• Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic, Grofé: Grand Canyon Suite.  This is the classic recording of musical revelation of the unequaled natural phenomenon of Arizona, composed by Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé, known as Ferde Grofé (March 27, 1892 – April 3, 1972).  Although an instrumental, the successive movements serve to evoke in our minds the beauty of the canyon, a visual masterpiece, through the medium of music. The Suite originally premiered on November 22, 1931 at Chicago’s Studebaker Theatre. The first movement, “Sunrise,” composed in 1921, effectively depicts the gloom of darkness slowly giving way to the glimmering of dawn. As the shadows pale, the magnificence of the Grand Canyon becomes clear in the shimnering morning light.  The second movement, “Painted Desert,” uses shifting orchestral colors to recall the red, green, yellow, and gray hues of rock and sand, as they change with every passing cloud.  The third movement is an audience favorite “On the Trail” which waggishly creates a caricature of a mule-back ride into the depths of the canyon. The music clearly sketches the mules clip-clopping down the trail, occasionally breaking into a short-lived trot, and always distractingly oblivious of the fearful drops on either side.  The fourth movement,  “Sunset” musically describes the gradual darkening of the canyon walls, contrasting luminous light with the gradual fade into the serenity of nightfall. The fifth movement, the finale, is “Cloudburst” which more explicitly than words could do, evoked a picture of the calm star-filled night, followed by a sudden storm whipping viciously across the canyon with shrieking winds, pelting rains, and growls of thunder, with the abrupt return to starry skies as so often happens with these monsoon storms. As Grofé himself stated: “Our land is rich in music, and if you listen you can hear it right now. This is our music you hear, surging forth, singing up to every one of us.”
• Gary Bowman’s Song of the Animals – This album is a collection of original songs celebrating the animal kingdom, set to Classic Rock, Pop, Folk, Bluegrass, Reggae and Gospel, influenced by the words and writings of Gandhi, Chief Seattle, John Muir and Moses, and the lyricism of poets Robert Frost and Bill Martin, Jr.
• Michael Caduto – All One Earth  – Although advertised for children 8 – 11+, I found many of these songs to be very appropriate for adults as well! This is a companion to Caduto’s many lyrical environmental education Keepers of the Earth books for kids, including a songbook for the album. Also available on iTunes Store, CDBaby.com, etc.
• Dale Crider, Big Cypress Everglades for all Generations – This folk country eco music album includes 16 life science songs about the endangered Florida panther, Wood Stork , wading birds, alligators, frogs, fish, mosquitoes and other wildlife and unique plant systems ecology and wetland restoration of the Big Cypress-Everglades ecosystem.
• “Burnin Globe” – by Eco Elvis – Listen to the rockin’ out environmentally friendly Elvis impersonator, who says, “I’m here to get you all shook up about takin’ care of the environment!” Song titles include Burnin’ Globe (Burning Love), Can’t Help Recycling It All (Can’t Help Falling In Love), etc. Check out sound clips of “Earth Day Rock,” “Compost Hotel,” “Viva Las Vegans,” “I Reduce, I Reduce, I Recycle,” or others.
• Celebrate Earth – This album is a March, 2010 collection of children’s music (though many songs are good for adults as well) with an environmental message. Each of the fourteen songs were selected by the music production company Recess Music, published by Big Round Records, for their quality and commitment to making the Earth a better place. Artists featured include: Raffi, The Happy Crowd, Renee Smith, InsideOut A Cappella, Allie Jo Thomas, Michael Mish, Earth Mama, Geof Johnson, Donna Lisa, A Capella Cat, BenJammin and Analisa, Ellen Edson, Jack Pearson, and John Cain. Available as an mp3 download on iTunes or Amazon.com, but the CD Enhanced edition enables you to put the disc in your computer to access exclusive content, including a digital sing-a-long booklet, artist bios, and more. A portion of the proceeds goes to support the National Geographic Big Cat Initiative. There are two additional albums in the series: Growing Veggie Soup, with thirteen songs picked for their focus on educating kids about gardening and sustainable farming practices, and Ocean Motion, with thirteen songs chosen for their focus on educating kids about the ocean’s life and habitats.
• Enuf! – A-Way With Waste 
  This band features “Enviro-Boogie” – music with a mission AND a beat! Their website is fantastic! Don’t miss the section on “Wastruments”^TM! Enuf! makes music sometimes using instruments are made from things that normally get recycled or sent to landfill. Downloadable music and lyrics are also featured. Enuf! also offers live performances and two workshops: Worms, and Wastruments^TM
• Good Green Fun – Music and Rainforest Ecology for Children of All Ages
• Rita Cantu – Canyon Lifesongs 
• Tom Chapin – This Pretty Planet – Features “Come Blow Your Horn” and other great songs for children celebrating the earth.
• Darryl Cherney – I had to be Born this Century (and other Earth First! songs)
• Chris Kubie – A Day in the Woods – Audio book for children teaching about the web of life through fun songs and informative dialogue.
• John Denver – Earth Songs, Windsong, and many others.
• Dayle Lynne Dreifus – National Parks by Song, Yosemite by Song
• “Fish Tree Water Blues” New CD to benefit Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund. – John Lee Hooker, Ani DiFranco, Robert Cray, Bob Weir, Etta James, Banford Marsalis, Mavis Staples and many more contribute to benefit CD to be released Earth Day 1999
• Stephen Longfellow Fiske – originally on his cassette album Visions, now on his self-titled album Stephen Longfellow Fiske.  Includes “Green City,” “O Earth Beautiful,” “Earth Anthem,” and others.
• Dan Fogelberg – The Wild Places – His 12th album. (Full Moon/Epic), August 1990. Includes nine original songs, including “Aurora Nova/The Wild Places” which has a great environmental theme.
• Jack Gladstone – Buckskin Poet Society
• Barry Hertz – Sure Cure – Songs like “Buffalo” and “Think Like A River” illuminate life on the prairie, while “Creation’s Dawn” is a wonderful tribute to John Muir.
• Stan Jones and the Ranger Chorus, with Thurl Ravenscroft — narrator. Songs of the National Parks, Disneyland Records, 1957. To modern ears, this album is unbelievingly and overwhelmingly a schmaltzy period piece, laced with a good deal of American jingoism and 1950’s religiosity.  Stan Jones wrote all the songs and the narration, and clearly relished his earlier days of wearing “the uniform, the badge, and the insignia as a National Park Ranger.”  The glory and splendor of the national parks seem attributed more to our “American forebears” and a supernatural “Creator” than the truth of Earth’s magnificent geological and biological processes.  But the narration and songs are packed with poetic images of the natural landscapes of the parks, including the Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and more. There is a great deal of repetition by the chorus, simply singing the names of the various parks as background.  The catchiest tune on the album is “Song of the Trail” which could be enjoyed by any hiker if you can overlook the religious overtones. The “Ranger’s Hymn” fails to predict that one day women would also become National Park Rangers, while the “Woodman’s Prayer” asks for the preservation of the wilderness and natural landscapes. The album cover is itself noteworthy, graced by photographs of teh Grand Canyon and Old Faithful in Yellowstone, along with the official arrowhead insignia of the National Park Service. The back side of the album includes a “Message from the Director of the National Park Service Conrad Wirth.”  Read more and view the album cover at Disneylandrecords.com and listen to the album on YouTube.

• Coco Kallis, Environmental Songs for Kids (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 1999) A dozen singable songs feature guitar, mandolin, banjo, and other instruments. New compositions and environmental classics are sung by Vermont musician/schoolteacher Coco Kallis. The 21-page insert contains song texts, bibliography, resource list, and activities parents and teachers can use to educate children about environmental concerns. Track listing: 1. If We Don’t Fix It – (Calypso version), 2. Recycle, 3. Water, Water, 4. Pretty Paper, 5. God Bless The Grass, 6. Strangest Dream, The, 7. Don’t Dump Trash, 8. What Have THey Done To The Rain?, 9. When We First Came To This Land, 10. Keep Off The Beach, 11. Let It Be, 12. If We Don’t Fix It – (Blues version) 37 minutes.

• Lone Wolf Circles – Oikos: Songs for the Living Earth (poetry and songs alternate)

• • • Circle of Life – 14 eco-songs for kids of all ages. “Under One Sky,” “Circle of Life,” and “Mother Earth and Father Sky” are terrific!
    • Living Planet – 13 environmental songs, including “The Rainforest Song” and “Song of the Whales”
    • Seed on the Prairie – 16 songs, not all environmental. The best environmental tracks are “Rachel” (about naturalist-environmentalist Rachel Carson) and “We Belong To the Earth.”

• • Mariposa
    
    • First Light of Dawn – includes John of the Mountains – song about legendary naturalist-conservationist John Muir
    • California in My Heart 

The CD booklet has lots of information about Rachel Carson and her work. The profits from the sale of this and other M.U.S.E. recordings goes toward non-profit efforts to protect our environment.

These are the artists and the songs featured on “Songs for the Earth”

1. Pete Seeger – My Dirty Stream

2. Walkin’ Jim Stoltz – Song for Rachel

3. Steve Schuch – Where Will We Go?

4. Kat Eggleston – Go to the Water

5. Bill Oliver – Queen Invicta

6. Tom Vincent – Ballad of the Osprey

7. Betty and the Baby Boomers – Back Bay

8. Casey Neill – Hallowed be thy Ground

9. Dean Stevens – Salmon River

10. Cindy Kallet – Roll to the River

11. Tom Paxton – When it’s Gone, it’s Gone

12. Magpie – Rachel

13. Tish Hinojosa – Something in the Rain

14. Gordon Bok – Herring Croon

15. Emma’s Revolution – Silent Spring

16. Bob Zentz – Far Horizon

17. Josh White Jr. – Gentle Warrior

18. A speech by Rachel Carson herself

• • Audubon Adventures – 15 eco-hits for teachers, students and nature lovers of all ages, including “Shopping Maul” “Turtle Island,” “Audubon Song.”
  • Better Things to Do
  • Texas Oasis
  • Habitat – Bill’s classic album with all his hits!
  • Live at Lassen – Campfire comedy is king in this live album.
  • Friend of the River (2001)  His album Friend of the River (2001) features the title track, plus “Spawn ’till you Die”, “Me and Stickeen,” several dam-bustin’ songs, and lyrical tributes to late environmentalists Hazel Wolf and David Brower.

Contact: Texas Deck Music, 801 W. Gibson, Austin, TX 78704.

Humpback whale songs are far longer than bird songs. The shortest Humpback song recorded lasts six minutes and the longest is more than thirty minutes. The pauses between Humpback songs are no longer than the pauses between notes within the song: in other words, they are recycled without any obvious break. Again, in contrast with birds, who complete a song before pausing, it doesn’t matter where in its song the Humpback starts or stops…”
The flip side of the album cover provides a bio of Dr. Roger Payne, and lists the following selections, with notations detailing the recordings (recorded off the coast of Bermuda):
Side One:  
Solo Whale
Slowed-Down Solo Whale
Tower Whales
Distant Whale
Side Two:
Three Whale Trip

• In Tune with All Species – Songs about wildlife
• Rot’ N Roll – songs about recycling and composting
• Unintended Consequences – songs about household hazardous waste and groundwater