Fids and Kamily Awards 2019
It’s that time of year again. Time for the “Best of…” lists to start appearing. First up in the land of children’s music is the 14th annual Fids & Kamily Music Awards. Voted on by a stellar collection of folks familiar with the fantastic offerings from the children’s music industry, this list of the Top 12 albums of 2019 for kids and families is a list of “must haves” for every collection. Don’t forget to take a look at the Honorable mentions, they are great ones to have as well. Keep an eye out in the next couple of weeks for our Kids Rhythm and Rock best of the year list as well. Also on the horizon, the GRAMMY nominations for Best Children’s Album on November 20, followed shortly thereafter by School Library Journal’s “10 Best Children’s Albums.” Are there any albums you wished had made the Fids and Kamily 2019 list?
Thank You Mister Rogers: Music & Memories is a tribute to the incomparable Fred Rogers. Featuring twelve of the over 200 songs that Rogers wrote during his lifetime and performed by a wide variety of stars from yesterday and today, this album is filled with nostalgia for those who spent their formative years wishing they could visit that most famous of neighborhoods. “Some Things I Don’t Understand” was originally performed by Mister Rogers in episode 1101: Death of a Goldfish (1970). During the episode, Mister Rogers discovers that one of his goldfish has died. Throughout the episode, he demonstrates ways to deal with grief including acknowledging that it is ok to be sad, and the importance of sharing happy memories of those you lose. The episode concludes with “Some Things I Don’t Understand” which emphasizes the importance of talking about your feelings when you are happy, sad, mad, or just don’t understand.
Originally performed with much gravitas by Fred Rogers, Bergeron’s version of “Some Things I Don’t Understand” maintains all of the original lyrics but is given an updated jazzy feel that still treats the wonderances seriously, while giving them a more lighthearted melody to be posed against. Bergeron sets the perfect tone of a child’s inquisitive mind with his lively lyrics that move from topic to topic, but much like Mister Rogers, never just gives us the answers. “Some Things I Don’t Understand” also includes a rather impressive whistling solo by Bergeron. As the album’s producer, Dennis Scott, tells it, “I learned that not only did Tom enjoy singing, but he is an outstanding whistler. So at the session we tried having him do a jazz flavored whistling solo. Everyone liked it so much that it became the centerpiece of the song. ”