Many people would recall gathering at school to sing along to either a radio broadcast or for remote students a cassette for the Let's Sing! Program. There were tunes with bizarre titles such as 'You can't roller-skate in a Buffalo herd' and popular music like hits from The Beatles and seasonal works for Easter and Christmas. The songbooks were illustrated with comical drawings by cartoonist and children's illustrator Allan Stomann except for two issues in the 1980s which were illustrated by Bob Graham.
The Sing! Program has been part of the music curriculum in Australian schools since the 1950s. It was a change from more formal lessons and everyone was able to join in (whether they liked it or not!). Some teachers took their class outside for the session.
The program exposed children to a diversity of music that was by turn political, subversive, melancholy, popular or absurd and was also perhaps dictated by the teacher's politics and choice.
This songbook contains the words and music for all the songs in the 1982 radio series Let's have music, and, Singing and listening.
Over the years the program title has changed several times and more recently a new illustrator is chosen for each year. Radio broadcasts have given way to a published kit containing the songbooks, teacher's handbook and recordings.
Do you remember your favourite tune from the Sing! Program? Perhaps it was, 'I'm the reluctant dragon?'
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