“Woody’s Children,” hosted by Robert Sherman, one of the longest-running folk music programs in the country, will be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 8 p.m., on Fordham University’s radio station, WFUV (90.7 FM), beginning September 19th. “Woody’s Children” ran on WQXR from 1969 until this Labor Day weekend, winning numerous prestigious broadcasting awards, while bringing an appreciation of folk music to several generations of listeners. WFUV General Manager Ralph Jennings notes, “I’ve been a fan of Robert Sherman’s ‘Woody’s Children’ for almost all of those 30 years, so having him join the WFUV family is both a personal and professional pleasure. His show is a natural extension of our weekday ‘City Folk’ format, which has grown tremendously over the last several years.”
According to Sherman, each program has a unified structure. “There’s a continuity, not just a random grouping of songs,” he said. “The songs have to have import, logic, and something to say.” Shows might revolve around a particular artist, a holiday, or a theme such as psychiatry or baseball. Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Tom Paxton, Odetta, Oscar Brand, and Peter, Paul and Mary are just a few of the artists who have performed over the years on “Woody’s Children.”
Equally important, Sherman has introduced his listeners to many emerging singer/songwriters. “The repertoire continues to be enriched,” he says, citing Red Grammer and Priscilla Herdman as recent examples. He was the first to broadcast songs by Christine Lavin and Julie Gold, among others. “Woody’s Children on WFUV is a perfect match,” comments Lavin. “Sooner or later they were bound to connect, and every Sunday night is a perfect time.”
For many years Sherman also hosted WQXR’s “Listening Room,” and he has taught at the Juilliard and Manhattan schools of music, written columns for The New York Times and appeared as a concert narrator. “I’m delighted that WFUV is taking on ‘Woody’s Children,’” Sherman said. “After three decades I didn’t want all this to stop.”
WFUV, Fordham’s 50,000-watt public radio station, is an affiliate of National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Radio International (PRI) and offers an eclectic mix of music programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Chartered in 1947, the station serves nearly a quarter-million listeners weekly in New York City’s five boroughs, Long Island, the northern suburbs and neighboring N.J., and Conn.
