A New Kids' View from G'Raph

It takes a little bit of pretzel logic to explain to kids how musician Raphael Groton branded himself "G'Raph" for his children's music recording. The multi-faceted musician is previously known for his jazz, latin, and funk compositions, as well as "international healing music," if that floats your boat in the bathtub. His new collection, HAPPILY EVER NOW, introduces Raph's love for soft funk ("Hands in the Water"), country ("I'm Not pErfect"), and blues ("Baby Blues"). If this is your first purchase of children's music, it may be an absolute revelation. For those who have already established a collection of preferred artists, not so much.

In the mid-2000s, my older son started to get into children's music. Before long, I entered the reviewing phase of my writing career. We began to assemble CDs of his favorite music as "goodie bag" gifts at his birthday parties (starting at age three). Subsequently, people would mention what they played for their kids – whether it was endless Sesame Street or Beatles CDs. They just simply didn't know of any alternatives. One set of parents were delighted to receive the new collection, telling me "We just leave the last one in the car and play it on a loop. Now we have something to swap it out."

I became acquainted with semi-professionals (they played weekend gigs at weddings and parties) who dabbled in children's music, as well as "Mommy and Me" types who used their years of musical education to record a CD they could hock at their classes. One of my friends from college bragged that he and a colleague produced a cassette tape that included such memorable titles as "You Can Pick Your Friends, But Don't Pick Your Nose." Whenever I see or hear a title along those lines, it's become my Niagara Falls. It's waving a flag in my face, and the face of anyone who takes children's music seriously – that you are willing to use the most base concept to drag a chuckle from parents and a mirthful giggle from the youngest of listeners. When HAPPILY EVER NOW featured a track called "Don't Pick Your Nose," I forcibly stifled years of accumulated bile.

Raph comes by his children's music in an honorable fashion. His four-month-old son was involved in a near-fatal car accident in 2002. Strumming guitar bedside in the intensive care unit at the hospital, he became aware of the healing power of music. There's a viability to Raph's recordings, and his focus comes from a place of honesty. He just needs to get past some of the facade that makes HAPPILY EVER NOW merely a serviceable first impression to the genre.

HAPPILY EVER NOW is available from G'Raph's website, Amazon, Spotify, and Apple Music.

Here is the video for Raphael Groton's song, "Hands in the Water":