Socalled's guide to kids' music

Montreal musical renaissance man Socalled, a.k.a. Josh Dolgin, is not only a pianist, producer, composer, arranger, rapper and singer, but also a magician, cartoonist and puppet maker. We felt these latter talents, especially, made him the right person to guide us through the whimsical world of children's music. Socalled rose to the challenge.

Peter (Ustinov) and the Wolf

"Do children still have the patience for Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf? Commissioned to write a musical symphony that would 'cultivate musical tastes in children,' Prokofiev squirted this little masterpiece out in four days in 1936. Each animal in the story is represented by a different instrument playing a distinctive, catchy melody. It doesn’t get much better than this musical instrument lesson wrapped up in an entertaining story narrated by some cool actor type – Peter Ustinov’s was the voice I heard as a kid, but you can find versions by Sean Connery, Dom DeLuise, Captain Kangaroo, Sting or David Bowie."

"The world anxiously awaits a Snoop Dogg-narrated version. If your kid does get into the songs and story, why not broaden their musical horizons even further by checking out very different versions of the same work from Weird Al and Wendy Carlos, or maybe the littl’uns would adore a Jimmy Smith swingin’ ‘Kofiev?"

Bernstein's Young People's Concerts too slow for kids

"Leonard Bernstein talks about Peter and the Wolf in his incredibly elegant Young People’s Concerts television program. Watched today, it’s hard to believe that a) this rather staid, slow-moving thing could have ever been as popular as it was, and b) that Bernstein’s basically philosophical discourse about the meaning of music was ever meant to be for children at all. Let’s see if ... video game-addicted Davey can last a minute and a half watching this languid, barely edited, black-and-white dissertation from 1958. For that matter, let’s see if you make it through all four parts."

Canada's cool kid connection

"So what’s with all these Canadian children’s musical entertainers? Raffi is about as cool as it gets. He wears great shirts. He has a smooth, swooping, in-tune, unmistakable voice with which he sings repetitive, deceptively simple sing-alongable songs. It’s fascinating to watch how the mostly kid audience reacts to and engages with his music in this clip:

"Sharon, Lois & Bram were the global gods of children’s music from the late '70s to the mid-'90s, on record and television. Their peanut butter song is timeless. And from peanut butter, we move to “Sandwiches,” as sung by Fred Penner, who continues to rock stages across the country:

"Sandy Oppenheim had a great record called Are We There Yet? that has yet to be YouTubed, as far as I can see. Couldn’t find a copy to grab on eBay, either, but it’s mentioned in a 1983 report on the rising eminence of Canadian children entertainers.

"I sort of remember seeing Oppenheim and crew in concert when I was seven-ish and getting them to sign my record after their show. I still have the signed record. “No no no no no no no no no” is something of a banger that is worthy of a revival. OK, I’ll YouTube it."

Honesty is the best policy in children's music

"Great children’s music doesn’t condescend. It’s convincing, it’s honest, it’s catchy. It’s everything that good music is for any age group. Shel Silverstein’s children’s poetry and songs are a great example of this, and a treasure to explore. Listen to what Johnny Cash and Shel have to say about children’s songs:

"Maybe the greatest composer of children’s music of all time is the late Joe Raposo, the genius who wrote all the Muppet songs. (He also wrote the Three’s Company theme song.) With sophisticated harmonies, effortless hooks, brilliant wordplay and top-notch production, Raposo created a songbook of truly transcendental children’s music, songs for kids that any musically self-respecting adult might also enjoy."