Cass McCombs has announced a new album with San Francisco pre-school teacher Mr. Greg (aka Greg Gardner), titled Mr. Greg & Cass McCombs Sing and Play New Folk Songs for Children. The album is due August 18 via Smithsonian Folkways (pre-order), celebrating Folkways’ 75th anniversary. Cass and Greg are childhood friends who began writings songs together decades ago, and the album compiled songs Greg wrote for his students as arranged by Cass. “A lot of what’s called children’s music is just folk music,” Cass says. “So I don’t see a big difference between children’s music and adult music. To me, it’s the same.” Check out the artwork and tracklist for Mr. Greg & Cass McCombs Sing and Play New Folk Songs for Children below.
The first single from the upcoming LP is “Wave a Flag for Harvey Milk,” opening with an a cappella chorus by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus before narrating Harvey Milk’s influence over warm acoustic guitar. “A few years ago I created ‘Wave a Flag for Harvey Milk’ as a sing-along coloring book that I wrote and illustrated as a way to introduce my students to some of the positive things that Harvey Milk did for San Franciscans in particular and the LGBTQ+ community at large,” Greg explains. “Cass and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus then added their musical magic to the song. This year, my students were overjoyed to see the illustrations from the coloring book come to life in a rainbow of colors by the talented animator Cameron Burr. I hope that this video inspires children and their grown-ups to follow Harvey’s lead to make positive changes in the world.” Listen below.
Mr. Greg & Cass McCombs Sing and Play New Folk Songs for Children Tracklist
1. Little Wilma Wiggly Worm
2. Friends from All Around the World (Hello Version)
3. J-O-B
4. Requiem for Ruth Bader Ginsburg
5. A Builder’s Got a Hammer and Nails
6. Each One of Us
7. What’s Your Favorite Kind?
8. I’m a Nocturnal Animal
9. Paper Airplane
10. My Skull is Made Outta Bone
11. Wave a Flag for Harvey Milk
12. Things That Go in the Recycling Bin
13. Roll Around Downtown
14. Deciduous Tree
15. We Build a Lot of Muscle as We Exercise
16. The Sounds that the Letters Make
17. Who Are You?
18. Together with You
19. Oona Louise, My Friend
20. Friends from All Around the World (Goodbye Version)