Video Spotlight – “Dog Alphabet Song” performed by Grin Brigade

When he’s not busy these days being part of the entertaining duo Randy & Dave, Dave Kinnoin and a whole host of friends (including Randy Sharp and Red Grammer) are busy making music as Grin Brigade. The group’s second album, All I Do Is Hop, is filled with 29 songs that cover an incredibly wide range of topics. One of those tracks is the “Dog Alphabet Song.” While the tune is fun to listen to, there’s nothing quite like watching the video that goes along with it. The dog days of summer may already feel like distant memories, but this video featuring dogs of every shape, size and breed, will be the uplifting hit that your fall needs. Brighten any day by watching with the young dog and animal lovers in your life.  Can’t catch all the types of dogs as they go by? Check out the lyrics (and chords if you want to try playing it yourself!) here.  Enjoy!

2019 Latin GRAMMY Nominees

This morning the nominees for the 20th Annual Latin GRAMMY awards were announced. The nominees in the Best Latin Children’s Album category are a diverse and delightful group. Be sure to try the albums below before the winner is announced on November 14.

Luces, Cámara, Accion performed by Claraluna

¡Alegría! performed by Sonia De Los Santos

Buenos Diaz performed by The Lucky Band

Bim Bom Bam! performed by Payasitas Nifu Nifa

Canta las Letras performed by 123 Andrés

Celebrate Grandparents Day with “Grandma and Grandpa”

Did you know that National Grandparents Day officially became a holiday on August 3, 1978?  In the early 1970’s Marian McQuade, a resident of West Virginia and advocate for the senior population, began campaigning to have Grandparents Day recognized in that state. Through her efforts, in 1973, West Virginia became the first state to proclaim Grandparents Day a holiday. McQuade’s quest didn’t end there and in 1978, President Carter designated the Sunday after Labor Day as Grandparents Day. And this year, that special day is Sunday, September 8.

What better way to celebrate Grandparents Day 2019 than with a delightful new song from Stephen Michael Schwartz? Whether your grandma and grandpa are the ones that you were born with or special seniors that you hold dear to your heart, all grandparents will be touched by this upbeat, special message of love from a grandchild. “Grandma and Grandpa” appears on veteran children’s performer, songwriter and member of Parachute Express, Schwartz’s latest solo album, Ditto Kiddo. Click here to get a sneak “peak” at the songs in this new collection and click below to enjoy “Grandma and Grandpa.”

Video Spotlight – “We the People” Performed by Wendy & DB

Chicago-based children’s music artists Wendy Morgan and Darryl Boggs don’t just talk the talk, they also walk the walk. Along with writing music about helping protect the environment, the animals within it and general messages about having love for one another, for years the duo has donated part of the proceeds from their albums to the VH1 Save the Music Foundation and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots. While the target audience for the music from their albums is at the preschool through early grade school level, Wendy & DB make time each year to work with local middle and high school students throughout the Chicagoland area to create music that is important not only to the students, but to the larger global community as well.

At the end of 2018, Wendy & DB worked with the HHW Youth Gospel Choir, Easter Seals, A Better Life for Kids, and ABLFK African Signers to create the video for their uplifting song, “Way is Peace.” As the song goes, “Let me show you the way. The way is peace. Let me show you the way. The way is love.” The pure joy of the younger children, the powerful voices of the teens and the messages for peace at the end of the video work together to convey an incredibly simple yet so often unheeded message. All of the proceeds from the sale of “Way is Peace” go to Cure Violence Global.

With their latest song, Wendy & DB take on the topic of immigration. To ensure that the message of “We the People” was properly conveyed, they worked very closely with the students at Chicago’s Sullivan High School where over 80% of the student body is immigrants themselves. Over the course of several months, Wendy, DB and bandmate Dean Rolando worked with Sullivan’s music department as well as several English as a Second Language students to create the lyrics of “We the People.” The images in the video combined with these lyrics depicts the immigrant experience not just of these incredible students but of so many throughout our country. Proceeds from “We the People” as well as the Sullivan High School students version of the song go to the immigrant support organization RefugeeOne.