Children's music is music composed and performed for children by adults. In European influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has historically held both entertainment and educational functions. Children's music is often designed to provide an entertaining means of teaching children about their culture, other cultures, good behavior, facts and skills. Many are folk songs, but there is a whole genre of educational music that has become increasingly popular.

History

Early published music

The growth of the popular music publishing industry, associated with New York's Tin Pan Alley in the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to the creation of a number of songs aimed at children. These included 'Ten little fingers and ten little toes' by Ira Shuster and Edward G. Nelson and 'School days' (1907) by Gus Edwards and Will Cobb. Perhaps the best remembered now is ‘Teddy Bears' Picnic', with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy in 1932 and the tune by British composer John William Bratton was from 1907.

Early recordings for children

Recordings for children were intertwined with recorded music for as long as it has existed as a medium. The first words ever recorded (in 1877 by Thomas Alva Edison) was the first verse of "Mary Had A Little Lamb". In 1888, the first recorded discs (called "plates") offered for sale included Mother Goose nursery rhymes. The earliest record catalogues of several seminal figures in the recording industry such as Edison, Berliner, and Victor all contained separate children's sections.

Throughout the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s record companies continued to produce albums for children. Such companies as: Walt Disney, RCA Victor, Decca Records, Capitol Records, Warner Brothers and Columbia Records (among others) published albums based on popular cartoons or nursery rhymes. Often the albums were read-alongs that contained booklets that children could follow along with. Many of the biggest names in theater, radio, and motion pictures were featured on these albums, such as: Bing Crosby, Harold Peary ("The Great Gildersleeve"), Orson Welles, Jeanette MacDonald, Roy Rogers, Fanny Brice, Bill Boyd, Ingrid Bergman, and Fredric March.

The role of Disney in children's cinema from the 1930s meant that it gained a unique place in the production of children's music. The first popular Disney song was 'Minnies Yoo Hoo' (1930) the theme song from a Mickey Mouse cartoon. After the production of their first feature-length animation ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarves'' in 1937, with its highly successful score by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey, which included the songs 'Whistle while you work', 'Some Day My Prince Will Come', and 'Heigh-Ho', the mould for a combination of animation, fairy tale and distinctive songs was set that would carry through to the 1970s with songs from films such as ''Pinocchio'' (1940) and ''Song of the South'' (1946).

Growth during the twentieth century

The mid-20th century arrival of the baby boomers provided a growing market for children's music as a separate genre. Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Ella Jenkins were among a cadre of politically progressive and socially conscious performers who aimed albums to this group. During this time, such novelty recordings as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (a Montgomery Ward jingle that became a book and later a classic children's movie) and the fictional music group "The Chipmunks" were among the most commercially successful music ventures of the time ("The Chipmunk Song" was a #1 hit single in 1958).

In the 1960s, as the baby boomers matured and became more politically aware, they embraced both the substance and politics of folk ("the people's") music. Peter, Paul, and Mary, The Limeliters, and Tom Paxton were acclaimed folk artists who wrote albums for children. In 1969, the Children's Television Workshop in the USA launched ''Sesame Street''. The quality of Sesame Street's children's music (much of it created by noted composers Joe Raposo and Jeff Moss) has dominated the children's music landscape to this day - the show has won 11 Grammy Awards.

Children's music gained an even wider audience in the 1970s when musical features such as Schoolhouse Rock! and the original Letter People were featured on network and public television, respectively. These represented an effort to make music that taught specific lessons about Math, History, and English to youngsters through the high-quality, award-winning music. The classic public television children's show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood had music heavily featured as well. In the late 1970s, Canadian artist Raffi Cavoukian, coincided with the rise of children's music as a distinct music industry genre.

In the early 1990s, songwriter, record producer, and performer Bobby Susser, emerged strongly with his easy-to-learn, award winning young children's songs and series, ''Bobby Susser Songs For Children'' that exemplified the use of children's music to educate young children in schools and at home. Musical duo Greg & Steve have focused on the positive reaction children have to music.

Disney also re-entered the market for animated musical features, beginning with ''The Little Mermaid'' (1989) from which the song 'Under the Sea' won an Oscar for best song. This was followed by successful features including ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1991) ''Aladdin'' (1992), and ''The Lion King'' (1994), the last of which had music by Elton John and Tim Rice, and ''Pocahontas'' (1995), all of which were awarded best song Oscars.

Recent history

In the United States, Children's music continues to be a force in the commercial music industry. At one point in early 2006, the top three albums on the Billboard charts were all children's music: Disney's ''High School Musical'' soundtrack, ''Kidz Bop 9'', and the ''Curious George'' film soundtrack. Most albums targeted nationally to children are soundtracks for motion pictures or symbiotic marketing projects involving mass-marketed acts such as The Wiggles or Veggie Tales.

The 21st century has also seen an increase in the number of independent children's music artists, with acts like The Dirty Sock Funtime Band, Dan Zanes, Parachute Express, Cathy Bollinger, and Laurie Berkner getting wide exposure on cable TV channels targeted to kids. Trout Fishing in America has achieved much acclaim continuing the tradition of merging sophisticated folk music with family-friendly lyrics. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo infuses hip-hop with family friendly messages and imaginative stories and is known as "The King of Kid-Hop". Also recently, traditionally rock-oriented acts like They Might Be Giants have released albums marketed directly to children, such as ''No!'' and ''Here Come the ABCs''. Jimmy Buffett simply remade his Cheeseburger in Paradise song into children's music with cleaned up lyrics ("Root Beer" instead of "Draft Beer"). His songs were already kid friendly with catchy lyrics and simple melodies punctuated with penny whistles and ship bell sound effects.

Sanitized versions of earthy songs like Harry McClintock's Big Rock Candy Mountain have regularly been adapted for younger audiences. The 2008 version by Gil McLachlan re-tells the story as a child's dream, the last stanza being: :In the Big Rock Candy Mountains you're going on a holiday :Your birthday comes around once a week and it’s Christmas every day :You never have to clean your room or put your toys away :There's a little white horse you can ride of course :You can jump so high you can touch the sky :In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

The use of children's music, to educate, as well as entertain, continued to grow, as evidenced in February, 2009, when Bobby Susser's young children's series surpassed 5 million CD sales.

Notes

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da:Børnemusik fr:Musique pour enfants pt:Música para crianças ru:Детские пластинки

Bari Koral is a singer-songwriter and Yoga instructor from New York. Her music career began in pop-rock, touring the college circuit for months at a time to finance the release of her records herself. In 2007, she formed The Bari Koral Family Band with jazz bassist Dred Scott and drummer Eric Halverson, releasing a self-titled 6-song EP of "rock songs for kids that parents dig." Their first LP, ''Rock and Roll Garden'', was released in 2010 on Koral's label, Loopytunes. ''Anna and the Cupcakes'', was released in 2012, also on Loopytunes. Bari tours extensively throughout the United States, both with (and sometimes without) the band, playing private events, children's shows, fundraisers and parties.

Discography

''Joy'' (1999)

''Cloudwalking'' (2002)

''Confessions of An Indiegirl'' (2004)

''Bari Koral Family Rock Band'' (2007)

''Rock and Roll Garden'' (2010)

''Anna and the Cupcakes'' (2012)

References

External links

Official site

Category:Songwriters from New York Category:Jewish American musicians Category:American singers Category:American female singers Category:Living people

name	Little Red
background	group_or_band
origin	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
genre	Pop, rock
years active	2005 – present
label	Liberation Music
associated acts	The GreasersThe HondasMajor Tom and The Atoms
website	Little Red Music
current members	Adrian BeltrameDominic ByrneQuang DinhTom HartneyTaka Honda
past members	}}

Little Red is a rock band from Melbourne, Australia consisting of Adrian Beltrame (guitar, vocals), Dominic Byrne (guitar, vocals), Quang Dinh (bass, vocals), Tom Hartney (vocals, keyboards, tambourine and harmonica) and Taka Honda (drums).

Biography

The band was formed in 2005 and were featured on Triple J Unearthed. The band won the 2008 Australia-wide 'Garage to V' competition held by Virgin Mobile to win a slot at all shows of the Australian V Festival in 2008, while the band has also performed at the Falls Festival, Meredith Music Festival, the Big Day Out, the Pyramid Rock Festival and the Laneway Festival.

Little Red's songs "Waiting", "Coca-Cola" and "Witch Doctor" have all received regular play on Australian nation-wide radio station Triple J, while "Coca-Cola" was also included on the official soundtrack of Australian TV series ''Underbelly'', and was voted #47 on the 2008 Triple J Hottest 100.

The band independently released in Australia an album entitled ''Listen to Little Red'' on 28 June 2008, which debuted at number 29 on the ARIA Charts. The album was licensed for release outside of Australia by the UK independent Lucky Number Music and was released on 16 November 2009 in the UK and early 2010 internationally.

In September, 2010, the band released a second album, ''Midnight Remember'', featuring their latest single, "Rock It" which gained a gold accreditation and second place in Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2010, with the album's second single "Slow Motion" securing 79th position.

On 21 April 2011 they released a music video to "All Mine," also from Midnight Remember on youtube, through the Liberation Music record label's account.

Touring

Headlined their 'All Mine' National Tour featuring Worlds End Press & Passport For Amy 2011

Toured with Blondie and The Pretenders, Evening On The Green 2010

Big Day Out 2011

Pyramid Rock 2010/2011

Splendour in the Grass July/August 2010

Toured with Kasabian in July 2010

Headline tour of Australia supported by Ground Components in April/May 2009

Headline tour of Australia - University Tour - in October 2008

Toured with Vampire Weekend on their national Australian tour in August 2008

Headline tour of Australia - album tour - in August/September 2008 supported by The Holidays and Andy Bull

Toured with The Panics on their national album tour in May 2008

Toured with Spoon in January 2008

Toured with Operator Please on their national Australian tour in April 2008

Toured with Art of Fighting in September 2007

Discography

Albums

''Listen to Little Red'' — Hooch Hound/Shock (28 June 2008) AUS #29 — Lucky Number/Lucky Number Music (2009) ''Midnight Remember'' — Liberation (September 2010) AUS #5

EPs

''Get Ready! EP''

Singles

"Coca Cola"/"It's Alright" — Neon Gold/Lucky Number/Lucky Number Music (2009)

"Waiting"/"Wait Is Over" — Neon Gold/Lucky Number/Lucky Number Music (2009)

"Rock It" (2010) AUS #19

"Slow Motion" (2010)

"All Mine" (2011)

References

External links

Little Red video interview @ VFestival

Category:Australian rock music groups Category:Victoria (Australia) musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 2005

name	Eric Herman
background	solo_singer
birth name	Eric Herman Endres
birth date	June 14, 1969
Birth place	Buffalo, New York, USA
instrument	Vocals, Guitar
genre	Children's music
years active	2002–present
website	EricHermanMusic.com }}

Eric Herman (real name Eric Herman Endres) is a children's music performer based in the Pacific Northwest. His music combines various styles of rock music with often wryly humorous kid-related lyrics to create what he refers to as "cool tunes for kids". Popular songs of his include the viral YouTube hit, "The Elephant Song", "There's a Monster in My House", "Blackbeard, Bluebeard and Redbeard" and "Cowboy Bergaleoukaleopaleous".

Herman performed with Western New York area rock bands including Ember and The Infydels, and he was a regular performer on the Buffalo area acoustic singer/songwriter and live theater scenes. In 2003 a successful production of a musical comedy he wrote, ''A Week in the Life'', was staged at the Alleyway Theater in Buffalo, New York, earning him an Artie Award nomination as "Best Actor in a Musical". But with the success of his first album of music for kids, ''The Kid in the Mirror'', Herman decided to devote his full attention to producing and performing kids' music under the act name Eric Herman and the Invisible Band. His second album, ''Monkey Business'', proved even more successful, with Seattle's Victory Music Review calling it "one of the best kids' records ever". He has since released three more CDs, ''Snow Day!'', ''Snail's Pace'' and ''What a Ride!'', to further acclaim.

Eric Herman songs and videos have been heard and seen nationally on PBS Kids, The Today Show, XM Kids and Fox & Friends. His song "Blackbeard, Bluebeard and Redbeard" was voted "Best Children's Song" by the international Just Plain Folks Music Organization for their 2006 awards, and he received a Parents' Choice Award in 2009 for his ''What a Ride!'' album. Eric's music videos have become extremely popular, with over 20 million views on YouTube, led by "The Elephant Song", which was featured by YouTube in May 2007. In 2010 "The Elephant Song" was covered by the duo, Victor and Leo, for the CD/DVD release "XSPB 10" by Brazilian superstar, Xuxa, and his video for "The Tale of the Sun and the Moon" was featured prominently in a scene of the Warner Bros. movie Life as We Know It (film). Eric's songs have been regular top sellers on the popular indie music site, CDBaby, at one time holding 8 of the top 10 ten spots.

Several of Herman's songs have words written by or with noted children's poetry author, Kenn Nesbitt (who has also provided voice characters for some recordings, including the voice of Bluebeard on "Blackbeard, Bluebeard and Redbeard"), and Herman credits his wife, Roseann, with co-writing many of his songs and co-producing his albums. Herman also collaborated with children's musician Eric Ode for the song "My Lucky Day" and singer/songwriter Steve Brown for the song "How to Move a Monster". Guest artists performing on Eric Herman recordings include Sam Payne ("Scat Cat"), Gwendolyn (artist) Sanford of Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang ("Come Play"), Jim Dague of Scribblemonster ("How to Move a Monster"), The Hughes Brothers ("Cowboy Bergaleoukaleopaleous"), Robbi K ("How Big"), Jen Marco Handy ("This Little Light of Mine"), Ryan Tilby ("Carseat Snack"), Josh Dutton of The Duttons ("What a Ride"), Tito Uquillas of The Hipwaders ("Time Machine") and Mr. Billy ("How to Move a Monster").

Eric Herman created and hosts the "Cool Tunes for Kids" blogsite, with interviews and features about other noted kids' music artists, such as Trout Fishing in America (band), Ralph's World, Imagination Movers and They Might Be Giants, as well as articles by Herman about his experiences working in the kids' music field.

Herman has identified himself as a Latter-day Saint, but his music for kids is non-religious in nature.

Discography

The Kid in the Mirror (2003)

Monkey Business (2005)

Snow Day! (2006)

Snail's Pace (2007)

What a Ride! (2009)

External links

Eric Herman website

Eric Herman YouTube channel

Eric's kids' music blogsite

Eric's Facebook site

References

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:American Latter Day Saints Category:People from Buffalo, New York Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American children's musicians

name	Andrew Hansen
birth name	Andrew John Hansen
birth date	September 18, 1974
medium	Print, television, radio and stage
nationality	Australian
active	1999–present
genre	Satirical and musical comedy
notable work	The Chaser ''The Chaser Decides'' (2001, 2004, 2007) ''CNNNN'' (2002–2003) ''Cirque du Chaser'' (2005) ''The Chaser's War On Everything'' (2006–2009) ''The Chaser's Age Of Terror Variety Hour'' (2008) ''Yes We Canberra!'' (2010) ''The Blow Parade'' (2010) ''The Hamster Wheel'' (2011)
website	www.chaser.com.au

}}

Andrew John Hansen (born 18 September 1974) is an Australian comedian and musician, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser. As a member of The Chaser, Hansen's television work includes co-writing and appearing in ABC Television shows ''CNNNN'' (2002–2003), ''The Chaser Decides'' (2004, 2007), ''Chaser News Alert'' (2005), ''The Chaser's War On Everything'' (2006–07, 2009), ''Yes We Canberra!'' (2010), and ''The Hamster Wheel'' (2011). He has also co-written and performed in The Chaser's stage shows, ''Cirque du Chaser'' (2005) and ''The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour'' (2008). With Chaser colleague Chris Taylor, Hansen starred in a scripted radio comedy series on triple j titled ''The Blow Parade'', which was released on CD and through iTunes Store Australia.

Early life

Hansen was School Captain of the The Hills Grammar School in Kenthurst, New South Wales and is a graduate of the University of Sydney with honours in Australian literature and Australian history.

In 1995 he appeared as a subject in Simon Target's documentary ''Uni'' about three students studying at the University of Sydney (Hansen later satirised Target in ''CNNNN'' where he played the network's British correspondent who was also called Simon Target). Soon-to-be fellow Chaser member Charles Firth was one of the other two students featured. During the documentary it was revealed that Hansen suffered from clinical depression while attending the university.

The Chaser

CNNNN

Hansen starred in The Chaser's satirical American news show ''CNNNN'' as the leader of the "newsband". He was also characters Rudi J Blass, director of "Newstainment", and Simon Target, an English reporter. Hansen's performance in the first season of ''CNNNN'' earned him the Australian Comedy Award for Outstanding Television Newcomer.

The Chaser's War on Everything

Hansen has been a regular writer and performer on ''The Chaser's War on Everything'' since the pilot episode. He is particularly known for composing and performing songs on the program. He is also known for his character pieces, which include ''Scenes from the Life of the Crazy Warehouse Guy'', ''The Surprise Spruiker'', ''Clive the Slightly Too-Loud Commuter'', and ''Mr. Ten Questions''. In the second part of the first season and the whole of the second and third, Andrew sported a different hairstyle every week. He has said that he likes to look entertaining with his clothes and his hair.

Hansen is a pianist and guitarist and in addition to his songwriting, Hansen composed the show's theme music, which received the APRA-AGSC Screen Music Award for Best Television Theme (2006).

In ''The Chaser's War on Everything'' DVD Volume 2's commentary, Hansen revealed that he is a fan of computer games and ''Doctor Who''. This may have sparked the inspiration for one of his songs sung on ''The Chaser's War on Everything'' Season 1, about ''Doctor Who''. It is also stated on the commentary that about 3/4 of the ''Doctor Who'' props in the video clip were supplied by Andrew himself. On the Season 2 Volume 1 commentary, it was revealed jokingly that Hansen is a huge fan of U2, which is why he chose not to imitate lead singer Bono during a sketch. This allegation was possibly tongue-in-cheek, as Hansen did make fun of Bono by playing a Bono-like character in his radio show ''The Blow Parade''.

For Season 1 of the program, he received the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Performance in Television Comedy (2006).

The Eulogy Song

The most controversial song that Hansen has performed was ''The Eulogy Song'', which was originally written for Chris Taylor's play ''Dead Caesar'', with music by Hansen and lyrics by Taylor. On 17 October 2007 episode of ''The War'', Hansen performed the song which satirised the lives of several deceased celebrities, including Peter Brock, Stan Zemanek, Princess Diana, Donald Bradman, Steve Irwin, John Lennon, Jeff Buckley and Kerry Packer, expressing the view that people with flaws during life are often disproportionately hailed as "top blokes" after death. The song became the target of significant media attention, with several radio and television personalities saying the song was in "bad taste", and both the then Prime Minister of Australia John Howard and then Leader of the Opposition Kevin Rudd expressing negative views.

Stage Shows

Hansen co-wrote and appeared in the live show ''Cirque du Chaser'', which toured Australia in 2005.

Hansen composed and performed the music for the Sydney Theatre Company's 2007 musical comedy ''Dead Caesar'', which was written by Chaser colleague Chris Taylor. He also played the roles of Marc Antony and Lucius. ''The Eulogy Song'' was originally written for and performed during this play.

In 2008, Hansen toured Australia with The Chaser's second stage show, ''The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour''.

In October 2009, Hansen hosted ''The Goodies: Before, During and After'', a live show by British comedy trio The Goodies at Sydney's Riverside Theatre (Parramatta) and at the World's Funniest Island comedy festival. The show involved Hansen interviewing Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden, as well as performing a Goodies song with them.

In 2011, Hansen joined various combinations of The Chaser team's members for a series of live shows in Sydney entitled ''The Chaser's Empty Vessel''.

Other productions

Hansen was the guitarist and one of the vocalists for independent Sydney band The Fantastic Leslie. The Fantastic Leslie was composed of Cameron Bruce, Tom Gleeson, James Fletcher and Hansen. In July 1999 the band released their 6-track EP ''A Tiny Mark'' which was distributed through MGM Distribution. He was also a member of independent alternative band Mending.

Hansen co-wrote the short film ''Garbage Man'' with Charles Firth and British comedian Henry Naylor. It was a Tropfest finalist in 2005 and a prizewinner at Germany's Ohne Kohle festival. Hansen has also been known to feature on the musical comedy circuit, including a recorded performance of one of his more famous songs, 'I Wish I Was A Scottish Stand-Up Comedian', for the ''Laugh-A-Poolooza'' 2006 DVD release.

Hansen has had writer/performer contributions to the Nine Network's ''Comedy Inc.'' and the ABC's ''My Favourite Album''. He also does the voice-over for the ABC's ''First Tuesday Book Club'' and has voiced the ABC's ''Media Watch''. He composed the music for Nickelodeon's ''Sarvo'' and ''Napman'', and songs for the ''Sesame Street'' character Ollie. Hansen appeared and presented at the 2007 MTV Australia Awards and the 2007 ARIA Music Awards. Also that year, he made a guest appearance on Nine's ''The Nation''. In 2008, he appeared in a sketch on SBS's ''Newstopia'', as well as an episode of the Australian gaming TV show ''Good Game'' on the ABC, challenging the hosts to a 'Roffle Cup'. He also made an appearance as a guest host on the program in 2010, filling in for host Steven O'Donnell and again in 2011 filling in for host Stephanie Bendixsen. In 2009, he made guest appearances on Network Ten's ''Rove'' and ''Good News Week''. He appeared again on ''Good News Week'' in 2010, this time with Chris Taylor, in the guise of characters from their radio show ''The Blow Parade''. The same year, he was a guest on ''Top Gear Australia'', where he drove deliberately slowly around the celebrity track for humorous effect.

Hansen was the host of ''Strictly Speaking'', a speechmaking competition series, which aired on ABC1 in 2010.

He composed the music for and starred in ''The Blow Parade'', a scripted radio comedy series he made with Chris Taylor. It premiered on triple j on 28 April 2010. The series was released on CD and through the iTunes Store with bonus tracks. This album won the 2010 ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release.

He played the character 'Dex' in the 3D movie ''Sanctum'', produced by James Cameron and released in 2011.

See also

References

External links

Andrew Hansen on Last.fm

Andrew Hansen at TV.com

Category:1974 births Category:The Chaser members Category:Australian television writers Category:Australian television actors Category:Australian television personalities Category:Australian stage actors Category:Australian songwriters Category:Australian musicians Category:Australian comedy musicians Category:Australian male singers Category:Australian comedians Category:Australian guitarists Category:Australian keyboardists Category:Australian radio personalities Category:People from Sydney Category:University of Sydney alumni Category:Living people