Five Artists Who Have Released Children’s Albums

Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee announced in August that she will be releasing a children’s album. ‘Dream Too Much,’ will be released through Amazon Music on September 30th. Inspired by the birth of Lee’s son, the album will feature kid-friendly songs that are as far away from Evanescence as you can get. You can see a video of the album’s title track right now.

While Lee might be the latest to take on children’s music, she isn’t the only rock singer or band to release an entire album devoted to it. Many others have made the leap as well.

Here are five artists who have made the leap to children’s music without losing what makes them great.

1. Barenaked Ladies: In 2008, Canadian alt-rock band Barenaked Ladies released ‘Snacktime.’ A children’s album doesn’t really seem like that much of a stretch for the BNL sound, so it’s not that odd that they took their music in this direction. The album features a list of guest voices filled with heavy hitters, including Geddy Lee of Rush, singers Lyle Lovett and Sarah McLachlan, comedians Harland Williams and Janeane Garofalo, and the incomparable “Weird Al” Yankovic.

2. They Might Be Giants: Not only has this alternative band released a children’s album, they’ve released three. The band released ‘Here Come the ABCs’ in 2005, then released ‘Here Come the 123s’ and ‘Here Comes Science’ in succession in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Again, these albums don’t take a big departure from the band’s sound, so they’re not hard to listen to. And, you can teach your children their letters and numbers. It’s a win-win.

3. Ziggy Marley: In 2009, famed reggae singer Ziggy Marley released a collection of children’s songs titled ‘Family Time.’ Only the artist’s third album, it earned him his first solo number one album and a Grammy for Best Children’s Album. The album also guest starred members of the Marley family.

4. The Verve Pipe: Best known for their single “The Freshman,” The Verve Pipe switched gears for a time in 2009 and released ‘A Family Album.’ As the band’s comeback album (it was their first in eight years), it garnered a lot of praise from critics, who called it a good career move before returning to the rock roots for their next album.

5. Jewel: When Jewel puts out a children’s album, she does it right. The songstress has released two children’s albums, both with the help of toy manufacturer Fisher Price. Her first, ‘Lullaby,’ even went to number one of the Kid’s Albums chart in the United States.

These artists have been able to release music for young children without losing what makes them unique. Now, Amy Lee is joining their ranks with her new solo album.

But that’s not to say that she is losing her rock roots. Evanescence has reunited and is currently on tour, though no new music has been announced.

Read about two more bands who have strayed from rock to release children’s music at vinylbay777.blogspot.com.