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Legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie was famously commissioned by the Bonneville Power Administration in the 1940s to write songs about Columbia River hydroelectric projects. That has been well-told again and again, and many of the songs that resulted 鈥� including 鈥溾�� 鈥� have become beloved treasures of the Pacific Northwest musical canon.

But Woody wasn鈥檛 the only one ever commissioned to write music about and for the Pacific Northwest. And so, with apologies to Mr. Guthrie (who might now be 鈥渞olling-on鈥� in his grave after being dragged into this edition of All Over The Map), here鈥檚 a sampling of other public service music that was made for, and paid for, by the people.

Free Youth Transit Pass

A TV commercial is currently airing on local stations for King County鈥檚 鈥�Free Youth Transit Pass鈥澛� program. The spot features an original song written and performed by kids in the Rain City Rock Camp. It鈥檚 a catchy number called, not surprisingly, 鈥淔ree Youth Transit.鈥�

It鈥檚 not clear if any public dollars were spent writing and recording that song, but it was a good excuse to look and listen back to earlier moments in local history when specific initiatives by public entities resulted in the creation of memorable music that the public all got to enjoy and that we all helped pay for.

See You in Seattle

First up, from late 1961, the 鈥渙fficial song鈥� of the Seattle World鈥檚 Fair, which serves as an enticement to 鈥淪ee You in Seattle.鈥� This song is by The Lancers, a vocal group from California who hit it big in the early 1950s with a song called 鈥�,鈥� but they pretty much disappeared from the radar 鈥� and the lounge circuit 鈥� by the mid-1960s.

Under The Viaduct

This next one is from the 1980s (accounts vary from 1986 to 1989), but it only came to light in 2013 when then-Interim Seattle Police Chief Jim Pugel apologized for his role in it.

As Brandi Kruse, who was then with 成人X站 Newsradio, wrote at the time, it鈥檚 鈥渁 parody of The Drifters鈥� 1964 hit 鈥楿nder the Boardwalk鈥� and features Seattle police officers in the role of homeless inebriates. It was included in a training video that was briefly released, then retracted by the department in 1989.鈥�

I-405 Express Toll Lanes

Fast-forward to early 2015 when, to the delight mainly of 成人X站 Newsradio鈥檚 Chris Sullivan, the I-405 Express Toll Lanes and the famous Flex Pass was being introduced by the Washington State Department of Transportation. That鈥檚 when this little earworm 鈥� and my personal favorite 鈥� jammed the airwaves and blocked musical traffic in both directions with no alternate routes.

WashYourHandsingTon

Now, it鈥檚 out of chronological order, but this next one from 2010 is the grand finale, as it might be the very best publicly funded Pacific Northwest music composition of all time. Sorry, Woody!

It was for the flu season that year when, according to , a Washington State Department of Health employee had a clever idea to virally spread an important message about, well, stopping the viral spread.

As the still says, 鈥淭he Washington State Department of Health welcomes you to WashYourHandsingTon! Where everyone washes their hands, covers their coughs, and gets the flu vaccine! Get vaccinated. Stop the flu.鈥� As it also notes that 鈥淭his campaign was paid for with federal funds sent to Washington State specifically for flu prevention work.鈥�

Did we miss any? Please let me know (contact info below), and maybe we鈥檒l do a follow-up episode. In the meantime, please remember to Wash Your Handsingtons聽鈥� both of them!

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien, read more from him鈥�here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast聽here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks鈥�here.