Not for Kids Only

You are in for a treat, folks.  Dan has joined kidHaven as our ‘music contributor’ and I can’t tell you how excited I am about this!  I don’t know about you, but I am always looking to add new, good music to our lives (if for no other reason than to not have to listen to “the Boston song” for the 5,000th time!)  It is such a relief to know that Dan is on the job now!  Please welcome Dan with a comment or two–because happy comments equals happy contributors :0)

Written by Dan Finkel

As the title of their 1993 album “Not for Kids Only” suggests, Jerry Garcia (most famously of the Grateful Dead) and David “Dawg” Grisman both think that music aimed at kids should be for everyone else, too.  If you are anything like me, you might find the standard toddler tunes a bit grating (at best…and downright painful, at worst).  If this is the case, ‘Not for Kids Only’ is just for you.

It’s my belief that sharing your own musical preferences with your child is far better than altering them (assuming you are not into death metal or something!).  With this, here are 3 great suggestions for your kids…and you:

Not for Kids Only

David Grisman, Jerry Garcia (1993, Acoustic Disc)

These musicians bring their talent, humor, and their deep knowledge of American folk music together to create an album that, though appropriate for young children, will be enjoyable for you too—even if you listen to it over and over again.  Grisman and Garcia have many collaborative albums in which they explore music introspectively, but this one is light, fun, funny, and musically tight.  You can hear them smiling throughout.  I can’t recommend this one highly enough. If you need an escape from “The Wheels on the Bus,” start here. The proceeds from this disc are donated to children’s charities, so you can feel even better about yourself if you buy two – makes a nice baby or birthday present for like-minded friends!

What Kind of Cat Are You?

Billy Jonas (2002, Big Kids Productions)

Billy Jonas is a solid musician and an outstanding songwriter, but what I love most about this album is that it gives kids all the credit they deserve. Many pieces of music for kids are overly simple in both melody and lyrics, which is basically like talking down to our children as if they were dumb.  They’re not!  Billy Jonas writes songs full of quirky, hilarious concepts, pitched at just the right level.  They are loaded with energy, catchy choruses, and normal vocabulary.  Believe it or not, you will hear the following words on this album: photosynthesis, catalytic converter and petrochemicals!  Even though my two year old can’t say these words yet, he loves this disc…and so do I!

The Johnny Cash Children’s Album

Johnny Cash (1975, Columbia Records)

This classic was recently re-released on CD (2006, I believe), and I am so glad it was!  It might be hard to imagine the man in black singing kid’s songs, but he actually was a family man, too. These tracks are an amazing mixture of playfulness, sweetness, and country-folksiness. Tracks like “Nasty Dan” and “Ah Boh Cee Dah” (a great twist on alphabet songs) have become regular refrains in my household.  The songs are lively, and though Cash’s voice is inherently serious, somehow that only adds to the fun.  This is a side of Johnny Cash that I bet most non-parents never hear, so take the opportunity and let your kids introduce you to “Uncle Johnny”!

If you have other suggestions, please include them in a comment on this post – it would be great to get exposed to more “not for kids only” style music.  You try to feed your kids healthy food, right?  Now you can feed their ears healthy music, too! ~Dan