Ellis Paul’s latest effort is an ingenious and entertaining way to bring history to life through songs. After the empowering opening title track, Paul devotes the next 13 songs to different American heroes through the years. He spotlights several well-known people (like Ben Franklin and Albert Einstein), several probably best known to parents (Martha Graham and Georgia O’Keeffe) and several rather obscure historical figures (ice cream innovator Augustus Jackson and musician Mr. Tee Tot). In each case, Paul deftly mixes historical fact with musical lyricism so that the songs transcend being merely school lessons.

Paul creatively has some of the arrangements reflect their subjects’ lives. The song about Chief Joseph has a Native American flavor, while the Martha Graham tune moves along to a funky rhythm. The gospel-infused “Rosa Parks” plays off the phrase “the wheels on the bus.” Other tracks, like the ones on Rachel Carson and Jackie Robinson, use audio samples (either archival or replications) to root the tunes in reality. Another album highlight is the spoken-word rap on Thomas Edison that ends with the inspirational lines: “But when you get an idea, let’s make a deal/To be like Edison and make it real.” Paul gets high marks for his musical history lesson.

Michael also recommends …

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• Rock-O-Matic, Imagination Movers, $9.99, Razor + Tie

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• WeBop: A Family Jazz Party, $11.72, Jazz At Lincoln Center

The WeBop ensemble performs jazz classics, like “Night Train,” “When The Saints Go Marching In” and “What A Wonderful World” for audiences of all ages.