TomSmithMusic.com

Hello friends,

I recently recorded a “family friendly” CD for my granddaughter and her parents. I’d like to share it with you.

Just in time for holiday gift giving!

CD Photo: Phil Knudsen (Thank you, Phil!)

Peace on Peabody Hill - CD Release
Click to purchase

What people have said about “Peace on Peabody Hill”

Thanks so much for the CD! It is Gemma’s (2yr old) fast favorite… The Garden Song particularly resonates with her, I think. She asks for it over and over! Lovely recording, too, Tom — really nice to just have it around on the player. Your conversational tone is perfect — it really feels like you’re sitting right there on the other side of the boombox, talking and singing with us. ~ Jud Caswell

Tom Smith’s music awakens a nostalgic feeling that transports you to the time and place of the best hug you’ve ever had. It guarantees an instant, peaceful smile of wonder on my 4-year-old son’s face…You can’t help but sway back and forth with a grin and sing along. You can tell the world that I love your CD. ~ Kim Jennings

From the initial “Well, hello there!” on ‘I’d've Baked a Cake’, through the starkly beautiful ‘Prayer for Peace’, this CD is an absolute keeper. Tom’s voice and musical style are at once genuine, gentle, and nostalgic. He may have created this recording with a little one in mind, but it has taken up residence in my car stereo…I’d planned to give it to my nephew but will have to get him another copy. It’s a great opportunity to enjoy and share wonderful family-friendly music while supporting Tunefoolery, an amazing organization! ~ Perry Desmond-Davies

Last week I entered the “kitchen studio” and recorded five new tracks. I combined them with four I have previously published on TomSmithMusic.com to create an informal CD for my granddaughter Anna for Christmas. I am giving it away, in return for a donation to Tunefoolery, a non-profit I have been supporting for years. It is available at my shows and my online store. Please help me reach my goal of $1000 to send five Tunefoolery members to music camp!

My granddaughter Anna (pictured here in the kitchen studio) is fifteen months old. I wanted a CD she and her parents could use while they spend time together in the playroom, or during bath or dinner time, or while getting ready for bed. It is not a “party mix” – more like a collection of peaceful songs for relaxed family times.

You can make a donation and download the CD (or request that I mail it) via my Online Store. Of course, you can also get the CD at my live shows.

About the Songs

There are nine songs, five of which are Tom Smith originals. To my guitar accompaniment I added banjo, mandolin, ukulele, harmonica and jaw harp. For the lyrics, please click on each song title (Acrobat Reader required).

1. I’d ‘ve Baked a Cake - © 1950 Al Hoffman Songs Inc.

I learned this from my Aunt Carey when I was five years old. I added a few new words. Sometimes I open my family shows with this song.

2. I’ll Sing it Myself - © 2008 Tom Smith

This pretty much sums up my philosophy of singing in public. I wrote it to open the Children’s Music Network northeast regional gathering.

3. The Cricket - © 2008 Tom Smith

One June day I heard a cricket near my fireplace hearth. I looked for it for over an hour. I wanted to observe how it made such beautiful music. I never found it, but this song was the happy result. I am told that the Irish call crickets, “pipers of the hearth”. It is good luck to hear a cricket in your house. It worked for me.

4. Guabi Guabi - South African folk song

I am told this is sung in an odd mix of Zulu and French. I haven’t a clue what it means, but I always feel good when I sing it.

5. The Garden Song - © 1990 Cherry Lane Music, David Mallett

This wonderful David Mallett song has been recorded by many folks and traveled the world over. I first recorded it in 1980 for Gentle Wind.

6. B A Bay - Unknown

My brothers and I learned this song when we were kids, from a short comedy film by The Three Stooges.

7. Peabody Hill - © 2008 Tom Smith

I wrote “Peabody Hill” last summer in our isolated cabin in New Hampshire. Peabody Hill is a special place I try to carry with me wherever I go.

8. To Put Anna to Sleep - © 2008 Tom Smith

I was in charge of Anna while her parents went out for a rare dinner in peace and quiet. Anna usually goes to sleep rather easily, but of course this particular evening was an exception. The core of this song came to me while singing her to sleep. It was finished via several more Anna bed time sessions.

9. A Prayer for Peace - Live - © 2007 Tom Smith

This was recorded live at the Emerson Umbrella Center for the Arts, in Concord, MA during a wonderful open mike hosted by Ellen Schmidt and Jake Kensinger. You can hear Ellen at the end of this recording. Howard Cannon was the sound man. I’d like to take the Emerson Umbrella audience with me wherever I sing. What a joy to sing with them!

About Tunefoolery

“Tunefoolery Concert Ensembles from Cambridge, Massachusetts is a unique and courageous group of over 50 musicians with psychiatric disabilities who play and perform music as a way towards healing and recovery. We perform in ensembles and solo acts (folk, classical, blues, rock, showtunes, etc.) mostly for other consumers of mental health services and social agency clients, but also for the general public, bringing hope and inspiration to thousands of other consumers every year. We also visit schools and other institutions where we educate children and adults about the talents and vast capabilities of people with psychiatric disabilities.” - Tunefoolery.org