Article: Educators' List of Must-Know Songs Baffles Many Readers

Q. I read in the newspaper a list of 42 songs "that every American should know," as declared by those at something called the "Music Educators National Conference." I guarantee that many of these songs are unfamiliar to 95 percent of Americans.

Proving my point, let me ask you and your readers, who represent a cross-section of ages and geographic regions, how many are familiar with the following: "De Colores," "Dona Nobis Pacem," "Music Alone Shall Live," "Over My Head," "Sakura," "Shalom Chaverim" or "Simple Gifts"?

The very few rock-era tunes on the list are ballads or folk songs (e.g. "Yesterday," "If I Had a Hammer," "Puff," "This Land Is Your Land," etc.)

As a person whose ...

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