Putumayo Kids: American Playground {GIVEAWAY}

School wide assemblies.  Camping trips and roasting marshmallows around the fire.  Bus trips to humiliate myself at Field Day.

All of these have one thing in common for me.  Singing.

Me and my fellow 3rd graders warbling those traditional American folk songs that we grew up with.  The ones that were fun to sing in a round.  Or burn your eyes in the smoke from the fire pit to.  Songs like “This Land is Your Land” and “Oh Susannah”

Classics.

I started to hum a little bit of “This Little Light of Mine” to my daughter not too long ago, and was saddened when she didn’t know what she was hearing.  Had I not done my job well enough in instilling these tried and true songs in her?

Thankfully, Putumayo Kids has released a new CD, titled American Playground, that has taken care of that brilliantly for me.

Steeped in classic American sing-along songs, some with beautiful tweeks and renditions, the folks at Putumayo have gathered a gloriously diversified group of artists, from country-Western to some of the most popular artists in family music, such as Elizabeth Mitchell and Randy Kaplan.

But before I even start to gloat over the recordings on this album, let me tip my hat to the stunning artwork designed by Nicola Heindl and Katrina Gregorius.  Opening the vibrant, colorful CD is like opening a box of fireworks.  The detailed liner notes provide historical context for each song, as well as biographies of each artist.

Back to the music.

Perhaps my favorite song on Putumayo Kids’ American Playground is “Blue Skies” by Aaron Watson featuring Elizabeth McQueen.  The gorgeous harmony and fun rockabilly beat is a great introduction for young ears to this lovely classic.  I hear this and want to get up to perform a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers pas de deux with a

Guy Davis offers up “We All Need More Kindness in This World.” It sounds like it should be a classic, but it’s actually been written recently.  Amazing how its simple message of peace and harmony ring true throughout the years.

If you’re a listener, you’ve no doubt heard Dan Zanes sing “Saro Jane” with Barbara Brousal lately on their airwaves.  Its toe-tapping tempo may just make you want to slap your knee and take up washboard and musical jug lessons.  Though, I think Dan Zanes could sing the phone book and I’d be enamored.

Randy Kaplan’s rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” is a bit surprising, coming from this smartly comical musician who usually sings with a bit of bite in his voice.   But Kaplan shows us his soft side in a beautiful tribute to the endearing Dylan song meant as a blessing for his new baby.

“You Are My Sunshine” was a song that kept coming to mind to sing to my premature son when he was in the NICU, though usually it would bring me to tears.  This version by Buck Howdy doesn’t make me cry, but it does make me smile.  With that Southern twang in his voice, I would love to sit and make smores to this one.

Elizabeth Mitchell has one of the most luscious voices in children’s music, and her rendition of “Keep on the Sunny Side” capitalizes on her sweetly rich vocals.

Johnny Bregar’s lively “She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain”, Victor Johnson’s charming “This Little Light of Mine”, Diane Taraz’s  sweetly sung “Oh Susannah”  and the communal “This Land is Your Land” by Phil Rosenthal round out this “must-have” album.

Just in time for the summer and those camping trips/long car rides/July 4th smores, I’m giving away a copy of this wonderful CD! All you have to do to enter is fill out the Rafflecopter widget below by Friday, June 28 at 11:59pm EST. Open to contiguous U.S. residents only.


I was provided a copy of this product for review purposes. All opinions are 100% completely my own.