at the Forrestal School in Beacon, NY, where he lives. (At the time of the release of this album, they would be on summer vacation after finishing sixth grade.) The album's third credit, to "friends," includes a batch of other folk singers, some of whom sit in to take lead vocals on songs they wrote. Indeed, while Seeger is heard throughout the disc in one capacity or another, he can be considered something of a master of ceremonies, speaking or singing lead here, playing a banjo part there. While it is reasonable to classify the album as children's music, "educational" music might be a better tag, since the songs, written not only by folk singers, but also in some cases featuring lyrics contributed by the children, touch on familiar topics for Seeger, including political issues such as environmentalism and civil rights, as well as enough references to the Hudson River to make it a concept album about the waterway Seeger has devoted decades to trying to clean up. The children are not professional singers, of course, but their unison vocals remain in key and comprehensible for the most part, and they take turns singing lead on, for example, their own verses to "We Shall Not Be Moved," otherwise stepping back to allow Bob Killian to sing his composition "There'll Come a Day" or David Bernz to sing his "Solartopia," with Dar Williams taking a verse. Other singers who get lead vocals include Rick Nestler (on his song "The River That Flows Both Ways"), Travis Jeffrey (on "It's a Long Haul," which he and Seeger adapted from an old folk song), Dan Einbender (on his song "It Really Isn't Garbage"), and Sarah Underhill (on Bill Staines' "River"). Seeger, meanwhile, who demonstrated a remarkable vigor for his age at his 90th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden in 2009, here continues his late-in-life renaissance, following the same interests he's had throughout his life, and carefully transferring them to people young enough to be his great-grandchildren. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	07/27/2010
Label:	APPLESEED RECORDS
UPC:	0611587112323

Tracks

1. Quite Early Morning (With Spoken Introduction)
2. We Sing Out
3. There'll Come a Day
4. Solartopia
5. Down by the River
6. River
7. Mastinchele Wachipi Olewan [The Rabbit Song]
8. The River That Flows Both Ways
9. I See Freedom
10. Take It from Dr. King
11. De Colores
12. It Really Isn't Garbage
13. English Is Cuh-ray-zee
14. River Song (Back and Forth the Hudson Flows)
15. It's a Long Haul
16. We Shall Not Be Moved
17. Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)
18. Tomorrow's Children
19. Quite Early Morning

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Rivertown Kids   Primary Artist
Peter Seeger   Primary Artist
Pete Seeger   Primary Artist,Banjo,Vocals,Guitar (12 String)
Rick Nestler   Vocals,Guitar (12 String)
A.J. Lukan   Vocals
Allyson Hockler   Vocals
Bob Killian   Guitar,Vocals
Brian Dolman   Vocals
Claire Emmett   Vocals
Curt Jorgensen   Hand Drums
Diana Barriga   Vocals
Elyse Fox   Vocals
Gabe O'Reilly   Vocals
Gabriella Lucas   Vocals
Hope Horan   Hand Drums
Imani Washington   Vocals
Isaac Otero   Hand Drums
Jacob Bernz   Vocals
John Sgorbissa   Vocals
Joseph Borrello   Hand Drums
Julia Barnett   Vocals
Justin Warner   Hand Drums
Kendyll Gaster   Hand Drums
Kirsten Lutley   Vocals
Kyra Johnston   Hand Drums
Lilian Lewis   Vocals
Lucas Davison   Vocals
Mark Luchs   Vocals
Melissa Ortquist   Vocals
Michael Borrello   Hand Drums
Monique Boone   Hand Drums
Rebe Underhill   Vocals
Sahar Moshret   Hand Drums
Samantha Medina   Vocals
Sarah Armour   Vocals
Sarah Underhill   Vocals
Sofia Olmo   Hand Drums
Trevion Belton   Vocals
Tyrese Collins   Vocals
Yania Stafford   Hand Drums
David Amram   Percussion,Penny Whistle,Native American Flute
Gregoire Maret   Harmonica
Doug Weiss   Bass (Upright),Bass (Electric)
Peter Siegel   Mandolin
Jeff Haynes   Steel Pan,Percussion
Karen Brooks   Vocals
Franklin Thompson   Vocals
C. Lanzbom   Slide Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Danny Einbender   Vocals,Guitar (12 String)
Dar Williams   Vocals
Linda Richards   Vocals
Chris Richards   Vocals
Travis Jeffrey   Banjo,Vocals
Samantha Springer   Hand Drums
Steve Stanne   Dobro
David Bernz   Banjo,Vocals,Guitar (12 String)
Victorio Roland Mousaa   Vocals,Animal Sounds
Mark Murphy   Bass (Upright)
Declan Costello   Hand Drums
Sue Altkin   Vocals

Technical Credits

Walter Lowenfels   Composer
Rick Nestler   Composer
Rivertown Kids   Composer,Song Notes
Bob Killian   Composer
Daniel Keller   Photography
Dio Cramer   Illustrations
Harvey Wasserman   Composer
Heather Fox   Photography
Jean Valla-McAvoy   Composer
Tery Udell   Photography
The Lutley Family   Photography
Toshi Seeger   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Bill Staines   Composer
Pete Seeger   Composer,Song Notes
Jeff Haynes   Composer,Engineer,Producer
Alan Lomax   Composer
C. Lanzbom   Mixing,Composer
Danny Einbender   Composer,Producer,Song Notes
David Glasser   Mastering
Josh White, Jr.   Composer
Tom Paxton   Composer
Travis Jeffrey   Composer,Associate Producer
Alan Edwards   Packaging,Coordination
Jim Musselman   Executive Producer
David Bernz   Composer,Producer,Song Notes,Liner Notes,Photography
Richard Lederer   Composer
Sonya Cohen Cramer   Design