Thursday

Throw Back Thursday with Peter Alsop CD's

When my older kids were little it seemed appropriate on occasion to turn off my AC/DC or Queen and tune into something a bit more kid friendly.

Not sure that really worked, or mattered much, since when a certain 6 year old was 3 he walked around singing We Will Rock You.

And I'm also not sure why I thought kids had to listen to kid songs.

When I was seven I wasn't listening to Mary Poppings sing about spoonfuls of sugar.  I was listening to how Mick Jagger couldn't get no Satisfaction and working on being a California Girl for the Beach Boys.

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But as a mom I was fussy about kids music, it had to be catchy, something I could tolerate on a car trip, and if the lyrics were clever or made me laugh the singer received bonus points.

Basically what I'm saying is it didn't matter if the kids liked it, it had to be pleasing to my ears.

As I birthed more kids the older ones also had to be able to tolerate the music.  And  they could - so much so, that on car trips our Peter Alsop Cd's were unanimously mandatory.


The only time I thought twice about what my kids listened too was when I found myself fumbling for the kids CD when I was on the road.  By myself.

I sang my little heart out driving along alone, belting out lyrics such as the one about asparagus....

The boy next door he cleans his plate
and he makes my parents say,
"HE EATS ASPARAGUS, WHY CAN'T YOU BE THAT WAY?!"


I wasn't a Raffi or Yanni fan, and I'm not even sure I spelled their names right, or for that matter if they even for sure sing kids music.

Most of my friends didn't know who Peter Alsop was, so I would loan out my tapes or CD's to them for their car trips and they always came back home saying we have to buy those, where did you find them?

I'm sure Axel Rose would of cringed to learn I was no longer singing Sweet Child of Mine as I rocked my babies.  No one was more surprised than me! 

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By the time the last couple kids came along the Peter Alsop CD's were all scratched up and I couldn't bear the thought I'd have a couple kids who couldn't sing his songs, like Gnarly Dude or It's No Fun When You Gotta Eat An Onion.

Plus the internet was also invented.  

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So I found Peter's site and called the number to order.  A man answered and I probably gushed about how I was on my second set of CD's because we wore the first ones out.  Peter himself had answered the phone and sent me an autographed copy.  

I know, that's hardly Mick Jagger or Paul McCartney, but at that moment in my life those kid songs by Peter Alsop were every bit as good.  

Those CD's kept me sane in the car.


My two favorite Peter Alsop CD's are Take Me With You and Wha'dya Wanna Do?  I highly recommend those two, I can't attest to any others.  But if you are in the market for some car tunes that mom and dad won't mind singing along with, go with Alsop.

Probably my all time favorite song of his - since every time I make a sandwich I still sing this little ditty - is the Sandwiches song....

Sandwiches are beautiful,
sandwiches are fine,
I like sandwiches I eat them all the time,
I eat them for my supper and I eat them for my lunch,
if I had a hundred sandwiches I'd eat them all at once.

And yes I admit I didn't even need to look the lyrics up for that, I can still sing the whole song, and I estimate I've played it over and over more times than I played my Tommy Roe 45 of Dizzy back when I was 10. 

Here's a bit of another family favorite of Peter's.... 

My brother threw up on my stuffed toy bunny,
you better not laugh cause it really isn't funny.
It was lying in my bed when I was sound asleep,
but it could have been worse, yeah it could have been me.

Or - You Get A Little Extra When You Watch TV.  It's about what else goes on besides the show you're watching in the way of commercials...

We learn lots about our bodies and our aches and pains,
headaches, hemorrhoids, heartburn, diarrhea, denture stains... 

What can I say, any song that mentions throwing up and diarrhea made my kids laugh, although Peter might need to update that song based on what t.v. commercials try to sell these days!

So why am I writing about kids tunes, might seem a bit off the wall for me huh? 

Well Doreen over at Hymns & Verses  started a Throw Back Thursday series of old posts you might not have seen.  

If you stop at Doreens blog you will get to see a pretty darn cool Anthropologie knock off mirror.

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And here on my blog you get some random photos and a recommendation to buy two kids CD's that threw me back in time.

But I do think you'd love them both - Doreen's blog and Peter Alsop's CD's.





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11 comments :

  1. How much fun is that? I have taught my great-grands songs that even my grandchildren don't know. And the little ones learn them so fast. I may have to check in on these for the car!

    Funny and nostalgic!!

    Judy

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  2. Oh my gosh, Bliss! What a fun post and thanks for including me in it! I am off to find Peter Alsop (how did I not know about him when my kids were little???) Sounds like the kind of songs my boys would have loved too! I may pick up a CD right now for when I have grands down the road or for gifts! Again - thanks a bunch for sharing my TBT post!

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  3. How awesome is that. Quote of the day "as I birthed more children" LOL.that made my day. We have been listening to music for years. We tried the kid tunes on car rides, and we couldn't take it..back to Prince LOL!

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  4. Although I personally did not have a need for kid friendly music, I do respect that parents are mindful of it. Except that a friend of mine with children subjected me to VeggieTales once, I have not forgiven her yet, it took about 3 years to get those lyrics out of my head. It was like addictive audio crack. Peter Alsop appears to be a much friendlier fun choice!
    Doreen's mirror is beautiful.

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  5. I've never heard of Peter, but we listend to a guy named Roger Day that sang awesome songs and had great music! No Barney for us, yo.

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    1. Purple is one of my favorite colors but I'm with you . . . no Barney round this place . . . ever :)

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  6. Do you remember the books by Shel Silverstein? Such as "Where the Side Walk Ends? " I get the feeling that Peter Alsop's music and Shel's poems have the same favorable, non-gaggy effect on both parents and kids. Thank you for the tip on Mr Alsop's music. I have just the set of parents and grandparents to pass his name along to, plus I'd love to hear some of his music myself. Funny, Bliss that you actually listened to him while you were driving alone: Axl Rose, move on over!!

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  7. I don't recall that artist or those songs. Hmmmm........ what does that mean? I don't have little bitty ones anymore, so I never listen to kids music anymore. I was even out of touch with the Disney movie, Frozen, until I saw it playing at the dentist office. It's more of a girls movie, and all I have are boys.

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  8. I will have to check out Peter Alsop immediately for my two smaller boys - I have never heard of him but those lyrics are hilarious. I will tell you that the Queen Classic Hits CD is one of their all time faves in the car. That and Adele. Go figure.
    So cool that Peter himself actually answered the phone and sent you an autographed copy!!

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  9. I'm that kid who was listening to Mary Poppins. I knew/know every word by heart. I remember my younger sisters having a record that may well have been this one, but I can't remember for sure. Anne Murray had a children's album I loved. But haven't been able to find it for years.

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  10. How funny! My kids listened to "Trout Fishing In America" who did songs like "I Think I Need a Band-Aid' ....so funny!

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