Sings Honk-Hiss-Tweet-GGGGGGG... And Other Children's Favorites

by Tom Glazer

Overview

The folk singer who popularized "On Top of Spaghetti," Tom Glazer had no lack of irreverent wit, which paid him well in his frequent recordings and performances for children. The reissue compilation Sings Honk-Hiss-Tweet-GGGGGG and Other Children's Favorites finds Smithsonian Folkways reissuing two of his live recordings -- Activity and Game Songs, Vol. 1 and Activity and Game Songs, Vol. 2, both from the early '70s -- in front of a young audience. Although the acoustics aren't great on the earliest performances (no one could have mistaken this auditorium for Carnegie Hall), Glazer's humor and storytelling are infectious. "On Top of Spaghetti" appears, of course, as do loads of age-old children's' favorites like "The Bus Song," "This Old Man," "Haul Away Joe," and "Skip to My Lou." What's more, these are no mere run-throughs -- Glazer teaches children the Scottish burr for "Three Crows," encourages them to scream out "Joe" whenever he approaches it on "Haul Away Joe," and in similar fashion to "On Top of Spaghetti," transforms the lyrics of "Big Rock Candy Mountain" from a hobo's version of heaven to a child's ("There you go to school in a swimming pool; And your fav'rite cowboys teach you/And you ride a horse, it's your own, of course; You're so tall that your Daddy can't reach you"). Although the audio quality is less than stellar for the digital age, the version of "On Top of Old Spaghetti" comes from a different source, and is practically pristine. ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	10/21/2008
Label:	Fol / Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
UPC:	0093074506820
Rank:	78633

Tracks

1. Come Down the Aisle
2. The Bus Song
3. Three Crows
4. The Big Rock Candy Mountain
5. Honk-Hiss-Tweet-GGGGGGGGGG
6. This Old Man
7. On Top of Spaghetti
8. A Robin Sat in a Cherry Tree
9. Haul Away Joe
10. I Know an Old Lady
11. Jimmy Crack Corn (The Blue-Tail Fly)
12. Jennie Jenkins
13. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
14. Little White Duck
15. Down by the Station
16. Skip to My Lou
17. The Fox
18. Put Your Finger in the Air
19. Hush Little Baby
20. Come On and Join into the Game
21. Little Bitty Baby (Go, I Will Send Thee)
22. Now, Now, Now
23. The Frog Went A-Courtin'
24. So Long

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tom Glazer   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Woody Guthrie   Composer
Tom Glazer   Composer
Alan Mills   Composer
Pete Kameron   Composer
Johnny Marks   Composer
Rose Bonne   Composer
Peter Glazer   Liner Notes
Walt Barrows   Composer
Bruce Belland   Composer
Glen A. Larson   Composer
Diana Wasserman Glazer   Liner Notes
Lou Singer   Composer
John Glazer   Liner Notes