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Warren's Children's Music Blog

By Warren Truitt, About.com Guide to Children's Music

Upcoming Disney Movie Soundtracks

Tuesday November 10, 2009

For both the casual moviegoer and the rabid fanatic, Disney soundtracks are sometimes as highly anticipated as the films themselves. From the recently-released Disney's A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey, to next year's guaranteed blockbuster Toy Story 3, upcoming Disney movie soundtracks feature music composed by Randy Newman, Alan Silvestri, and Danny Elfman, as well as performances by Ne-Yo, Dr. John, Anika Noni Rose, and Andrea Bocelli.

Weekly Kids' Music Charts

Saturday November 7, 2009

The Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb: Original TV Soundtrack tops the Kids' Music Charts for the fourth week in a row, followed closely by They Might Be Giants' Here Comes Science for those same four weeks.

Miley Cyrus' Hannah Montana: The Movie Soundtrack has been hanging in there for almost eight straight months, while Ziggy Marley's Family Time makes a reappearance in the Top 10. Here are the Top 10 best-selling children's CDs for the week of November 1, 2009.

Image Courtesy Walt Disney Records

Thanksgiving Songs for Kids

Friday November 6, 2009

Know what's harder to find than a can of pumpkin pie filling on Thanksgiving Eve? An album full of Thanksgiving songs for kids! So, I've compiled a list of some of the best Turkey Tunes for Tots from various CDs, from traditional songs like "Over the River and Through the Wood" by Dog On Fleas and The Quincy Choral Society, to thoughtful, original odes by John McCutcheon and Si Kahn, to fun, silly tunes by Debbie Friedman, The Uncle Brothers and Laurie Berkner.

Image Courtesy Rounder Records

Sesame Street 40th Anniversary Music

Wednesday November 4, 2009

Did you see the Google Doodle today? More and more Muppets will be featured on Google's front page in anticipation of Sesame Street's 40th Anniversary on November 10, 2009.

Besides a planned reissuing of three classic Sesame Street albums by Koch Records next week, fans can also look forward to a cover album of favorite Sesame Street and Muppet Show tunes in the near future. Koch Records and Sesame Workshop will release for the first time on CD The Original Cast Record, Big Bird Sings, and Bert & Ernie Sing Along, originally released in 1970, 1974, and 1975, respectively. And early next year Walt Disney Records will release Muppets Revisited, a CD of covers by folks like Weezer, My Morning Jacket, and Andrew Bird. Stay tuned for further info...

Image Courtesy Children's Television Workshop

Weekly Kids' Music Charts

Sunday November 1, 2009

Here's an oddity: half of the Top 10 Kids' Music best-sellers over the past week were releases from the past, some going back as far as the early '90s. Baby Einstein's Lullaby Classics, Jack Johnson's Curious George Soundtrack, Laurie Berkner's Rocketship Run, They Might Be Giants' Here Come the 123s, and Music for Little People's Toddler Favorites all made strong showings, falling just below the Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb: Original TV Soundtrack.

Here are the Top 10 best-selling children's CDs for the week of October 25, 2009.

Free Kids' Music from Charity & The JAMband!

Thursday October 29, 2009

Charity Kahn continues her "Song of the Month" series with "a call to dance your dance, sing your song, stay grounded, stay shining, and keep loving all along the way. It's for your inner rockstar, your inner guide...the part of you that Knows What to Do, the part that knows how to SING, DANCE, LOVE, SHINE!" The funky, rockin' "Rockstar" will have your little ones bringing out their imaginary six-strings and make-believe mics, for sure.

Charity's free kids' music downloads were inaugurated last December with "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," followed by January's "The Bird," February's "The Song in Your Heart," March's "The Reminder," April's "Pancakes," May's "Rock-A-Bye," June's "Beach," and "A Little Night Music" in July.

Head on over to Charity and The JAMband's website for a free download of "Rockstar," and visit their archive for past Songs of the Month.

Halloween Songs for Kids

Wednesday October 28, 2009

'Tis the season to be spooky, so I've compiled a list of silly, scary, fun CDs and albums full of some of the best Halloween songs for kids. From kids' music veteran Sue Schnitzer to '70's pop star Andrew Gold, from songwriter Ira Marlowe to schlock rocker Rob Zombie and friends, these collections of Halloween tunes are perfect for fun at home, classroom parties, or greeting trick-or-treaters at your door.

Image Courtesy Brainy Tunes

Weekly Kids' Music Charts

Saturday October 24, 2009

Indie rock biggies They Might Be Giants place three albums in this week's Kids' Music Charts, but they're no match for animated duo Phineas and Ferb. The two characters from the Disney Channel's hit TV show sit confidently atop the Top 10 with their Phineas and Ferb: Original TV Soundtrack, while TMBG follow closely with Here Comes Science, their current CD for kids.

Two previous albums by They Might Be Giants, Here Come the 123s and Here Come the ABCs, also make the charts this week, joined by the Yo Gabba Gabba! compilation Music is Awesome! Here are the Top 10 best-selling children's CDs for the week of October 18, 2009.

Image Courtesy Walt Disney Records

Frances England Rarity is a Hidden Treasure

Tuesday October 20, 2009

A few years ago, San Francisco-based mom and musician Frances England came out of nowhere and charmed the sneakers off kids and their grownups with her first two CDs Fascinating Creatures and Family Tree, both making the best-of lists in 2006 and 2008.

A new tune by Frances England, "Sunset Shines on Me," has popped up on the WWW recently, written by England for her kids' alma mater, the Sunset Cooperative Nursery School. It would be an absolute shame if more people didn't get to hear the simple brilliance of England's style, so check out "Sunset Shines on Me" and bask in the calming awesomeness.

Photo Courtesy Frances England

New Yo Gabba Gabba! Performance: The Little Ones

Friday October 16, 2009

Yo Gabba Gabba! winds up a week full of new episodes with a performance by The Little Ones. The West Coast indie pop quintet show up on the "Dress Up" episode to play, appropriately, "Let's Dress Up."

The band were featured two years ago on Yo Gabba Gabba!, performing the reeealy catchy tune "Hey, Won't Somebody Come and Play" behind a fabulously cute animated clip by Jesse Ledoux and PUNY Music. That episode, "Find," aired during the first season of Yo Gabba Gabba!

Photo Courtesy Nick Jr.

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