We have always loved the versatility of Dan Zanes’ music and the multicultural sound of so many of his songs, whether they’re in his collaborations with the children of South Africa’s Agape Orphanage in singing Zulu folk songs, or in a duet with newcomer Shine (of Shine and the Moonbeams) to belt out a little soul in Wake Up Baby!
So while he has the mic this weekend on his Sirius XM radio show, he’s going to use it to expose our kids–and many of us adults–to a wide range of music created and sung by black musicians and singers. It’s such a great opportunity for all of us to share this music with our children, and open up a dialogue about civil rights history issues we still see in our country every day.
Ranging from slow, sweet gospel, to Memphis soul, to hip hop, the songs
Dan Zanes has selected for his one-hour radio show paint a tapestry as
varied and unique as black history. You’ll hear scratchy old
recordings and shinier new ones, as well as a few favorites featuring
Dan Zanes himself like Choo Choo Ch’Boogie and Jamaica Farewell.
While the tunes are not overtly political in nature, parents of older kids can take songs like Woke Up This Morning With My Mind On Freedom and use them to start a dialogue. As Dan Zanes said to me in our recent phone conversation about this radio show, “it’s about another way of thinking of the civil rights movement and what we are doing when we see things going on today.”
What
it comes right down to, he said, is putting together a show that young
and old people can “listen to together, to dance and play.” And if a few songs can open our children’s minds up a wee bit more to everyone around them, won’t that be a great thing? –Christina
it comes right down to, he said, is putting together a show that young
and old people can “listen to together, to dance and play.” And if a few songs can open our children’s minds up a wee bit more to everyone around them, won’t that be a great thing? –Christina
Catch Dan Zanes’ one-hour Rocketship Beach radio program on Sirius XM’s Kids Place Live
channel. The show will air today at 9:00 am & 5:00 pm ET and Sunday
2/19 at 12:00 pm ET. You can register for a free no-commitment
seven-day trial if you’d like to hear the program but aren’t a
subscriber.
channel. The show will air today at 9:00 am & 5:00 pm ET and Sunday
2/19 at 12:00 pm ET. You can register for a free no-commitment
seven-day trial if you’d like to hear the program but aren’t a
subscriber.
That’s a great way to introduce kids to some original music. Dan Zanes rocks. Good job Christina!