There are so many things about “The Mystery Baby” that just tickle me. In this unique take on a bedtime song, the cute storyline tells of a little baby who also dresses like an old school P.I. to fight the bad guys. In a twist toward the end of the song, viewers learn that the Mystery Baby doesn’t go out and about to do battle, but it is in his dreams where he conquers the scary monsters and that listeners can be heroes too – as soon as they go to sleep. The video features images that can also be found in the song’s accompanying picture book created by C.R. Sutherland and illustrated by Nick Decamino. The classic comic style illustrations perfectly capture the whimsy of the song while the smooth, jazz vocals provided by Felice LaZae give it a bit of that film noir quality. I look forward The Mystery Baby’s further adventures coming later this year.
Welcome to Kids Rhythm and Rock’s third annual Children’s Music Roundup! For those of you new to the blog, each year I compile a list of my favorite albums, then organize them by categories that change from year-to-year. Normally I would have had this list up by the middle of December, but 2020 being 2020, it threw a last minute curveball that delayed things a bit.
The past year was a time filled with incredible challenges for children’s music. The pandemic found performers having to completely redefine how they brought their music to the masses, racial and social justice came to the forefront, and the GRAMMY controversy spurred the children’s community to action. Through it all though, one constant remained – children’s music continued to grow in ways that left listeners enthralled, enriched, and entertained. So let’s say hello to 2021 by taking a look back at the year that was in Children’s music. Don’t see your favorites in the list below? Add them in the comments!
Note: There has been a lot of discussion in the past few weeks regarding albums by BIPOC performers. I have denoted those albums with an (**).
Wide World of Music
Fiesta Global performed by Flor Bromley**
Live in LA performed by Aaron Nigel Smith & 1 World Chorus**
Songs Across the Pond performed by David Gibb and Brady Rymer
