The Hartford Courant
November 1, 2018 Thursday
Raffi has always brought joy, wonder to his young listeners
children's music
by JOHN ADAMIAN; Special to the Courant
Making great children's music is a little like making great children's books: It seems like it would be easy, since the component parts are often whittled down to their bare essence, but that must be part of the big challenge.
Raffi is a giant of children's music. Raffi is a Canadian citizen of Armenian descent, and he was born in Egypt. He just turned 70 earlier this year. He's gotten around. I'm not sure how to verify this claim, but it seems like Raffi is probably the world's most famous children's singer. You may have been put down for naps as a toddler to the sounds of Raffi's "Baby Beluga" or some of his renditions of other classics like "The Wheels on the Bus."
Raffi is pretty rad, having written a book criticizing our embrace of social media. He's lobbied for a reduction of the commercial exploitation of children's education and entertainment. (Over his career he turned away endorsements and product tie-ins.) He's also helped advocate for a world that focuses more on the needs of children and how that fosters well-being into the future.
Raffi's music is for kids – it's often silly, but it's not manic or hyper or cloying, and there's a wide-eyed beauty and joy that is not too distant from music by artists like Brian Wilson and Michael Hurley.
Like Woody Guthrie, another master of children's music, Raffi is a guy who sings gentle lullabies, but he's also a humanitarian.
Raffi is at the Shubert Theater, 247 College St., New Haven, on Nov. 3, performing two shows: at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.