4th of July Songs for Kids

Music maven Dave Sloan has posted his picks for a 4th of July playlist. It includes some unexpected (no surprise with Dave) selections from Violent Femmes, the Pogues, and more. For kids, there are plenty of patriotic songs worth cranking up while you fire up BBQs. Some more conventional but worthwhile choices include Ray Charles’s “America the Beautiful,” Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom,” and Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is My Land.” Every year, someone (I believe it’s the invaluable TCM cable channel) airs Michael Curtiz’s Yankee Doodle Dandy, a musical biopic of Broadway legend George M. Cohan, with James Cagney in the title role. I highly recommend this classic for its unabashed positivism and patriotism about the man who wrote such songs as “You’re a Grand Old Flag” and “Over There.” Make sure to catch the black-and-white version if you can. What are some of your favorite 4th of July songs?