Earth Day

A few facts about Earth Day:

• Senator Gaylord Nelson (of Wisconsin) conceived the idea for Earth Day in the 1960s.
• The first Earth Day was in 1970.
• The U.S. government responded to Earth Day with new environmental legislation.
• Earth Day went global in 1990. It is sometimes called “International Mother Earth Day.”
• About one billion people recognize Earth Day each year.
• Earth Day always falls on April 22.

There are quite a few bluegrass songs about nature and the beauty of the land. Here are a few to get you started:

• Black Waters
  • Laurie Lewis “And Her Bluegrass Pals” (Rounder)
• Clear Cut
  • Blue Highway “Wind to the West” (Rebel)
• Come and Sit By the River
  • The Country Gentlmen “25 Year Celebration” (Rebel)
• Don’t Sell the Land
  • Don Rigsby “Empty Old Mailbox” (Rebel)
• Earth Water Wind and Fire
  • New Grass Revival “On the Boulevard” (Sugar Hill)
• From a Distance
  • Valerie Smith (single/Bell Buckle)
• Green Rolling Hills
  • Bill Harrell & the Virginians “Various Artists/Songs of the Mines” (Smithsonian)
• In This Dirt
  • Andrew Crawford and Brandi Colt (single/Bonfire)
• Land
  • Unspoken Tradition “Myths We Tell Our Young” (Mountain Home)
• Land of the Navajo
  • Old and In the Way (Peter Rowan) “Old and In the Way” (Rykodisc)
  • Muleskinner “Original Television Soundtrack” (Sierra)
• Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way
  • The Seldom Scene “After Midnight” (Rebel)
• Looking Out for You and Me
  • Zoe and Cloyd “I Am Your Neighbor” (Organic)
• Paradise
  • There are versions of this John Prine song by many bluegrass artists including the Seldom Scene, Jim and Jesse, The Country Gentlemen, Tom T. Hall, Larry Stephenson, etc.
• The Oak Tree
  • The Osborne Brothers “Nashville” (Pinecastle)
• This Land is Your Land
  • Flatt & Scruggs “Folk Songs of Our Land” (Columbia)
  • Ronnie McCoury “Little Mo’ McCoury” (McCoury Music)
• This Land Must Die
  • The Country Gentlemen “Joe’s Last Train” (Rebel)
• To Hell with the Land
  • Laurie Lewis and Kathy Kallick “Sing the Songs of Vern and Ray” (Kaleidoscope)
• Touch the Earth
  • Joe Ross “The Crazy Zoo” (no label)
• Tree on a Hill
  • Peter Rowan “Tree on the Hill” (Sugar Hill)
• Where the Trees Know My Name
  • Larry Cordle “Where the Trees Know My Name” (Mighty Cord)
• Willow Creek Dam
  • The Country Gentlemen “The Complete Vanguard Recordings” (Vanguard)
• You Can Make a Difference
  • Joe Ross “Bluegrass Alphabet” (no label)