Friday, June 26, 2020

Randy & Dave Dance Around Kids Stuff

There are many levels of children's music, from the independent, home-recording enthusiast to longtime industry professionals calling in favors from famous, well-known friends. Randy and Dave entered the kids recording arena with extensive credits under their oversized belt buckles. Three-time Grammy award winner Randy Sharp has multiple #1 country singles and has written and worked with Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Edgar Winter, and Linda Ronstadt to name just a few. Dave Kinnoin has written multitudes of songs for Disney (Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Kermit the Frog) and released eight children's music recordings on his own.


It's hard to knock Randy and Dave when they've made a lifetime's worth of music aimed specifically for children all over the world. Their fourth release, GIGGLE AND BURP BALLET, even donates a portion of its profits to charitable organizations that help kids. Over the course of four collaborative CDs, Randy and Dave have distilled their brand of children's music into a very distinctive formula – songs about stuff when they were kids ("Red Jalopy" and "Gubble Bum"), songs from an unexpected perspective (a fly sings about being separated from its mate on "Screen Door"), songs about beloved pets and species ("Scratch," "What Kind of Animal," and "For a Biscuit"), or tunes that qualify as thigh-slappin' or chin-scratching ("Giggle and Burp Ballet" and "Other Than That").

I'm sure Randy and Dave weren't thinking about being profound when they wrote "Nobody," but the song takes on deeper meaning in the context of a global pandemic:

I wanna build a time machine to drop in on whenever
I'm sure I'll hear all my friends say, "Nobody is that clever."
I'd like to go must father than the speed a light beam goes.
I don't know how to do that now. Nobody knows.
Nobody is the only one who knows all there is to know.
Who can do what people say is impossible, so...

Life is pretty simple for kids portrayed on GIGGLE AND BURP BALLET and perhaps that's for the best, considering the state of the world for everyone right now. The worst that happens to the kid in "Other Than That" is his wifi signal up and quit, he's 10 cents short for ice cream, and he left his homework on the bus. Imagine it was only three months ago that kids could still ride a school bus. In the world and words of Randy and Dave, all these things are still possible, if now merely reduced to nostalgic.

GIGGLE AND BURP BALLET is available from Randy and Dave's website, Amazon, and Apple Music.

Randy and Dave don't necessarily make videos for kids, but you can hear "Red Jalopy" and other tracks from GIGGLE AND BURP BALLET by clicking here:

1 comment:

Robbi K said...

Love your work! Call me when you need to add some cultural flavors to the music & character voices
www.RobbiKumalo.com