* PLEASE REVIEW MY MUSIC: Want to share your opinion of my music
with the world? Please review my CDs at
CDBaby
and
Amazon.com. It only takes three minutes.
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season,
Jonathan Sprout
October 2007
* HISTORY COMES ALIVE! CLARA BARTON’S FAVORITE STUDENT’S
GREAT GREAT GRANDSON CHECKS IN:
I wrote a song about Clara Barton
Angel of Mercy
for my American
Heroes CD. In my research, I found a heart warming story that
revealed Miss Barton’s teaching expertise.
Hart Bodine was a big bully. He evidently towered over the five
foot tall young Miss Barton, and he was to be one of her students.
As I understand it, on the first day of school when Hart began to
act up, Miss Barton asked him to go outside alone with her and
gather together the whips that had been used by previous teachers
to discipline the children. She then told him to break the whips
into tiny pieces, took him tenderly by the hand and assured him
she would never need those whips, for Hart was one of her big boys
and she could depend on him to help her keep order in the school.
Hart responded by breaking down in a flood of tears.
Hart’s mother later wrote: “From that time on Hart was a model of
obedience in the schoolroom.” In her unpublished autobiography,
Barton wrote that “His pledge was kept. Oh how long and well it
was kept. In school he was ever at my hand, to do the smallest
bidding, never leaving the (school) house until I left at night,
and the first to greet me in the morning.”
Years later, when Barton was one of the North’s most famous
nurses, she heard that Hart was fighting in the Civil War,
stationed in Virginia. She brought him and his mates some jams,
jellies and clothing. Hart eventually had a daughter. She was
named Clara Barton Bodine.
Now zoom to the year 2007.
Last March I was contacted by none other than Clara Barton Bodine’s Great Grandson, John Hart Reese. Mr. Reese has Hart’s
military papers and his officer’s Cavalry Sword. He writes, “He
was involved in some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. I
think he was shot twice and lived! We still have his crutch he
made when he was wounded. He was a carpenter by trade and I have
his tools and toolbox.”
You can find my song
Angel of Mercy on my
American Heroes
CD.
* WHERE’S JONATHAN ON THE WEB?
There are more and more places on the Web where you can find my
music.
CDBaby is one of my favorite sites. You can find downloads of
my music at iTunes and dozens of other download sites. Teachers,
there’s a great site where you can now find my music –
Songs for Teaching, where you can buy my physical CDs as well
as downloads of my CDs (with lyrics).
* Do you know of any website, Internet Radio Sites,
Podcasts, Internet Magazines, etc. you think I should contact
about my music? Kids Internet radio stations? Heroes sites? If
so, please let me know.
* WHAT FAMOUS RECORDING ARTIST DO I SOUND LIKE?
CDBaby is helping to categorize my music at their site so that
people who might like my sound can find me more easily. They want
to know what famous recording artist do people say you sound
like? I’m a bit clueless. Please email me with your answer. (This could be enlightening!)
* PLEASE REVIEW MY MUSIC: Want to share your opinion of my music
with the world? Please review my CDs at
CDBaby
and
Amazon.com. It only takes three minutes.
All the best,
Jonathan Sprout
July 2007
* TRAVELING NEWS: I recently drove to Indianapolis to
perform a concert which afforded me two hero side trips: The Neil
Armstrong Air & Space Museum and Johnny Appleseed Park.
The
Museum is in Armstrong’s hometown of Wapakoneta, OH. It’s well
worth the trip if you find yourself in northern or western Ohio.
The people there confirmed some fascinating things I had read
about Mr. Armstrong. He did, indeed, create the phrase “That’s one
small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind” as he was
descending the ladder of the lunar excursion model about to step
onto the moon. The Apollo 8 astronauts were the first to witness
an earthrise (from their spacecraft), yet Armstrong and fellow
astronaut Buzz Aldrin were the first to witness an earthrise while
standing on the moon. The song about Neil Armstrong, First Man On
The Moon, is on my More American Heroes
CD.
The Johnny Appleseed gravesite is in a quiet little park on a
grassy knoll next to a huge sports stadium in the middle of the
city of Ft. Wayne, IN. A few yards from the iron-fenced burial
plot is a small one room log cabin surrounded by apple trees. As
the only person present on a beautiful spring day, I had the
strange sensation that no one else was aware of this tranquil
oasis. Go if you’re ever near Ft. Wayne. At mapquest, search for
Johnny Appleseed Park to find it. Johnny Appleseed is on
More American Heroes.
* THE THIRD AMERICAN HEROES CD: It was nearly two years
ago when I began work on my American Heroes #3 CD. In the first
year I was consumed with research which included reading nearly
sixty five books about my eleven new heroes. This past year I’ve
been focused on songwriting, re-writing ... and, yes,
re-re-writing & arranging the musical parts.
I find writing songs about exceptional people very demanding.
Writing a great song is challenging, but the complexities multiply
when the need for historical accuracy becomes part of the lyrical
mix. Thus, the many re-writes. At this point, I could fill a third
of an album with songs about Pocahontas. In the end, though, just
one Pocahontas song will make it on the album. The other versions,
as they say, will be history.
In the coming six months I expect to get into a studio and do
most of the final recording. I promised myself early on that the
only way I’d make this album is if it becomes the best album I’ve
ever made. I intend to keep that promise. Stay tuned!
* PLEASE REVIEW MY MUSIC: Want to share your opinion of my music
with the world? Please review my CDs at
cdbaby.com. It only takes three minutes.
Happy Summer!
Jonathan Sprout
June 2007
Dear Friend,
* JONATHAN GOES WEST: I flew to Los Angeles in April to
participate in the ASCAP Songwriter’s Expo and to write songs for
my new heroes album with professional songwriter Dave Kinnoin.
(Dave and I co-wrote nearly half of the songs on my first two
heroes CDs.) Dave will be flying east this summer to write more
heroes songs with me. (I hope to complete the album within the
year.) Dave is an amazing songwriter with CDs of his own. You can
find him at www.songwizard.com.
* A NEW OLD CD: About a year and a half ago, my first
children’s album was remastered in Los Angeles. We updated the
artwork and On The Radio was re-released as a CD. Co-producer
Leslie Chew and I originally recorded it in the summer of 1985. We
worked on the cutting edge of technology, experimenting with
recording studio computers (known as sequencers). To my knowledge,
ours was only the second rock album ever made for children. (The
first was Rock of Ages by Steve Zaldin.) In an era when virtually
all children’s music was classified as folk, our intent was to
produce music that sounded like what children were enjoying on pop
and rock FM radio stations. Twenty-two years old and still fresh,
listen to On The Radio at
http://jonsprout.com/CDotr.html.
* LIVE CONCERTS: I’ll be performing “public” shows in
beautiful Erwinna, PA in Bucks County on the banks of the Delaware
River at the Covered Bridges Festival:
http://buckscountycoveredbridgesfestival.org/index.htm. The
festival includes a full line-up of entertainment, crafts, tours
of some covered bridges and great food. Proceeds from this
festival will help preserve the covered bridges in PA. I’ll be
performing:
* Saturday, June 9 at 12:30 PM, Main Stage – The Dr.
Music Confidence Concert
* Sunday, June 10 at 12:30 PM, Main Stage – American
Heroes Three Concert
* FOR TEACHERS: Last February, I presented a teacher
workshop at the National Core Knowledge Conference in Washington,
DC. With the help of many dedicated teachers, I have created a
list of fifteen practical ideas for teaching heroes songs in your
school. You can find the list at
www.jonsprout.com/teachers.html .
* PLEASE REVIEW ME: Want to share your opinion of my music
with the world? Please review my CDs at
cdbaby.com. It only takes a minute.
I appreciate your interest in my music!
Thanks,
Jonathan Sprout
May 2007
Dear Friend,
* A HEARTFELT STORY: Last January I received an email
from a 17 year old who remembers listening to my music in her
third grade class. I wrote back, thanking her, asking if she
wouldn’t mind telling me where she went to school. She told me she
attended Roslund Elementary School in Tunkhannock, PA (near
Scranton). A couple of months later when I was there again
performing at Roslund, Kirby Thomas was there in the audience
(with her friend Kate Gibbons). We met after the show while
teachers took pictures of us together. Kirby and Kate paid me the
highest tribute when they told me they play my music – in the cars
they drive.
* LIVE CONCERTS: I’ll be performing “public” shows in
beautiful Erwinna, PA in Bucks County on the banks of the Delaware
River at the Covered Bridges Festival:
http://buckscountycoveredbridgesfestival.org/index.htm. The
festival includes a full line-up of entertainment, crafts, tours
of some covered bridges and great food. Proceeds from this
festival will help preserve the covered bridges in PA. I’ll be
performing:
* Saturday, June 9 at 12:30 PM, Main Stage – The Dr.
Music Confidence Concert
* Sunday, June 10 at 12:30 PM, Main Stage – American
Heroes Three Concert
* FOR TEACHERS: Last February, I presented a teacher
workshop at the National Core Knowledge Conference in Washington,
DC. With the help of many dedicated teachers, I have created a
list of fifteen practical ideas for teaching heroes songs in your
school. You can find the list at
www.jonsprout.com/teachers.html .
* REVIEW ME?!: Want to share your opinion of my music
with the world? Please review my CDs at
cdbaby.com. It only takes a minute.
* AMELIA EARHART DISAPPEARANCE: There is recent and
fascinating news about the possible discovery of evidence related
to the July 1937 disappearance of Amelia Earhart. In case you
missed my April Newsletter, here’s the link again:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20070401_New__tantalizing_Earhart_clues.html
In future mailings, I'll talk about my updated website, the
upcoming release of my third American Heroes CD, and my first book
– a songbook.
I appreciate your interest in my music!
Thanks,
Jonathan Sprout
April 2007
Dear Friend,
We have updated information about the disappearance of one of
my heroes -- Amelia Earhart. There's a great article written
by Richard Pyle of the Associated Press that appeared in The
Philadelphia Inquirer a couple of days ago.
Ms. Earhart was a hero before her final flight, but her
disappearance remains one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th
Century. Evidently, the mystery may be solved this summer!
On July 2, 1937 it appears Ms. Earhart's plane may have landed
on Gardner Island (now called Nikumaroro), 350 miles south of the
island on which her plane was supposed to land in the South
Pacific Ocean.
Here's the link to the article, including fascinating photos:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20070401_New__tantalizing_Earhart_clues.html
We have the lyrics to "Amelia" (from my American Heroes CD) at:
http://jonsprout.com/CDah_lyrics.html#AMELIA
In future mailings, I'll talk about my updated website, the
re-releasing of my On The Radio album on CD and the upcoming
release of my third American Heroes CD.
I appreciate your interest in my music!
Thanks,
Jonathan Sprout
Winter 2007
Dear friend,
I am at work on a new album -- American Heroes Volume 3!For the
past eighteen months I have immersed myself in the research of
eleven more great Americans. My research has included some 70
books and videos.
The homework is nearly completed and the first phase of
songwriting, instrument arranging and home recording is about
three quarters completed. Soon I’ll be re-working the songs in a
professional studio with professional musicians and studio people.
I am not a fast composer and recording artist. I work best when
I have the freedom to re-write and re-work songs in the studio.
The first two heroes CDs took two to three years each to make. We
are hoping to have this one available by the spring of 2008.
We’ve enlisted the same illustrator, Randy Hamblin, to do our
artwork. A team of studio personnel and musicians is being formed
as I write this. Can a middle-aged man sanely declare he’s making
his best CD – ever? You bet! I think you’ll be very pleased with
my latest songs.
More details will follow, including names of my “new” heroes.
I always welcome your comments. Please keep in touch.
Take care,
Jonathan Sprout
Summer 2006Dear friend,
These are great times in the history of our planet. Never
before have we had so much at our fingertips with so many
opportunities to help each other, to bring health and happiness to
each other and to communicate so easily with each other.
Over the past few decades people have made amazing advances in
medicine. More of us are now living longer healthier lives.
Because of computers and the Internet, telephones, television and
high speed travel, we are building bridges with and befriending
other cultures and countries with whom we were once at war. With
the relatively recent introduction of these World Improvement
Tools, true heroes are blossoming everywhere.
Never before have the opportunities to do great good been so
readily available to so many people. The July 10, 2006 issue of
Newsweek Magazine tells the stories of many modern day heroes.
Former president Jimmy Carter works tirelessly to improve living
conditions around the world. Actor Paul Newman has given millions
of dollars to charities with the profits from his salad dressings.
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey uses her celebrity to improve the
lives of millions of women in Africa and to help tsunami and
hurricane victims. Super cyclist Lance Armstrong is fighting
cancer around the world. Golfer Tiger Woods gave a $25 million
youth education facility to help teach some of the lessons he has
learned about hard work.
And get this: Microsoft founder Bill Gates has given nearly $30
billion (yes, that's BILLION) in lifetime gifts to improve health
and education around the world. Investor Warren Buffet is in the
process of giving $30 billion (yes, that too is BILLION) to help
Bill Gates make the world an even better place.
I encourage you to think and learn about these heroes who are
focusing their energies in creative ways to make, yes ... a better
world.
With all good wishes and gratitude for your support,
Jonathan Sprout
Winter 2006
Here's an article that appeared in the Philadelphia
Inquirer on January 15, 2006 written by Gene D'Alessandro. It's
very well written and researched!
Teaching about real heroes
Singer Jonathan Sprout avoids talking down to
children in his shows on history and self-esteem.
By Gene D'Alessandro
Inquirer Staff Writer
Jonathan Sprout is nowhere near as famous as Trout Fishing
in America.He hasn't sold as many recordings as Raffi, or
made as many TV appearances as the Wiggles.
Still, the affable singer-songwriter from Morrisville is
one of the most popular children's entertainers in the
region.
And with more than 250 annual engagements on his
calendar, Sprout might be one of the hardest-working
children's acts.
"Everybody gets excited when Jonathan Sprout is coming to
school," said Matthew Hassick, a fourth grader at George D.
Steckel Elementary in Whitehall, Lehigh County.
"We talk about it the whole week," added Matthew, 9, who
has taken in two Sprout concerts and is awaiting his third
in May. (Steckel holds the record for Sprout shows, 17.)
Celebrated for his upbeat performance style, Sprout
prides himself on the educational bent of his programs. He
performs shows about American heroes and self-esteem issues
("Dr. Music Confidence Concerts") and conducts songwriter
workshops for youngsters.
Mainly through word of mouth, Sprout has forged a
successful career. He plays his songs and holds assemblies
all over the country, mainly in elementary schools and
theaters in the Mid-Atlantic region.
At a recent morning performance in the Lehigh Valley,
Sprout made his Hillside School debut. He performed his
"American Heroes" concert for about 120 students. The
attentive youngsters - kindergartners through sixth graders
- sat on the floor of the multipurpose "cafetorium."
First-year teacher Lynda Hassick had seen Sprout perform
at her son Matthew's school two years ago. She was so taken
with the act that she recommended Sprout come to Hillside, a
private school for children with learning disabilities.
"I'll have a little fun adapting my show to this
audience," Sprout said before the concert. "I learned to be
flexible with all kinds of audiences, so it won't be a
problem."
The Hillside students were a bit subdued, but they warmed
up when Sprout broke into the zany "Washington's Hat." The
room erupted in screams and guffaws when Sprout donned an
outrageously oversize, tricorne hat with fluffy plume and
modern sunglasses. Holding a wireless microphone, he invited
the students to dance with him.
Clothed in a custom-made polo shirt designed like an
American flag - half blue with stars, half with red and
white stripes - Sprout used silly props such as a giant
dollar bill and a super-size copper penny to punctuate his
speech.
"I know [the youngsters] are not getting everything, but
it's better to shoot high than cater to the younger kids and
lose the older kids," Sprout said. "It's better to be more
academic than babyish."
Sprout, 53, grew up in Hightstown, N.J., in a family of
educators. He began singing professionally as a
singer-songwriter after he graduated from Bucknell
University in 1974. He performed his first children's show
in 1981 - for his mother's grade school class.
Since he first started performing professionally in 1972,
Sprout has recorded eight albums and won numerous awards,
including the Film Advisory Board's Award of Excellence. To
date, he has performed more than 4,300 children's concerts.
"[Sprout] helps the children take a different look at the
social studies curriculum; social studies can be so boring
reading out of a book," Hassick said. "He makes the people
seem so real. The kids can relate to it, and I think it's
really awesome."
To Sprout, performing for children is much more rewarding
than playing in nightclubs.
"I was always a fish out of water in the clubs and bars.
Doing the kid shows, you have to be politically correct and
squeaky clean. And I've become that person," he said.
For his "American Heroes" assembly, Sprout paid tribute
to Amelia Earhart, Sacagawea and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. He combined songs with discussions aimed at helping
children understand that real heroes can be people other
than sports stars and celebrities.
"They say that when you love what you do, it shows, and
he absolutely loves it," Hassick said. "He's more of an
educator, and I like that angle to it."
Autumn 2005
Dear Friends,
My record company is going carbon neutral!
Every time a CD is made, plastic and energy are required. If
you add up all the CDs being made, you're talking about a lot of
plastic and energy to create and ship that plastic. And that's not
good for our precious environment. It's that way with just about
everything we do and buy. Every car trip to the store, every toy
you buy, even most all the food we buy takes gasoline or oil to
create or grow. This contributes to what we call Global Warming --
the increase of carbon in our atmosphere -- and adds to the
gradual harmful warming of our climate.
There's a way to counteract global warming, and it has to do
with planting trees. Since trees absorb, or soak up, carbon, you
can plant a tree to make up for some of the carbon or energy
you're responsible for putting into the air. And that's one of the
things that the good people at
CarbonNeutral are
doing. They've also figured out exactly how much carbon or energy
it takes to manufacture a CD. I'm now paying CarbonNeutral to
plant enough trees that will soak up the carbon used to make all
the CDs I'm having made. It's the responsible thing to do. If
everybody did it, imagine how much better our beautiful planet
would be!
There's a great website,
CDBaby.com where you can easily buy my CDs for $11.99/CD and
have fun doing it! Try it!
Wishing you all the best, with gratitude for your support of
music,
Jonathan Sprout
Spring 2005
Dear Friends,
Webmaster Chris Muller and I are in the process of making some
exciting additions to www.jonsprout.com including:
- Song lyrics for all songs on my More American Heroes,
American Heroes, Dr. Music, Kid Power, and Lullabies for a New
Age recordings on the CDs Page.
- A concert itinerary on the CONCERTS
Page.
- Biographies, personal notes and links about each of the
heroes on my two heroes CDs.
As always, I welcome your feedback and suggestions.
With all good wishes and with gratitude for your support,
Jonathan Sprout
Winter 2004
Dear Friends,
I was recently given a book by Steven Selzer
titled By George! Mr. Washington's Guide to Civility Today.
When Selzer was researching the subject of civility, he found that
George Washington had written 110 rules of decent behavior at the
age of 14. This book presents those rules with Selzer's engaging
commentary. It's a wonderful character education tool that has
given me a greater appreciation for one of my heroes. The book has
also given me hope.
Perhaps you too have been upset by the rudeness and
thoughtlessness that others sometimes freely display in public. It
seems that in becoming a more accepting society, we have become
too tolerant of sports fans who yell obscenities … of
inconsiderate motorists whose antics are a threat to our personal
safety and peace of mind … of politicians who cut down their
competitors with negative advertising and angry accusations.
Rule #22: Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another,
though he were your enemy.
Rule #40: Strive not with your superiors in argument, but
always submit your judgment to others with modesty.
Rule #65: Speak not injurious words, neither in jest nor in
earnest; scoff at none although they give occasion.
Rule #110: Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark
of celestial fire called conscience.
In a letter George Washington to sent to a Joseph Reed on
January 14, 1776, he wrote: "For as I have but one capital
object in view, I could wish to make my conduct coincide with the
wishes of Mankind as far as I can consistently."
Many of you are on the front lines of the ongoing struggle for
civility and decency. In and around schools, I've observed
countless educators and parents lovingly and persistently teaching
their children to see the merits of courtesy and politeness.
Mr. Washington made a life of helping to make the world a
better place. In our own unique ways, many of us are doing the
same.
With best wishes and much gratitude for your support,
Jonathan Sprout
Summer 2003
Dear Friends,
In these challenging times, it serves us to be
reminded of people who have made (and are making) our world a
better place. Our children need to hear messages of hope and
optimism. In the words of Tielhard de Chardin, "the future lies in
the hands of those who give our young people reasons to live and
hope."
Heroes have a greater impact on us when we
remember not only their accomplishments, but also their
challenges, obstacles, disabilities and fears. This humanizes our
heroes and gives us hope that we, too, can become like them.
-
Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner
Truth and, to some extent, Sacajawea were slaves who managed
to make great contributions in spite of their oppressive
circumstances.
The list goes on. So many of our heroes are people
who overcame personal obstacles and made positive experiences out
of what the rest of us might think of as impossible odds.
Time and again, I hear "never give up" whispered through
my heroes' stories. There are gifts that accompany each
disability. There are lessons to be learned from each crisis.
There is character to be developed. There are well springs of
wisdom to be tapped into and shared. There are heroes to be made.
With all best wishes, and much gratitude for your support,
Jonathan Sprout
Autumn 2002
Dear All,
I've had the great pleasure of traveling outside
of my United States six times during the past three years. Most
recently, I participated in a week long group hike through the
mountains and valleys of "the scented island," beautiful
Corsica, in the Mediterranean. I was the only American in a group
of 12 English, Scottish, Swiss and Australian comrades. We all got
along splendidly, and were treated with kindness and respect by
our numerous Corsican hosts.
In spite of my September 11 traumas and fears, I
hold fast to the belief that 99% of our fellow earthlings are
decent, kind and honest people. My trips to other countries have
fully justified this belief. Everywhere I've gone people have gone
out of their way to display courtesy and kindness to me.
Everywhere I've traveled, I've met people just like neighbors who
are proud of their homes, their villages and their country.
I love my country and am proud of who we are, and
yet I am sometimes embarrassed that people from other countries
seem to know so much more about us than we know about them. I wish
we Americans were better at speaking other languages. I wish we
took more pleasure in appreciating and teaching our children the
histories and cultures of other countries. I wish we were a little
broader in our scope of thinking beyond our borders.
It's a big, and for the most part, friendly world
out there, despite what they say on the evening news. Ours is a
beautiful planet. Our children deserve to know this.
Thank you for your continued support of my music.
Jonathan Sprout
Summer 2002
Hi All,
I performed 165 concerts in the first 165 days of 2002. On Flag
Day (June 14), I finished up my school performances and began
relaxing into a little peace and quiet. It was back in April, I
think, when I performed my 3,500th children's concert. Life is
good. Dreams really do come true. If you'd known me when I was a
kid, you never would have thought I'd turn out to be a performer
and a recording artist.
In the summer of 1976, I performed at clubs and restaurants in
Lake Placid, NY. After one of my shows, a very wise elderly man
came up to me and offered this wisdom. He said the secret to
making great music is in writing crescendos and decrescendos, in
weaving your melodies and rhythms in and out of intensity, in
varying your instrumentation from a full orchestra to sometimes
near silence. I never learned this man's name, and still sometimes
wonder who he was. One of my favorite quotations is credited to
the Senator from Maine, Edmund Muskie, who said: "Never say
anything that doesn't improve on silence." I try never to
PLAY anything that doesn't improve on silence.
Someday I may write a book about my experiences singing for
children. (I'm reading Raffi's autobiography now, and enjoying
it.) I've accumulated a lot of great stories. I'm starting to
collect great one-liners from kids.
"You don't look like you." --
Newark, DE ... A young boy had been comparing
me with my poster.
"Please send me your autograph, and sign it." -- sent
to me by Allison B., age
7, long ago. She's probably now in her late 20's.
"You're older than this picture." ... out of the
mouths of babes.
Lately, I've been enjoying the music of Nik Kershaw, Secret
Garden and David Foster. These composers and musicians have
mastered great melodies without giving up the occasional precious
moments of silence. I wish you a summer full of boisterous and
upbeat times and full of peaceful silent moments. May you enjoy
DOing much and BEing a lot.
With thanks for your kindness and support,
Jonathan Sprout |