Smart Songs is an

educational music Educational music, is a genre of music in which songs, lyrics, or other musical elements are used as a method of teaching and/or learning. It has been shown in research to promote learning. Additionally, music study in general has been shown to i ...

group founded in 2008 by Shoeless Jeff (Jeff DuJardin) and Scott Free (Scott Geer). According to the group’s website ''www.SmartSongs.org'', the mission of Smart Songs is to “provide kids and teachers with fun and educational hip hop that makes learning fun.” Media sources ABC News Los Angeles (

KABC-TV KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains ...

) and ''BostonInno.com'' have described the group as the current version of

Schoolhouse Rock ''Schoolhouse Rock!'' is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films (and later, videos) that aired during the Saturday morning children's programming block on the U.S. television network ABC. The theme ...

. Album DVDs ''Trip to DC'' and ''Trip to Wall Street'' are currently distributed through Social Studies School Service.

Origins

Shoeless Jeff and Scott Free met each other while playing baseball for the Babe Ruth League in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

at age 13, while Jeff was playing shortstop and Scott was on second base. In high school, Jeff began writing educational raps for extra credit in his classes while he and Scott worked on non-educational hip hop songs. In college together at

Providence College Providence College is a private Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the local diocese, it offers 47 undergraduate majors and 17 graduate programs. It requires all of its undergradua ...

, Jeff and Scott helped form a live hip hop band called Capitol Hill that toured the East Coast. While on tour, the group visited an inner-city school in

Dorchester, MA Dorchester (colloquially referred to as Dot) is a Boston neighborhood comprising more than in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester ...

and realized their style of music fit well with students and decided to launch Smart Songs.

Albums

In 2011, Smart Songs released a remixed and remastered version of its album ''Trip to DC'' (originally released in 2008), which explains several topics in United States Social Studies and History. Smart Songs released its second album ''Trip to Wall Street'' in 2013, which explains the economy and money management.

Distribution

Album DVDs ''Trip to DC'' and ''Trip to Wall Street'' are currently distributed through Social Studies School Service. In 2008, Smart Songs’ music was distributed through

Highlights for Children ''Highlights for Children'', often referred to simply as ''Highlights'', is an American children's magazine. It began publication in June 1946, started by Garry Cleveland Myers and his wife Caroline Clark Myers in Honesdale, Pennsylvania (the p ...

, which is the largest children's magazine in the world with over 2 million subscribers. In 2010, Teachers Discovery began distributing Smart Songs’ new version of ''Trip to DC'' through its website and catalog.

Publicity

In January 2011, Smart Songs was interviewed by

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

’s School of Education for a university podcast. This podcast also appeared on ''The Huffington Post''. In October 2011, Smart Songs appeared on ABC News Los Angeles. Other interviews include: March 2012 - ''The Boston Globe'' (Boston.com) January 2012 – ''Boston Inno'' March 2009 – ''Bay State Banner'' October 2008 – ''

The Providence Journal ''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island, and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspape ...

'' October 2008 – Fox Channel 12 Providence Pop Culture On September 27, 2023, a contestant on Celebrity Jeopardy, Emily Hampshire, sang the lyrics to the Smart Song track ''Presidents'' while being interviewed by Ken Jennings during the game.

Notes

External links

*{{official, http://www.smartsongs.org/ Musical groups from Rhode Island Culture of Providence, Rhode Island