Due Date: October 26th, 2010

Are new baby’s cries turned up to ten? Need an alternative to the nightly riot act? When it’s you vs. them, these sweet lullaby renditions of Pearl Jam’s rock anthems are as comforting as a warm flannel blanket. Just breathe, Mom and Dad–it’s sleeptime in Seattle.

Tracklist:

1. Alive
2. Even Flow
3. Better Man
4. Just Breathe
5. Jeremy
6. Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town
7. Black
8. Daughter
9. Last Kiss
10. Corduroy
11. The Fixer
12. Given to Fly
13. Yellow Ledbetter

In the meantime, check out our newest release, Lullaby Renditions of Elvis Presley. Listen to an exclusive full-length sneak peek of “Love Me Tender” (lullaby style) here. Find a free Rockabye Baby to Elvis coloring page here!

Singer/songwriter Keller Williams isn’t kidding around; he’s finally bringing his musical talent to a younger audience and their families with the release of his CD aptly named Kids. Scheduled to drop on October 26, this CD blends Williams’ love of bluegrass and rock to create a unique sound that will resonate with listeners of all ages. What we like is that his music really gets it; from earlier songs like the rhythmic “Teen Angst” to the unforgettably named “Butt Sweat,” he knows how to capture his listeners’ attention—and how to hold on to it. And because it’s the moms and dads who are buying music for the 10 and under crowd, he is savvy with his destined-to-be parental favorites like “Take a Bath” and “Because I Said So.” If you’re lucky enough to live on the west coast, be sure to check out Williams in person when he’ll be touring with the Yo Gabba Gabba! live show.

Scheduled dates:

• Friday, November 12 – INB PAC – Spokane, WA
• Saturday, November 13 – Tacoma Dome - Tacoma WA
• Sunday, November 14 – Memorial Coliseum – Portland, OR
• Monday, November 15 – Hult Center – Eugene, OR
• Thursday, November 18 Memorial Auditorium  – Sacramento, CA
• Sunday, November 21 - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – San Francisco, CA

From the LA Weekly Art Blog, a collection of wild and weird customized perambulators, like this awesome Star Wars stroller, and some do-not-try-this-at-home art carriages. See the whole collection of wacky baby vehicles here.

If you’ve been a loyal reader of the Rockabye Baby blog, you know that if there are three things we love over here at lullaby world headquarters, it’s the king of rock ‘n’ roll, the Muppets, and historical puns. One classic Muppet Show skit mixed them all together and the result was kooky brilliance. So check it out: Great Moments in Elvis History! Here’s a highlight reel of some of the best “episodes.” Enjoy!

Listen to an exclusive full-length sneak peek of “Love Me Tender” (lullaby style) here. Learn more about Lullaby Renditions of Elvis Presley.

Listen to an exclusive full-length sneak peek of “Love Me Tender” (lullaby style) here.

Learn more about Lullaby Renditions of Elvis Presley.

Hey all you rock ‘n’ roll fanatic moms and dads!

Want to lull your little prince or princess to sleep with music fit for a king? Check out this exclusive full-length sneak peek of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” from Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Elvis Presley. Think you can help falling in love? We bet you can’t!

Due Date: Available now!

Have a new baby’s tantrums turned a happy home into heartbreak hotel? Are you woe-some tonight because your little hound dog is crying all the time? That’s all right, Mama. Don’t cry, Daddy. If your teddy bear is all shook up, try these tender renditions of the King’s legendary hits. There will be peace in the nursery someday.

Can’t Help Falling In Love (full-length track!):

Tracklist:

(Go here to listen to 30-second clips of all the songs from the album)

1. Jailhouse Rock
2. Burning Love
3. Suspicious Minds
4. All Shook Up
5. Heartbreak Hotel
6. Hound Dog
7. In the Ghetto
8. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
9. Blue Suede Shoes
10. Don’t Be Cruel
11. That’s All Right
12. Love Me Tender
13. Can’t Help Falling in Love

Can’t get enough baby Elvis? Listen to an exclusive full-length sneak peek of “Love Me Tender” (lullaby style) here. Find a free Rockabye Baby to Elvis coloring page here!

Every parent dreams of seeing their kids achieve something great, and oftentimes that means standing up on stage, rocking out for hundreds of people. Many parents get their kids involved in playing music while they’re young, which would explain why so many music schools have been popping up around the country. While it’s amazing to see a young child up there singing and dancing, what about a kid who just shreds the guitar to pieces? Here are some great videos of kids who can shred, and will probably melt faces in the years to come.

Buddy Guy Plays with an 8 Year old

Canon – On Electric Guitar

11 year old shredding

Some kid named Bonethrashing shreds

A 10 year old and guitar instructor battle it out

8 year old blues man

Little Latin Jazz Master

I recently attended a Lady Gaga concert and I was not surprised to see many parents there with their very young children. Gaga is a phenomenon and she is all over the radio, internet and TV, so to see that she has many little fans made sense. My five year old likes to sing along to Poker Face all the time. The thing that did surprise me was the content of Gaga’s concert. I would assume that Gaga knows she has a lot of young fans and that a lot of families attend her shows, yet her set was filled with racy costumes and expletives. The cursing wasn’t limited just to the music–she was also screaming four letter words at the audience from the stage. So I decided to come up with a list of family friendly artists that are currently on tour.

1) Jonas Brothers
These are the kind of guys that mothers hope their daughters will one day marry. Aside from their charity contributions and purity rings, their music is squeaky clean and can be enjoyed by all. They are about to appear in an upcoming Disney special called Camp Rock 2, and the cast has joined them on tour, as has Demi Lovato. It’s sometimes hard to hear what song they’re playing due to all the female fans screaming but the boys know how to work the crowd. They are currently touring the U.S. until September 19th when they perform their last show in Irvine, CA before heading to Mexico.

2) Beach Boys
So maybe it’s not the original line-up, and maybe it’s only Mike Love, but the music this band made in the sixties is timeless. You should introduce your kids to the Beach Boys classics like “Good Vibrations” and get them dancing at home before bringing them to see the band. They’ll be playing the U.S. and Canada until the beginning of November. It’s a great family show even if you’ve never picked up a surfboard.

3) Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber is the biggest thing in music right now thanks to girls under the age of 18. His non threatening lyrics and hair that looks like he hasn’t used a brush on it in ten years has turned him into a hit. He’s touring behind his recent album My World 2.0 with support from Sean Kingston, which makes sense considering they have a hit duet with “Eenie Meenie.” They’ll be touring the U.S. and Canada until right before Christmas.

If none of this interests you or your kids then wait until 2011 when the Backstreet Boys will be touring with New Kids on the Block, and you can show your kids what you used to listen to at  their age and how you can still scream with the best of them.

Before Stevie Wonder was ripping it on the clavichord with “Superstition,” he was just a kid, playing songs for Motown CEO/producer Barry Gordy, with dreams of making it big despite his lack of sight.

Born Stevland Hardaway Judkins, Wonder was found by Gerald White of the band The Miracles, who pestered his brother Ronnie to check out this amazing kid. He had heard Wonder at a friend’s house and finally got Ronnie to see the talented boy perform. Reportedly, Ronnie was so impressed he took Stevland to Gordy who dubbed the boy Little Stevie Wonder because he was “the eighth wonder of the world,” and signed him at age 11.

Wonder would go on to record several albums under the name, until the mid-1960’s when he’d drop the “Little.”  Beforehand, he had a few hits, most notably “Fingertips (Pt. 2),“ which featured Marvin Gaye playing drums.

Here are some videos/songs from that time in Stevie’s life:

Little Stevie Wonder in a film called Bikini Beach

Square (his first time on vinyl)

Fingertips

Little Stevie Wonder – Fingertips 1964
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Sir Duke (As recorded when he was a child)

Contract on Love

In an earlier post I covered the top 3 rockin’ family bands bands which included The Jonas Brothers, Hanson and of course The Jackson 5 (perhaps the most talented musical family out there simply because of Michael’s awesome voice and moves). Now it’s time to look at the next batch. This line-up is similar in that it encompasses both recent acts who have hit it big and those classic groups that were big when I was a kid. Both lists offer two things: they are an excellent reminder of great music that you can listen to with your kid and they show that families who stick together can sometimes accomplish great things. So here we go, round two of the top rockin’ families!

3) The Bacon Brothers
You may know Kevin Bacon from Apollo 13, A Few Good Men and Footloose. In his spare time Kevin has a pretty serious career as a musician with The Bacon Brothers. The band formed in 1995 (although they had known each other much longer) and consists of Kevin and his brother, Michael. They’ve released five albums with the most recent being New Years Day in 2008. Their rock / folk sound might not appeal to everyone but the cool thing about these guys is that they’re not just in it to make money. They appear on Sandra Boynton’s CD Dog Train and recorded the title track for Philadelphia Chickens, both of which will appeal to your kids. Check out “New Years Day,” from when they stopped by Daryl Hall’s house to play.

2) Kings of Leon
Brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared and cousin Matthew are all Followill boys. They are also known as the Kings of Leon (named after their father Ivan “Leon” Followill.) The band formed in 1999 in Nashville with a southern rock sound that progressed to more of an arena rock vibe. If you haven’t heard Only By The Night, their 2008 hit album, you might be the only person in the U.S. who hasn’t. While I wouldn’t play the whole album for my kids, unless you want to be asked a lot of questions about “Sex on Fire,” definitely play “Use Somebody,” their Grammy winning single. The song is catchy and builds a wall of a sound that would make Phil Spector proud.

1) Bee Gees
How the these guys went from the brothers Gibb to being named Bee Gees is still confusing to me, but their music launched a movement in the late 70’s and is still toe-tapping today. Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb were well-known songwriters and pop stars as well as disco pioneers and their music on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack is still classic. “How Deep is Your Love,” “Night Fever” and “Stayin Alive” all hit #1. It is estimated that the Bee Gees have sold more than 200 million records (40 million alone from Saturday Night Fever.) It’s never too late to introduce your kids to disco, even if you might think it’s dead. Play them “Stayin Alive” and watch the magic happen.