I'm trying to track down the music I heard on a record as a child in
the 60's.  It was a small disc of French Canadian folk songs sung by a
man with a voice like Burl Ives (but I don't think it was him).  I can
remember
some of the songs, the first lines are also the titles I think:- 
"J'ai perdu le do de ma clarinette", "Savez-vous planter des choux",
"Michaud est monte dans une peuplier"  (or possibly "Michaud est
tombee").  I have been using Google to try to locate such a record,
and though it has thrown up some music featuring these songs, not the
little collection I remember.  Can you help?  My mother still sings
these songs sometimes, and I'd like to find a disc or CD for her
birthday coming up on October 11th.

Hello.

In all probability, the record that you're looking for is Alan Mills'
"French Folk Songs for Children" (originally released in 1953). The
record includes all of the songs that you mention: "Michaud Est
Tombe," "J'ai Perdu le 'Do' de Ma Clarinette" and "Savez-Vous Planter
des Choux?"

The record has been reissued on CD and Cassette by Smithsonian
Folkways Music. Both formats are available from the Smithsonian (Tel.
1-800-410-9815).
For a complete track listing and additional information, visit this
Smithsonian web page:
http://www.folkways.si.edu/database/track.asp?AlbumID=71564&Title=French+Folk+Songs+for+Children+&Label=Folkways&Catalog=07208&Artist=Alan+Mills&Year=1953

Alan Mills was one of Canada's most popular folk singers in the '40s,
'50s & '60s. Here is a brief obituary from the web page "This Week in
Musical History":

"In 1977, Canadian folksinger Alan Mills died in Montreal at the age
of 63. Mills made more than 30 LP's, was the host of CBC Radio's 'Folk
Songs For Young Folks' from 1947 to 1959 and appeared at the 1960
Newport Folk Festival. Mills's composition "I Know An Old Lady Who
Swallowed a Fly" became popular among folksingers in both Canada and
the US."
http://www.canoe.ca/MusicHistoryJune/june14.html

In addition to the disc mentioned above, the Smithsonian has reissued
several of Mills' others recordings (in both English and French). For
more information, see the Smithsonian Folkways catalog:
http://www.folkways.si.edu/genre3.htm

search strategy: "french folk songs," children

I hope this helps.

Excellent and timely answer.  Well done the researcher who spent their
time and effort on this one.  And thank you Google for making this
service available,  it is actually one of my own "good ideas" that I
am very pleased to see someone has implemented.