I shared this on Facebook this morning adding lots of links to Pages for some of the people mentioned , and leaving a question hanging about how much of the program "Let's Sing Out!" was broadcast back in the day...
I love it when serendipity brings this particular episode of Oscar Brand 's singalong folk music program from 1966 Canada to the top of my YouTube feed. It includes Maria D'Amato and Geoff Muldaur in great Jim Kweskin Jug Band numbers... the "folk revival" romance that changed her name to Maria Muldaur before her solo career started.
Also fascinating to hear host Oscar Brand and his Canadian studio audience sing an abolitionist American Civil War song that probably has never been sung with those verses on American television... and there's more beautiful singing by Len Chandler and Bonnie Dobson, shown in the still frame that Facebook should be placing with this text has a link to the video.
I'm pretty sure that by my freshman or sophomore year in college I had records by all of these performers, but never got to see *any* of them in person or on American TV. :-(
(I caught up with a few of them at folk festivals or concerts eventually -- worth the wait, even 10 to 40 years later.)
For a bonus, hold on to the end of the recording to hear Len Chandler's tribute to topical songwriting, "If telling where it's at is out, I don't want to be in," written (with a beat) when commercial folk rock was distracting the audience from the Vietnam War and Civil Rights protests. Reminds me of what Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, Tom Paxton and more are doing to bring back topical songwriting today. Maybe they could even update Len's song?!
Footnote: Jeannie Brand-Derienzo, I just noticed that YouTube labels that as episode 93 of Let's Sing Out!
How often and for how long did that program run!?
It should have its own cable channel today, if only the tapes had all been preserved as well as this one. But just having a few clips out there where folks can see it now is such a joy! Come to think of it did the ABC Hootenanny format of college campus concerts inspire your dad's format for Let's Sing Out? If so, it's probably the most positive contribution that ABC show made, other than putting the Chad Mitchell Trio, Josh White and Judy Collins -- and a positive image of college life -- onto my home TV screen. ❤️
I think there is a way to embed an actual YouTube video into a Blogger page, but apparently not from this Android app. Just in case something as silly as leaving a link to YouTube sitting at the end of the page we'll do the job, here it is.. the same length that I have on the show title at the top of the page.
https://youtu.be/XcUAD3qSQd4?si=pi5GqnVfHGF9kMfF
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