Quick Hits: Ben Rudnick Attacks COVID, Dancing With Jumpin' Jamie

Ben Rudnick knows that kids can get stressed. And the best/worst time to stress is when the world is in disorder (a better kid-friendly term than chaos). To address those issues, he has released a new song called "Monster No." In this gentle acoustic tune, coronavirus becomes the monster who can be vanquished through hand washing, wearing a mask, and sheltering in place. You can stream (and purchase) the song through Soundcloud:



Individuality is celebrated by Jumpin' Jamie on his latest single, "I Don't Wanna Dance (Just Like Everyone)" from his upcoming release, NEVER MIND THE BLOCKS. You have your own special moves and 'tude on the dance floor? Then let's see some of your moves. Here's the video:

Ear's Sean McCollough, Tennessee Kid at Heart

Music is everywhere. No really just walk down a street and wait for cars with open windows to drive by if you don't believe me. Taking that one step further, children's music is everywhere. When I think "Tennessee," I generally think of Ben Rudnick's "Live in Lexington" CD, but he's from Massachusetts. If you want to go native, you have Knoxville's "Kidstuff" radio host Sean McCollough and his latest, EARWORM.

Now an actual earworm is a pretty disgusting thing, but in this context it's a song that you just can't get out of your head. Sean is joined by fellow music makers Molly Ledford (for the pleasing monument tune "Sunsphere") and Billy Jonas (the little kids's safety number, "Green Means Go").

Sean's tunes hit the sweet spot for the very young, with plenty of repeating choruses and singalong verses. He's got the confidence from seven years of hosting "Kidstuff" radio, a weekly recorded show of kids music with monthly live programming featuring guests.

EARWORM gives Sean the opportunity to share his concepts, including a pair of goat songs, "Her Name Was Lady" and "Don't Let 'Em Get Your Goat." He delivers a version of the "Kidstuff" theme song for non-listeners of the program and the sympathetic "Car Sick" for anyone whose ever suffered from motion sickness on a family drive.

Sean's music is decidedly off the cuff (perhaps those shirts got too close to the goats) and accessible for the little ones in your brood. How you feel about earworms in your home is entirely up to you, of course. Sean just wants to pass along some down home, easy listening folk music from East Tennessee.

EARWORM is available on May 11 from Sean McCollough's website, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, and CDBABY.

Here is the video of Sean McCollough and friends performing "The Rattlin' Bog":

Quick Hits: New Stuff from Ben Rudnick, Vered, and Red Yarn

Weird Al Yankovic has decided to eschew the process of waiting 2-3 years to compile enough material for a CD and is releasing digital singles. That blueprint has worked successfully for a number of children's recording artists, including Mista Cookie Jar, LARD Dog, and now Ben Rudnick and Friends. Their new single, "Little Bitty Critter" debuts this week with a video on YouTube. Rudnick promises more new music will follow...later this year!



Vered Benhorin is Kickstarting her upcoming release, SONGS FOR SISTERS AND BROTHERS. The launch was on National Siblings Day, so I missed the date, ironically due to being involved with my family. You can listen to the debut single, "Little Bit Tough" on CDBABY and Soundcloud. It's a bit Joni Mitchell and very amiable, with production by Jon Samson and a host of performers including drummer Marty Bellar.

Red Yarn (Andy Furgeson) returns to mine the sounds of rustic traditional American song with his fifth CD, RED YARN'S OLD BARN, later this month. In the meantime, the fuzzy bearded Portland resident teases its release with the first story video, the title track "Old Barn" (filmed in a REAL old barn):

Ben's Playlist - Monday, May 9, 2016

Purple Rain – Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
The Rainbow Connection – Diana Panton
The Great Divide – The Okee Dokee Brothers
Coney Island Crazy – Ben Rudnick & Friends
No Direction Home – Cheap Trick

A Frog Named Sam – Happy Hops from Rudnick & Friends

Eleven albums into his children's recording career, Ben Rudnick took a turn.

I know that sounds ominous, but I mean it in the most positive way. Rudnick and Friends have taken (some would say "repurposed") songs from his oeuvre and worked them into the soundtrack for a musical for children, A FROG NAMED SAM. An oft-requested Rudnick favorite, Australian playwright Augusta Supple was enlisted to spin this yarn.

Rudnick and Friends have carved a niche as a kid's jam band, hence the copious references to the Grateful Dead (although every time he whips out a harmonica, like on "When Something's Got You Terribly Blue," I think of Dan Zanes). A soundtrack is different from a concept album in that everything is neatly explained on the latter. Without liner notes (or an attached public relations note), A FROG NAMED SAM comes across as a decent collection of Rudnick tunes, some previously heard and enjoyed. "Macaroni and Cheese" and "Love Is a Superpower" bring back pleasant memories of past CDs. The band clearly relishes the opportunity to deliver alternate takes on the older songs (anybody read for a Dead callback?).

Briefly, the title character is a world-weary rock star who returns home to find his pond nearly waterless and populated by a three-eyed alien named Tripp. The duo decide to investigate what has caused the disrepair. In between, there's the country-fied "Where's My Horse," with a clip-clop beat and violin and "I Got a New Friend (He's an Alien)." Yes, a southern rural hoedown that brings extraterrestrials to the inclusion table. The disc wraps with a bonus track (which means it's not part of the overall theme of the musical) "Coney Island Crazy,"  a straight rock closer for Rudnick.

Rudnick and bandmates John and Chris Zevos and Jared Steer stick mostly to the New England area, although they did visit Symphony Space earlier this year and they return to Manhattan on January 16 at Brookfield Place. The tightly-honed quartet also tightly knits its identity to their region. Yet their sound is pure Americana, harkening back to Fourth of July boardwalk entertainment and county fairs. There's a summer feel. And with a genuine alien character, A FROG NAMED SAM is literally out of this world.

A FROG NAMED SAM is available January 22 (pre-order it) from Amazon, CDBABY, and iTunes.

Here is the video from "I Got a New Friend":

Kindie Quick Hits: New Vids from Berkner, Rudnick

It's that most stuffing-stocked time of the year.

Here are a couple of new videos, one holiday related and the other, not so much.

First, Laurie Berkner performs "Children, Go When I Send Thee," accompanied by Long Island's own Brady Rymer. The song appears on the new LAURIE BERKNER'S FAVORITE CLASSIC KIDS' SONGS as well as A LAURIE BERKNER CHRISTMAS.



Ben Rudnick and Friends are releasing A FROG NAMED SAM: A MUSICAL FOR CHILDREN in January. Here is the debut video, "The Adventure Song," featuring animation by Matt Litvinov.

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Love Is A Superpower – Ben Rudnick & Friends
Turning Tables – Adele
A Road Song – Fountains Of Wayne
What'd I Say – Ray Charles
Twirl! Twirl! Twirl! – Mr. Leebot
Move On Up – Curtis Mayfield 
Swinging on a Star – Zak Morgan
So Many Words – Cat Doorman       
Change of Heart – Steve Weeks     

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Here Comes The Sun – Ben Rudnick & Friends
Accentuate the Positive – NRBQ
Monkey Love (Featuring Caspar Babypants) – The Harmonica Pocket
Similes And Metaphors – The Bazillions
Twirl! Twirl! Twirl! – Mr. Leebot
Playin' On A Sunday – David Tobocman 
Mammal – They Might Be Giants
Little Things – One Direction
White And Nerdy – Weird Al Yankovic
Die Young – Ke$ha
Ride In My Little Red Wagon – Willie & The Wheel

Ben's Playlist - Monday, December 10, 2012

Love Is A Superpower – Ben Rudnick & Friends
The Monkeys are Breaking Out  – Too Many Cookies
Mother Nature's Son – Aaron Nigel Smith
Live It Up – Chris Isaak
Worms – Dog On Fleas
The Scientist  – Glee
Celebration  – They Might Be Giants
Great To Be A Kid – The Not-Its!
Out Of The Box – The Bazillions        
Angels We Have Heard On High – Dan Zanes        

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Love Is A Superpower - Ben Rudnick & Friends
El Jefe  - Mexican Institute of Sound
White And Nerdy - Weird Al Yankovic
Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
We Just Won't Be Defeated - The Go! Team
Twirl! Twirl! Twirl! - Mr. Leebot
Set Fire To The Rain - Adele
First Warm Day - The Incredible Chandler Travis Catual Birdomonic
Cicada - Chickasaw Mudd Puppies
Burning Coffee - They Might Be Giants
They're Red Hot - Randy Kaplan
Wimoweh - Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights

Ben's Playlist - Friday, October 12, 2012

Here Comes The Sun - Ben Rudnick & Friends
(I Love the Sound of) Breaking Glass  - Nick Lowe
Dad Upside Down - Hullabaloo
Take It to the Street - Re-Birth Brass Band
Cicada - Chickasaw Mudd Puppies
One Thing - One Direction
The Robot Looked At The Stars - Ralph's World
Water - Ozomatli
Continental Geography - Astrograss     
Turning Tables - Adele

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Summer Baby (Let It Ride) -  Caspar Babypants
Here Comes The Sun -  Ben Rudnick & Friends     
Be My Baby -  The Ronettes
All Around The World -  Ralph's World
Butterfly -  The Nields
Planes, Trains and Automobiles -  Henning Ohlenbusch
My Happiness -  Chris Isaak
Popcorn  -  Recess Monkey
I'm Dreaming -  Randy Newman
Kiss With A Fist  -  Florence + The Machine    
Dance Like A Monkey -  New York Dolls

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Yellow - Renee & Jeremy
Tongue Tied - Glee
I Am A Scientist  - Mates Of State
Overjoyed - matchbox twenty
Love Is A Superpower - Ben Rudnick & Friends 
Free To Be You And Me - Vanessa Trien & The Jumping Monkeys     
Gingerbread Man - Lunch Money
Little Willy - Sweet
Breath Of Life - Florence + The Machine       
Sojourner Truth - The Deedle Deedle Dees

Ben Rudnick Unveils His Musical Superpowers

What's the big deal about being a hippie?

No wait, that's a bad way to start a review of a children's CD.

But really, what's the big deal?

I've always had trouble with the intricate differences between "hippie" music and acoustic southern rock – some mandolins, some steel pedal guitar, harmonica... C'mon now, you'd have trouble, too.

But I'm getting ahead of myself again, although I don't think Ben Rudnick would have a problem being referred to as a "musical hippie." I mean, it's right there on his Web page and on his press release… "Affectionately nicknamed the Grateful Dead for kids." And with his 10th CD, LOVE IS A SUPERPOWER, he only reinforces that notion.

The title track flashes listeners back to the 70s with a blast of horns and the upbeat chorus:

I got love behind me
I've got a family tree
I've got love love love love love
Love is a superpower

Ben Rudnick and friends have been entertaining families in Massachusetts and surrounding states since 2000. They break little new ground on this CD, but stay true to their vision of positive songs with genial messages. "A Little Boogie" gets your feet moving, "Wheels" lists everything that locomotes and has an effect on your life, and "Chicken Soup Ballad" recounts the making of soup – from the perspective of the vegetables merrily cooking. "Scribbling" delights in the simple pleasure of putting crayon to paper, with a euphonium solo, to boot. Where else could you find an instrumental track paying homage to NBA star Ray Allen (who led the Boston Celtics to a memorable title run)?

Ben Rudnick effortlessly straddles the invisible line between southern rock and laid-back, jam band music. The songs are almost sui generis (although I'm sure Mo Phillips would have words with me if I said that). LOVE IS A SUPERPOWER and Ben Rudnick is its noble practitioner.

And you thought it was a bad thing, being called a hippie.

LOVE IS A SUPERPOWER will be released on Tuesday, September 25 through their Web site, Amazon, CDBABY, bigkids.com, and independent retailers.


Here's the video for "Scribbling":

And the brand new video for "Love is a Superpower":

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, July 12, 2012

Fossil Contender - The Gourds
Mama Dont 'Low   -   Ben Rudnick
Check It Out  - Caspar Babypants
Everybody Wants   - Paddy Casey
Great To Be A Kid   - The Not-Its!
Bluebird > Redbird, Redbird > Reef   - The Deedle Deedle Dees
Lucky Day   - Parker Bent 
Someone Like You   -    Adele
Burning Coffee  - They Might Be Giants
To Be A Fossil -    Lunch Money   
Love You Like A Love Song  - Glee 

Rocking Out in Lexington

Rudnick and Friends Bring Zydeco to Massachusetts

The year 2008 was a turning point for Ben Rudnick and Friends. The family-styled jam band's accordion player Mark Yacovone was moving to Mississippi (and leaving the group). Yacovone's final show was for Ben Rudnick and Friends' annual performance at the Town Green in Lexington, MA (site of their very first show). As a bonus, they were joined by saxophone player Rob Lee. What resulted is the new full-length concert CD, LIVE IN LEXINGTON: UNDER THE COPPER BEECH.

The Lexington Friday night concert series has existed for more than a decade. Ben Rudnick and Friends have played the venue since 2001, in front of crowds as large as 2,000 people. People gather on the historic Green with chairs and blankets and food and kids and balloons. "We like to say it's America at its best on a Friday night, sort of a Norman Rockwell image with a little tie-dye thrown in for good measure," Rudnick says.



A studio CD provides a snapshot of where an artist and his band happen to be at that precise moment in time. For Rudnick's CD, EMILY SONGS, Rudnick was engaging his young daughter in the writing and recording process. Some of those songs ("I Like Silver, I Like Gold" and "I Need a Hand") surface on LIVE IN LEXINGTON, where they resound more with his (grown) daughter still contributing vocals.

The concert experience is always different. The arrangements are looser, there are more musical references to songs from outside sources, and energy from the crowd definitely reverberates in the performances. Plus Rudnick and Friends roll out an eclectic collection of cover choices, including Dire Straits' "Walk of Life," Buddy Holly's "Oh Boy," and Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin'."

The band infuses true New Orleans jazz and zydeco into traditional numbers "Jambalaya," "When the Saints Go Marching In," and even "Hava Nagila." You can tell that on this July evening in 2008, Ben Rudnick and Friends were in a happy place - figuratively and literally. And they've chosen 2011 to share their positive experience with all of us. "We're down to our last tune, which kind of probably upsets us more than it does you," Rudnick bemoans at the end of the CD. Well, at home, we can just hit REPLAY and relive the concert again.

Here Come the Holidays

Rudnick & Friends Welcome Santa

The one word that strikes fear into the hearts of most "kindie" families is "traditional." As in, traditional arrangement. Most kindie musicians try to put their own spin on themes, even if it comes across as yet another derivative of "The Wheels On the Bus."



Ben Rudnick & Friends tackle that challenge with their new 2010 holiday EP, "It's Santa Claus!" Of the eight songs, only the title track is a new composition. The remaining tunes range from traditional (Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman) to the truly ancient (Auld Lang Syne, Greensleeves).

It's admirable for a recognized kindie figure like Ben Rudnick to roll the ball up the hill and put his spin on these songs. Then again, it's also a wise commercial marketing move - as any retailer will tell you, holiday music is a "perennial." People are still purchasing the Wilson Phillips Christmas CD!

After all that prologue, does the disc deliver holiday cheer? Well, it's not even Thanskgiving. But don't think me a Scrooge. I've spent the better part of my life avoiding the majority of holiday music. As a Jew, I've found that only a fraction of holiday music is aimed at my peeps. And most of that is done so in a tongue in cheek fashion.

With all that being said, I am a fan of Ben Rudnick. My son (also named Ben) enjoys the Ben Rudnick CDs we already have. And he learned "Frosty" a few years back for a school concert and has launched into the chorus at unexpected times year-round in the time since. He's even heard the Allan Sherman version of "Greensleeves," called "Sir Greenbaum's Madrigal."

So I wish Ben Rudnick & Friends well with their new release. And I also wish them happy holidays! Perhaps someone will give them a CD of festive music to celebrate the season... something like... well, you get the idea.