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Our family is really into music.  I mean, we’re really into music.  We’re always singing loudly and busting into impromptu dance parties.  But people are often surprised that my kids rarely listen to FM radio or popular music.  Instead, my husband and I try to curate their music because, let’s be honest, it’s pretty jarring to hear a six-year-old kid sing a song about a one-night stand.  And, in my opinion, a fifth grader has no business bopping along to lyrics with curse words that demoralize women, even if edited and sung via Kids Bop.  Nonetheless, we owe it to our kids to teach them about good music.  Most of us started exposing our children to music in utero (headphones on your baby bump, anyone?) with the hope of growing well-cultured offspring.  Whether we mean to or not, we shape our kids’ musical tastes. I can still sing along to most every song by Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Little River Band because that’s the music I grew up on (there’s a bad moon on the rise NOT a bathroom on the right, thank you very much John Fogerty).

My kids weren’t born requesting Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 or, much to my jazz-loving husband’s chagrin, selections from Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue.   But they pay attention to what we’re listening to in the car and at home.  And, when they like what they hear, they ask to play it over and over and over again.  We listen to kids channels on Amazon Music and Pandora, and we love absolutely everything about SiriusXM’s Kids Place Live.  I’m not a music reviewer; I don’t have a degree in music or any real musical appreciation standards, but I know what makes my kids sing along and demand we turn it up.  And in those moments, I make mental notes about what we should add to our ever-growing playlist.

It goes without saying that there are some great grown up musicians who are suitable for kids too. Thankfully the likes of Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Imagine Dragons, and even the Beatles are cool enough for everyone in the family.  But even some of their songs aren’t necessarily appropriate for young ears.  I struggle with spinning funky beats that are groan-proof and suitable for kids that are four years apart in age.  We share pop music and show tunes and lots of classics and absolutely delight in landing on an artist or song that falls in the family music sweet spot.

In our quest to find family-friendly music from various sources, we’ve come to love some children’s musicians that I think grown ups will love too.  I’d encourage you to take a listen and share with your budding music lovers.  A note of caution about kids’ music though – it’s clever and silly and the lyrics are meant to stick in that part of your brain that’s difficult to silence (a.k.a. the dreaded phonological loop).  And remember it’s music made for kids so manage your critiques accordingly.  Here are my TOP 5 (well, actually, six) for your consideration:

1. Okee Dokee Brothers –

Not-really-brothers Joe and Justin write and sing folksy songs about everything from canoeing to mosquitoes to the illusive Jackolope.  Their trilogy of Grammy-nominated albums follows their many adventures in the outdoors, and the harmonies and clever lyrics are most prominent. It’s hard to say which album is best, and even though Can You Canoe? won the Grammy, we have favorite songs from all of their albums.  “The Great Divide,” “Lighten Your Load,” “You You You” and “Campin’ Tent” are standouts.

2. Parry Gripp

My apologies in advance for this awesome recommendation, but Mr. Gripp is a master of the earworm.    His novel kid songs (mostly about animals and food) haven’t really been combined into album form because he introduces them mostly through YouTube, but they’re worth downloading individually.  Some of our favorites include: “Space Unicorn,” “Raining Tacos,” “Black Hamster,” and “Do You Like Waffles?”, but tune to his Pandora channel or ask Alexa to play his songs and discover your family’s favorites.

3. Laurie Berkner Band

Laurie Berkner is the OG of kids’ music.  She’s been stomping around like a dinosaur since 1997 when her first album Whaddya Think of That? was released.  People magazine called her, “The queen of children’s music,” and it’s a title well-deserved.  Her music is probably most suitable for younger kids (my son insists he outgrew her music at eight), but we still play her holiday album on repeat without any complaints. Her dance remix album injected a new twist into some of our old favorites like “Victor Vito” and “The Cat Came Back,” but the originals are still as fun as they’ve ever been for me.

4. Recess Monkey/Anything by Jack Forman

These teachers turned kiddie rockers know a thing or two about catchy lyrics.  And they’re impressively prolific.  They’ve released an album every year since 2009, and you’ll find family favorites on all of them.  In the interest of full disclosure, everyone in our family loves Recess Monkey front man, Jack Forman, and his Sirius XM Kids Place Live Show, Live from the Monkey House!, so we may be a bit biased here.  But Jack’s solo stuff including “Yodeling Yoda” is definitely also worth a listen.

5. TIE – Lori Henriques & Gustafer Yellowgold

The number five spot on this list was a source of great debate in our house.  I lobbied vehemently for Lori Henriques, but the kids thought Gustafer should take the Cakenstein.  So we declared it a tie…

Lori Henriques’s music is jazzy and artful and just plain fun.  Lori is an absurdly talented musician with a distinct sound in the kid music genre. “How Great Can This Day Be” should be mandatory morning music while “The Poop Song” (yep, that’s right) and “Vocabulary” are sure to delight the entire family.

Gustafer Yellowgold (Morgan Taylor’s alter-ego), on the other hand, is the kind of artist and musician that is difficult to categorize.  His songs are skillful accounts of well-imagined schemes with evil foods and vivid adventures.  His “Cakenstein” and “Baconstein” are our obvious favorites, but Gustafer’s prolific audio and video offerings are a sure winner for long roadtrips and kitchen dance parties.  Also, if you get the chance to see him live, go and take the kids.  You won’t regret it.

I hope you’ll consider giving a few of these talented artists a listen.  Maybe you can jam to “Raining Tacos” on the next Taco Tuesday or surprise your kids with “Baconstein” over breakfast.  If you do, let me know what you think.  And I love learning about new children’s artists and songs so please share your favorites here.

“Where words fail, music speaks.”
-Hans Christian Andersen