Favorite music for kids?

[MelanieJoy]

Hi,
I don't know if this has been a thread ever, so forgive me if I am repeating something...but I was thinking about Pete Seeger singing at the Presidential Inauguration Tuesday, and thought how AMAZING that was, and then wondered...what music should I be indoctrinating my kids with NOW while they cannot complain???

OF COURSE Janis Ian is #1, #2, and #3-20 on the list. :p But WHO ELSE? Kids albums? "Adult" albums that should be played for every kid everywhere? What would you recommend? (and none of that Barney-blarney! No offense intended to any purple-dinosaur-lovers)...

My current top-music-choices include:
Janis Ian
Guy Medilow
Coyote Grace
Yo Yo Ma
Mary Had a Little Amp (rock stars sing kids songs!)
any of the Sandra Boynton books put to music (Blue Moo, Philadelphia Chickens...etc).
Free to Be...You and Me (and Free to Be a Family)

(the first four were a part of the "mellow music mix" I made on my ipod for when I was in labor...yes, Janis was one of the first voices they heard outside of the womb!)

I haven't played the Jim Brock CD for the kids yet, tho I LOVE it (and my Sophie has adored playing on my djimbe since she was a mere 8 months old...we're still working on the rhythm...)

In case anyone is wondering, the kiddos are 10 months old at this time - still ripe for indoctrinating! er...teaching!
Heh.
Melanie Joy

[Orphan of the Road]

Tom Chapin, wonderful artists and lots of stuff especially for kids.

[JoanM]

Melanie Joy,
Welcome! Fortunately for the kids (and their parents) today there is an amazing selection of music available (well beyond "the wheels on the bus go round and round" and "red stand up, blue stand up, red and blue sit down" which were classic kiddy earworms). A good place to start is Fred Koch's Best Children's Music. (http://www.bestchildrensmusic.com/) Fred is an extraordinary kindergarten teacher as well as singer/songwriter. I've known him for years. His site is well recognized so check it out.
Peter, Paul & Mommy is a classic along with anything Pete Seeger, Ella Jenkins or Tom Chapin have done for kids. I used to use Free to Be You and Me along with Free to Be a Family (albums, videos, books, CDs) in my grad classes for teachers as well as in my classroom. The Point by Nilsson is another classic available on DVD.

Oh what fun you'll have. Check out your local library so you can hear things before you buy or preview songs on iTunes or just plan on spending a boat load of money on music (which is money well spent.)
jm

[sister rose]

Natalie Merchant (who is considering putting out a children's album later this year.)
During my grandchildren's early years, they thought Natalie was the only musician the was........:rolleyes:

[KarenSews2]

You beat me to it, Joan! Peter, Paul and Mommy was played a lot in the car when my kids were young.

Kids also like Raffi. Baby Beluga, I Like to Eat Apples and Bananas...all fun. We were forever singing "I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas..." If you don't know that song, it is great, and teaches long vowel sounds. When I taught elementary music, Hap Palmer was a good one, but I've kind of lost track of him and his music.

PM me, and I can send you some tapes (sorry, no CDs) from the preschool music program I used to teach.

My kids also grew up listening to musical theater recordings. They loved Phantom of the Opera. When my youngest was 4, we were at a children's book fair in Chicago, and there was a small stage not being used. Allison ran up onto it, threw open her arms on the second syllable as she belted out, "THE PHAAAAAANTOM OF THE OPERA IS THERRRRRE, INSIDE MY MIND!" I thought I would die laughing!

[Eva]

I'd say let them listen to as much genres as possible. They'll find something they like.

Eva

[hoops]

i agree with Eva, i know my sister's kids listen to Janis and Joni, Bob marley, Van Morrison, Raffi, harry belefonte, the muppets, i can;t think of the guy who does the music for charlie brown, and much much more. I remember whene one of them was about a year old, hearing him sing, "Carey" from Joni's "blue" album and he knew all the words, and Van Morrison's brown eyed girl has always been a favorite. Neil Diamond, Veggie Tales,i wish i could think of more. they love music and spend lots of time singing together loudly and maybe a bit off tune, but they love it and my sister and her husband sing right along with them happily
peace
hoops

[KarenSews2]

Ditto on the let-them-listen-to-it-all sentiments. OK, maybe not country. Or rap. or...j/k

My girls listened to it all, and each one has a wide range of appreciation. When Allison was in high school, she was a hostess at a restaurant that played a lot of oldies. She said no one could believe she seemed to know all the words of every song! That's m'girl!

[DaveM]

A lot of Judy Collins' work, especially her first decades' worth of albums, is quite child-friendly. She did several guest appearances on "Sesame Street" as I recall.

Woody Guthrie wrote a lot of childrens' songs or songs that have been watered down into childrens' versions. The original recordings aren't up to modern sound standards of course, but worth hearing. Especially if you have a child who has any interest in taking up the guitar....you can play everything Woody ever wrote with four chords!

The really cool thing about Peter, Paul, and Mary is that if your child enjoys them and they're performing in your area, you can go hear them do the same concert they've been doing for at least 30 years. And everybody sings along.

[Bat]

I find most kids love Gilbert and Sullivan stuff...and improve their vocabulary, too.
"Mama, what's an incubus?" geeze.

[SFBill]

I gotta chime in here in regards to Carly Simon's CD INTO WHITE--it's an amazing album for babies, toddlers, adults and anyone who needs to be soothed...

a bit of history...
.
Columbia would not agree to an album of Carly Simon original material..they told her 'no one was interested in buying her music'--
ok--I was chewing nails at this point...
They told her to create a lullaby album--and the executive producer Jay Landers kept telling her and her band--'don't wake the baby'...well, Carly and crew created an amazing album--that transcends the genre of lullaby albums...it's fabulous.
I have shared it with many a new mother at school..and time and time again I hear how this album puts their baby to sleep----even a hyper first grader from one colleague was so soothed by this album that the mom couldn't believe it.

and just this past week a friend of mine who has HIV and is struggling with his health commented to me how he has trouble sleeping..i told him about Carly's INTO WHITE and its effect ----a week later i saw him and he thanked me for recommendation. I said, "Great so it helped you sleep?"
He said, "well, my body wanted to sleep but the album is so beautiful I forced myself to stay awake so I could hear it all....it's beautiful"

it's truly a magical album.

Here's a review of it that really says it all.

http://www.compulsivereader.com/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1541 (http://www.compulsivereader.com/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1541)

[MelanieJoy]

You made me laugh...and crave a bigger paycheck so I can buy all these albums!!! Thanks!!! I will be adding to the music library ASAP!!!

Any more recommendations are always welcome!

Melanie Joy