I always felt there are two types of children’s music.
First there’s the saccharine bubbly voiced singers covering old standards like “Wheels On The Bus” and folksy ballads reminding us kindness is best. My theory is that this music was designed by Kindergarten teachers to run clingy parents out of the room.
Then, there’s music that is kid-friendly, but that will earworm parents to the point of it being on their own playlists. In the 1990s and 2000s, there was a trend of really cool children’s albums reminding us just because something is fun and sometimes educational, doesn’t mean is has to be cutesy and patronizing.
My own children are now 16 and 23, but here are few songs from their own childhood CD collections we all still love:
“Dog Train” by Blues Traveler
From one of author Sandra Boynton’s collections of amazingly cool songs that had no business being as great as they were:
“Eight Hundred and Thirteen Mile Car Trip” by They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants were on a roll for a while with the children’s albums on ABC’s, 123s, Science and more.
“Pollywog In A Bog” by Barenaked Ladies
While They Might Be Giants themed their children’s fare, Barenaked Ladies did what they do best..wrote catchy songs about pretty much whatever popped in their heads.
Even before these songs, there was some rock compilations often inspired by the childhood music of Gen X.
For example:
“Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah” (Means I Love You) by Violent Femmes
From the punk disc Saturday Morning, Cartoons Greatest Hits, that also featured bangers from Ramones, Butthole Surfers, Reverend Horton Heat and more.
“Three Is A Magic Number” by Blind Melon
From the Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks album, although these song already did rock.
“In the Belly of A Whale” by Newsboys
Yes, I raised my kids on Veggie Tales, and they are better for it. This one is from the Veggie Rocks album as well as the Jonah movie.
And when Sarah McLachlan’s Music Outreach worked with VHI’s Save the Music Foundation for a charity album of kid’s songs covers, we got her beautiful cover of one of the greatest family songs of all time:
“The Rainbow Connection”
Just because it’s intended for families or family programming, doesn’t mean is has to suck. Enjoy the escape for a bit..where it’s safe to bring your kids.