***The Fab Four***

OK, I'm gonna sneak this one onto KidsMusicThatRocks because it's just too much fun to pass up. The Fab Four, a Beatles tribute band from Southern California, released A Fab Four Christmas in 2002, their first holiday CD done up a la JohnPaulGeorge&Ringo. You could even consider it a mashup album, as the band mix spot-on renditions of early-era tunes like "And I Love Her," "Help!" and "Baby's In Black" with classic Christmas songs. And you just gotta hear "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to the tune of "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Joy to the World" done in the style of "Please Please Me."

What makes it extra fun for Beatledorks like me is that fact that the band went to the trouble of using relatively obscure tunes like "Mr. Moonlight" and "Tell Me What You See" to spice up oldies like "Frosty the Snowman" and "Good King Wenceslas." Merry Christmas, and crank it up!

Christmas Music for Kids

Christmas is only about three weeks away (what!?!), so, just in time for that holiday party or for a nice musical gift, here's a list of great Christmas music for kids over at the About.com site.

For this list I was leaning towards more traditional, back-to-the-basics holiday tunes, so before your young'uns start digging Patsy and Elmo's "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer," or "Christmas Wrapping" by the Waitresses, they can learn the golden oldies from Mitch Miller and Bing Crosby, newer versions by Susie Tallman and Raffi, or just get in the Christmas spirit with soundtracks from A Charlie Brown Christmas and John Denver and the The Muppets.

Let it snow!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

***Miriam Makeba***

In honor of South African songstress Miriam Makeba, who passed just two weeks ago, here's a short review of one of her indispensable albums, Sangoma, recorded in 1988 for Warner Brothers Records. A Sangoma is a traditional healer in southern African cultures, and these songs reflect that sense of history.

All the tunes are sung in Xhosa, a South African dialect, but don't let that deter you from enjoying these prayer songs, parables, lullabies, and gathering songs. Makeba is accompanied by a group of female singers on these traditional melodies, sometimes with sparse percussion, often a cappella style. Good vibes and a joyous spirit radiate from every song on the album.

A great way to introduce your young ones to the beautiful world of music from our beautiful Earth. And, this being 2008 and all, you can immediately download the album or songs for your family's listening pleasure.

***Dog On Fleas***

In my extremely humble opinion, Dog On Fleas are one of the few kids' bands who make an effort to stretch out and grow as artists. Dig their riverboat/back porch/one-microphone approach on 2003's Cranberry Sauce Flotilla, and their solid pop/rock/world sound on 2006's When I Get Little. This year's Beautiful World, their fifth CD for kids, is a great collection of unmistakablely Dog On Fleas tunes, augmented by analog Moog synthesizers and whispers of electronica.

The album kicks off with the title tune, which mixes 6/4 and 4/4 metres with piccolos and flutes to create a world music ode to our world. Next is John Hughes' thumping tune of affirmation, "Star Tonight," then comes the head bobbin', in-your-face bass of "Do You Wanna Know My New Dance Step?" or, as my wife exclaimed, "Hey! Justin Timberlake for kids!" And the mysterious-sounding "Water Planet," with its Zappa-esque horn/woodwind arrangement, views Earth from an alien perspective.

John Hughes' beautifully simple "The Beach Song" puts your toes right in the Hawaiian sand, and the rockin' "Dumpling" takes a metaphysical look at existence. The wonderfully nonsensical "Lima Bean," featuring vocals from Lorette Velvette and Uncle Rock, contains awesome lines like "Lima Bean's lookin' in a full-length mirror /Singin' Rod Stewart so the whole town can hear her"; the Ben Folds Five-inspired "Crawl To Your Mother" is then followed by a waltzing "Where Would You Fly?" featuring Ben Richter's musical saw.

"I Love Your Accent" celebrates one world made of many people with the mantra "I love your accent! Where ya from?"; the buzzing new wave/rowdy New Orleans rock of "Unbirthday" dares listeners to sit still! Good vibes are flowing on the vegetable-lovin' "Sittin' in the Field," while the jazzy "Balloon Man" asks the amusing question, "Do you like Pop Music? Ahh ... probably not!" And the album ends with the pretty pop of the word-filled "Birds of a Feather", and the quiet lullaby to tiny tots 'round the world, "Babies," featuring Frances England.

This Hudson Valley, NY, collective of musicians and artists have been performing together for ten years now, and their combined experience together as bandmates and songwriters just makes them that much better. Look around you: it is a beautiful world, and Dog On Fleas are happy to tell you all about it.

Top Turkey Tunes for Tots

Wow, only a week until Thanksgiving! Just for the occasion, I've put together a list of downloadable Thanksgiving music for kids over on my About.com site for your last-minute holiday party planning.

The list of iPod-ready Thanksgiving songs includes favorites like Laurie Berkner, Dog On Fleas, John McCutcheon, and The Uncle Brothers, as well as lesser-known tunes by folksinger Si Kahn, kids from the Quincy Choral Society, Jewish Music superstar Debbie Friedman, and a 1956 recording of children from Brooklyn's P.S. 24.

Save me a slice of pumpkin pie!