My classmates and I used to change the words to popular songs to help us memorize facts for our history and science classes.  To the tune of La Bamba, we sang “I am an amoeba, I am an amoeba, I got pods, pseudo pods, Aren’t you jealous of me, ba”  We knew that the familiar melodies would prompt our new lyrics, and help us during tests.  We just had to be careful not to hum too loudly during exams.

Mark Burrows, a former choir teacher, has repurposed jazz, country and western, rock and roll, and other genres, to honor the memory of great scientists and artists in a delightful collection of songs that will add a new dimension to a lesson.

Ode to Pluto (You’ll Always be a Planet To Me)