The Great Canadian Historical Songbook: Recent Episodes
Songbook Players
A live concert and podcast series that brings Canadian history alive - and local Niagara history - with songs and words.
These podcasts share Canadian history nuggets with the world.
The Niagara River flows between two of the Great Lakes – Lake Erie and Lake Ontario - and includes one of the seven wonders of the world, Niagara Falls. Niagara River, a natural border between Canada and USA, has been witness to thousands of years of history, from its native ancestral routes, to the role it played in the Underground Railroad. Sailors, smugglers, lovers and inventors have all fallen under its spell.
Credits:
The Great Canadian Historical Songbook
Created and Written by Barbara Worthy
Producers: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger, and Joe Lapinski
The Band: Aaron Berger, Joe Lapinski, Laurel Minnes
Narrator: Barbara Worthy
The Music:
Written by: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger, Joe Lapinski, Laurel Minnes
Podcasts produced by: Joe Lapinski
Recorded at: WOW! Recording Studio & Creative Music Space
With thanks to:
Niagara Falls Cultural Fund
Niagara Region
Niagara Investment in Culture
Niagara Falls History Museum
Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum
Canada 150 Fund
On July 11th, 1874, seven young men sailed out of Toronto’s Royal Canadian Yacht Club on one of their father’s yachts, a 30 foot centerboard sloop called The Foam. They were sailing to Niagara-on-the-Lake for the Saturday Night Hop at the popular Queens Royal Hotel. It was a fine night for sailing, and their young ladies were waiting.
Credits:
The Great Canadian Historical Songbook
Created and Written by Barbara Worthy
Producers: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger, and Joe Lapinski
The Band:
Aaron Berger, Joe Lapinski, Laurel Minnes, Juliet Dunn
Narrator: Barbara Worthy
The Music:
Written by: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger, Joe Lapinski, Laurel Minnes
Podcasts produced by:
Joe Lapinski
Recorded at:
WOW! Recording Studio & Creative Music Space
With thanks to:
Niagara Falls Cultural Fund
Niagara Region
Niagara Investment in Culture
Niagara Falls History Museum
Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum
Canada 150 Fund
William Red Hill Sr., lived in Niagara Falls and was always drawn to the river and its treacherous rapids. He dedicated his life to saving those who felt the pull of those waters, and received the life-long title of ‘The Hero Of Niagara’.
Credits:
The Great Canadian Historical Songbook
Created and Written by Barbara Worthy
Producers: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger and Joe Lapinski
The Band:
Aaron Berger, Joe Lapinski, Laurel Minnes, Adrienne Smoke, Juliet Dunn, Danielle Marconi
Narrator: Barbara Worthy
The Music:
Written by: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger and Joe Lapinski
Podcasts produced by:
Joe Lapinski
Recorded at:
WOW! Recording Studio & Creative Music Space
With thanks to:
Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund
Niagara Falls History Museum
Canada 150 Fund
Niagara Historical Society and Museum
The Indian Act reduced entire indigenous nations to servitude and loss of language, culture, and self-respect. Residential schools continued the shame. This song highlights the need for hope and a renewed cultural voice.
Credits:
The Great Canadian Historical Songbook
Created and Written by Barbara Worthy
Producers: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger and Joe Lapinski
The Band:
Aaron Berger, Joe Lapinski, Laurel Minnes, Adrienne Smoke, Juliet Dunn, Danielle Marconi
Narrator: Barbara Worthy
The Music:
Written by: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger and Joe Lapinski
Podcasts produced by:
Joe Lapinski
Recorded at:
WOW! Recording Studio & Creative Music Space
With thanks to:
Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund
Niagara Falls History Museum
Canada 150 Fund
Niagara Historical Society and Museum
She owned her name, but nothing else. As a slave in 1793 she was someone’s property. But her story – and her name – became the impetus for John Graves Simcoe’s historic Act Against Slavery.
Credits:
The Great Canadian Historical Songbook
Created and Written by Barbara Worthy
Producers: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger and Joe Lapinski
The Band:
Aaron Berger, Joe Lapinski, Laurel Minnes, Adrienne Smoke, Juliet Dunn, Danielle Marconi
Narrator: Barbara Worthy
The Music:
Written by: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger and Joe Lapinski
Podcasts produced by:
Joe Lapinski
Recorded at:
WOW! Recording Studio & Creative Music Space
With thanks to:
Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund
Niagara Falls History Museum
Canada 150 Fund
Niagara Historical Society and Museum
Nikola Tesla, engineer, inventor and futurist, changed our world with his breakthrough discoveries of electrical production, transmission, and generation. Yet he died in poverty, in a world forever indebted to him and his brilliance.
Credits:
The Great Canadian Historical Songbook
Created and Written by Barbara Worthy
Producers: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger and Joe Lapinski
The Band:
Aaron Berger, Joe Lapinski, Laurel Minnes, Adrienne Smoke, Juliet Dunn, Danielle Marconi
Narrator: Barbara Worthy
The Music:
Written by: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger and Joe Lapinski
Podcasts produced by:
Joe Lapinski
Recorded at:
WOW! Recording Studio & Creative Music Space
With thanks to:
Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund
Niagara Falls History Museum
Canada 150 Fund
Niagara Historical Society and Museum
A truly brilliant man who helped create the railway network in Ontario that brought Canada steaming into the industrial age, but who died on his own railway tracks, due to poor construction as a result of political favours and handouts.
Credits:
The Great Canadian Historical Songbook
Created and Written by Barbara Worthy
Producers: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger and Joe Lapinski
The Band:
Aaron Berger, Joe Lapinski, Laurel Minnes, Adrienne Smoke, Juliet Dunn, Danielle Marconi
Narrator: Barbara Worthy
The Music:
Written by: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger and Joe Lapinski
Podcasts produced by:
Joe Lapinski
Recorded at:
WOW! Recording Studio & Creative Music Space
With thanks to:
Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund
Niagara Falls History Museum
Canada 150 Fund
Niagara Historical Society and Museum
The unbelievable but true story of how Lady Agnes MacDonald, the wife of Canada’s first Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, christened his CP railroad in 1886, by riding in the cowcatcher in front of the engine, from Banff to Vancouver, with her umbrella!
Credits:
The Great Canadian Historical Songbook
Created and Written by Barbara Worthy
Producers: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger and Joe Lapinski
The Band:
Aaron Berger, Joe Lapinski, Laurel Minnes, Adrienne Smoke, Juliet Dunn, Danielle Marconi
Narrator: Barbara Worthy
The Music:
Written by: Barbara Worthy, Aaron Berger and Joe Lapinski
Podcasts produced by:
Joe Lapinski
Recorded at:
WOW! Recording Studio & Creative Music Space
With thanks to:
Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund
Niagara Falls History Museum
Canada 150 Fund
Niagara Historical Society and Museum