Elvis Presley hasn't been very much on my mind these last couple of days, the reason being the birth of me and my wife's first child, a beautiful daughter. But he hasn't been totally absent, either.
The first night home from the hospital, I gave my baby girl her first CD, a reissue of the album Elvis Sings For Children And Grownups Too! called Elvis Sings For Kids. It's kind of a tradition, really, as I've given away these titles as presents to my brothers' and sister's children before.
Do you know the history of this album? According to Ernst Jorgensen the Colonel wanted to put out Elvis Sings For Children And Grownups Too! as early as 1975, but it wasn't until Elvis' death that RCA finally agreed to release it due to lack of new material.
Maybe this isn't the best collection to get kids interested in the music of Elvis, but I'm sure it isn't the worst either. As all the songs but one are from his movies and not originally intended for a children's album, it's kind of a mixed bag.
“Five Sleepyheads,” “Cotton Candy Land” and “Big Boots” (an alternate take I guess was released by mistake) are the only ones I would call strictly lullabies, but I'm sure kids can find delight in classic songs such as “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear” (I know I did!) and “Wooden Heart.”
And whatever you think of “Old MacDonald” it has a given place on this record. I'm not sure the same can be said about “Old Shep,” though, with it's emotional lyrics about shooting an old dog. I would've included “Your Time Hasn't Come Yet, Baby” instead. And how about “Confidence”?
I don't know if my daughter will grow up to like Elvis, but only three days old, his music was the first one she listened to. Maybe a bit silly, but that meant a lot to me.
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2 comments:
check this youtube clip.... this little Elvis fan really knows how to rock!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhx9aWG98lc
Hi Thomas, first of all ...congratulations!! Your post reminds me very much of my two daughters births, 13 and 12 years ago. They also listened to Elvis just days old, and yes, they grew up to like Elvis (although now Hannah Montana and Justin Bieber fill up their bedroom walls). By the way, I remember I used to sing them "Young and beautiful" as a lullaby and ... it works!! Start practising ;-)
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