Springman's Happy Beach Makes Waves

Sometimes children's music speaks to me, and that's great. Sometimes it speaks directly to the kids, and that's great, too. If I had to explain the appeal of the Crazy Frog, I'd give myself a migraine. Headaches aside, Canadian recording artist Perry Springman has released his first children's music CD, HAPPY BEACH. Perry and his four children travel throughout Canada, the United States, and overseas and promote the World Vision Child Sponsorship Program at their music performances. So whatever I think of the music, he's a man on a mission, in more way than one.

With a title like HAPPY BEACH, the target audience is knee-high. And those are the people who would most enjoy "Bouncy Bouncy" and "Chimichanga." There's also a pretty overt message of faith, with God being directly addressed in "Unh-Uh, No Way," "Me and Buddy," and "Mommy and Daddy," among others. If you're into directing thanks and praise to your Almighty, that's cool with me. We've taken our boys to temple since they were born. But generally, the yarmulke stops there. Perry's website talks about the wonderful people he works with in his ministry. Also cool with me. Families can make their own assessments, with song samples and video links on the website.

After 10 albums for adults, Perry and company have turned to the light side (i.e., daytime performance audiences). He and producer
Mark Heimermann (Toby Mac and many spiritual artists) have crafted a breezy, pleasant collection of tunes with a heavenly undercurrent (i.e., the "little bit of Heaven" sung about on "Happy Beach"):

You and I will know an everlasting life
In my eyes I see God smiling back at me
If the faces of my friends
On a happy beach without end

Um, are they truly singing about the seashore? As Freud once said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. But that's cool with me. There's an audience for children's music for people of faith and Perry Springman is directing his dioscese concisely and precisely. If that's your idea of a HAPPY BEACH, then dive right in. God only knows what he'd do without you.

HAPPY BEACH is available from Perry's website, Amazon, and CDBABY.

Here is the video for Perry's song, "Bouncy Bouncy":