Outlook Weekend: The Songbooks

Louise Pascale was an American Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan in the 1960s. Because of her interest in teaching music, she began collecting a songbook of Afghan children's songs. When the Taliban came to power three decades later, they not only banned music, but destroyed recordings and instruments. So when Louise looked in her bookcase she realised she may have one of the last surviving copies of these Afghan children's songs. She vowed to go back to Afghanistan to return the book and the music. Richard Sherman and his brother Bob were responsible for some of Disney's most iconic hits. They wrote songs for many films including The Jungle Book, Winnie The Pooh, and Mary Poppins. Maryam Maruf sat down at a piano with Richard as he belted out some of the classic tunes and told her the stories behind their creations. Image: Sherman Bros with Julie Andrews Credit: Courtesy of Richard Sherman