Didi Pop, Max the Wonderdog, Neferdidi, Roxanne the Mystic Cat
Influences
The Beatles, Mary Poppins, Singing In the Rain, Paul Simon, Sheryl Crow, Edith Piaf, Yellow Submarine, Bob Marley, Oscar Peterson, Willy Wonka, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Brad Jones, Jill Sobule, Led Zepplin, Dan Zanes, Sesame Street, Electric Company, Carol Burnett, Sonny and Cher, Wonderama, The Sound of Music, Wings, Cabaret, Beach Boys, Bobby McFerrin, Lucinda Williams, Shari Lewis
Sounds Like
Fun, Dan Zanes, Laugh-In, Sonny and Cher, Electric Company, Woodie Guthrie, Bobby McFerrin, WIngs, The Beach Boys, Cabaret, Hee Haw, Sesame Street, Diana Krall, Bob MArley, Madonna, Aladin, Edith Piaf, The Beatles, Mary Poppins, Sarah McLachlan
"This album is a sort of "Sgt.Pepper" for kids --- it's bright, it sparkles, it's a surreal, colorful cupcake of a record that will resonate with parents as well as their kids. It's also great pop music, and includes a seriously wonderful ballad --- in short, anyone and everyone will dig this music. Great vocals, great songs, great vibe."- John Chelew, grammy winning producer (Blind Boys of Alabama, Donovan, John Hiatt and Richard Thompson)
Interesting research about Music for Children. Hey! Kids are SMART and need GOOD music!!
“Children are complex human beings, as complex as adults, and though there are some differences, successful art for them always treats them as participators in the human condition, with its joys and its difficulties,” said Michael Heyman, a professor at Berklee College of Music who teaches a class on music and literature for children. “Children’s music that treats them with this kind of respect naturally comes out as better aesthetically.”
Claire Green, president of the Parents’ Choice Foundation, which has awarded Roberts and many others with silver and gold medals for excellence, said all good children’s music has a common factor: respect for the audience and the medium.
“The best of today’s children’s music gives kids a break from an over-scheduled world,” said Claire Green, president of the Parents’ Choice Foundation. “It gives them a chance and opportunity to laugh, to commiserate, to wonder and to think. And sometimes, it just gives them a reason to get up and dance and have fun.”
"Many thought jazz for the ‘Peanuts’ (Vince Guaraldi) was a huge mistake – that it was too complex, too subtle, too ‘adult.’ Of course, he proved them all wrong, and that music is still popular today amongst adults and children.”
Didi's Free Back-to-school Ringtones!!
"This is really good music. Didi Pop just stands on its own musically.The band is hot, the songs are tops and grown-ups get as much out of it as kids do. My daughter goes to sleep singing “Look at Yourself in the Mirror” and now knows how to spell NOSE."-Camille Bright-Smith (Music Supervisor and Mother of 2)
Didi Pop, a character created by Deborah Poppink, is the coolest music teacher on the block. Kids love coming to her studio to learn to play piano and ukulele, sing and write songs. Didi believes that children thrive when they express themselves. She shows kids how to follow their hearts and have a good time doing it. As Didi says, "Any Dream is Possible".
Deborah made, DiDi PoP (the record), with legendary, indie producer Brad Jones (Jill Sobule, Hays Carll, Richard Jullian, Matthew Sweet, Josh Rouse et al). These 15 original pop gems sparkle like a bright new constellation in the vast sky of children's music. Talented musicians came together in Nashville and created a colorful and funny soundtrack that kids and parents love. The music is stellar and the lyrics are fresh, honest and instructive. In Feed the Pet she sings, “I know he likes it when I give him fresh food and change his water”, showing kids exactly how to care for their dogs and cats (and cows). In B.R.A.T.Y., Didi teaches kids (and adults!) what to eat to harden up their poo, “Bananas, rice apples toast and yogurt/B.R.A.T.Y. all day/It takes my aching tummy-ache and chases it away - hey!"
On DiDi PoP, Deborah sings and plays pianos, guitar, harmonium, keyboards, washboards, jews harp, vibes and percussion, as well as doing pet sounds and characters. Brad Jones lends his spectacular musicianship, playing bass, keyboards, guitar and singing. Mickey Grimm’s creative drumming and percussion add powerful energy to the songs and Daniel Tashian’s brilliant bass, ukulele, banjo, and guitar fill the songs with funky surprises. D. B. Harris plays playful percussion and sings while Doug Legacy’s accordion (on Merci) flies us straight to Paris. Deborah's daughters and step-sons are also featured on DiDi PoP, especially on B.R.A.T.Y., where Delilah (3) shares the lead vocal with her mom. And on Feed the Pet, both cat and dog (Roxanne and Candy) purr and slurp their way to happiness at the end of the track.
Deborah Poppink was music teacher to the stars in Los Angeles for 15 years. She also taught 1st-5th grade in L.A. public schools. Her specialty is connecting with kids and inspiring them to make music. Her songs are heard in films and TV shows (Jack and Jill, The X-Files) and she writes songs for the Songs of Love Foundation. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, 2 step-sons (19 and 15) and 2 daughters (3 and 1). She’ll be performing her live show, The Didi Pop Show, in the fall of 2008.
The video for “The Cool Alphabet Song" is on youtube.com this week. For more info on the songs, lyrics and the recording sessions, visit www.didipop.com.
www.didipop.com
www.cdbaby.com/cd/didipop
The Songs of Didi Pop Deborah wrote many of the songs on DiDi PoP for her music students. Max the Wonderdog's melody is inspired by a classic child's duet played on black notes. It's lyrics are based on a true story.
She wrote some of the songs on DiDi PoP, for The Didi Pop Show, a show she created for television. The Didi Pop Theme, Neferdidi and Merci are songs from the show where children join Didi and travel to Paris to learn French. She is currently adapting the TV program into a live show.
The rest of the songs, Deborah wrote for her daughters. She wrote Monday in the bathtub with her 2 year old Delilah when Deborah wanted to teach Delilah the days of the week. Wack Job Dog is a chorus that her husband David sings about Candy, their dog. Deborah wrote the verse of Wack Job as she was recording it in Nashville. She made it up on the spot, in one take, while singing it, without writing a word down. Look at Yourself in the Mirror was a chorus that her step-son Colin (13 at the time) used to sing to Delilah when she was one, while bouncing her around in front of the mirror. You can hear Colin beat-boxing through the song, as well as Delilah and Hannah laughing and coo-ing in the background. Deborah wrote BRATY, a song about what to eat when poop is runny, when her daughters had diarrhea. Delilah sings lead harmonies on that one. With Dream, the enchanting lullaby, Deborah wanted to create the perfect sleep inducing, love-filled song to sing to her girls as they drifted off to dreamland.
She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, 2 step-sons (19 and 15) and 2 daughters (3 and 1). She’ll be performing her live show, The Didi Pop Show, in the fall of 2008.
For more info on the songs, lyrics and the recording sessions, visit www. didipop.com.
www.cdbaby.com/cd/didipop
www.didipop.com
The Benefits of Music for Kids
Children who grow up hearing music, singing songs, and moving to the beat are enjoying what experts call "a rich sensory environment." That's just a fancy way of saying a child is exposed to a wide variety of tastes, smells, textures, colors, and sounds. And kids who enjoy such a rich environment do more than have fun. Researchers believe they forge more pathways between the cells in their brains.
Musical experiences are an important way to help create these pathways, also called neural connections. And while listening to music is certainly key to creating them, it's when your child actively participates in music that he or she makes the strongest connections. Research has shown that children who are actively involved in music (who play it or sing it regularly):
* do better in reading and math when they start school
* are better able to focus and control their bodies
* play better with others and have higher self-esteem
Get ready... get set... and CELEBRATE come on it's DIDI POP!
