Sharing Music With Your Kids

Summer is usually a time for family road trips, backyard barbecues and block parties. And what better sonic backdrop for all of these activities than your favorite music playing from the speakers? But even if the pandemic is keeping you at home and away from large groups, you can still enjoy music together as a family.

One of my favorite musical memories from childhood was flipping through my parents’ record collection, learning about what they listened to growing up and making mix tapes of some of my favorite songs that I found. So, in honor of National Vinyl Record day, on August 12th, and National Record Store Day, which has been moved this year to August 29th, I want to highlight some music that parents can share with their school-age kids that might be a gateway into a larger universe of sounds:

For kids who love catchy pop melodies:

  • ABBA’ s album “Gold” is the classic, ubiquitous collection of the world-famous Swedish pop group’s hit singles from the 70s and 80s, featuring “Dancing Queen” and “Mamma Mia.”
  • In the realm of more contemporary radio-ready pop, Carly Rae Jepsen, is sure to be a favorite with kids. “Kiss” is a good place to start, and features her huge hit single, “Call Me Maybe.” And the 80s-inspired, bouncy synth-pop of her album, “E*MO*TION,”could be the soundtrack to a perfect summer dance party.
  • Kacey Musgraves‘ “Golden Hour” is a great album full of breezy, low-key country-pop songs. Musgraves’ voice is warm and wistful, and kids will probably like the humor in songs like “High Horse,” and the cool vocoder intro to “Oh, What a World.”
  • Speaking of vocoders, the French robots in Daft Punk can take your kids on a trip through the sounds of 70s and 80s electronic pop, funk, and disco on both their epic album “Random Access Memories” and the classic “Discovery.”

For kids interested in something funky:

  • The Meters Anthology” is a collection from one of the earliest and greatest funk bands, The Meters, who came out of the vibrant New Orleans music scene in the late 1960s. There aren’t a lot of lyrics for kids to sing along to, but there are plenty of fun grooves to keep them moving.
  • Stevie Wonder started out as a child prodigy and went on to create some of the most brilliant, beautiful and funky R&B and pop music of all time. Kids can get a good overview of his work in “The Definitive Collection,”and then continue to explore his other albums in our catalog.

For kids with a flair for the dramatic:

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