Kidsongs facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kidsongs
1989–98 logo
Genre	Children's music sing-along
Developed by	Warner Bros. Records (1985–95) Together Again Video Productions (TAVP) (1985–95) Together Again Productions (TAP) (1991, 1992 and 1995–98)
Written by	Carol Rosenstein Abbie Crow Rich (1986) Bruce Gowers
Directed by	Bruce Gowers
Composer(s)	Michael Lloyd
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Executive producer(s)	Carol Rosenstein Bruce Gowers James Rich, Jr. (1985–1986)
Producer(s)	Carol Rosenstein
Camera setup	Multiple-camera setup
Distributor	View-Master Video (1985–94) Warner Reprise Video (1986–94) KidVision (1995) Sony Wonder (1997–98) Image Entertainment (2002–current)
Release
Picture format	480i SD
Original release	December 3, 1985 (1985-12-03) – July 7, 1998 (1998-07-07)

Kidsongs is an American children's media franchise that includes Kidsongs Music Video Stories on DVD and video, The Kidsongs TV Show, CDs of favorite children's songs, song books, sheet music, toys and an ecommerce website. It was created by producer/writer Carol Rosenstein and director Bruce Gowers of Together Again Video Productions (TAVP), both of whom are music video and television production veterans. The duo had produced and directed over 100 music videos for Warner Records (WBR) and took their idea of music videos for children to the record label. Warner Brothers funded the first video, “A Day at Old MacDonald’s Farm”. Shortly thereafter, a three way partnership between TAVP, WBR and View-Master Video was formed with TAVP being responsible for production and WBR and View-Master responsible for distribution to video and music stores, and toy stores respectively.

Notable members

The Kidsongs Kids

• Shawn Harrison (1986)
• Devyn Puett (1986–1987)
• Ryan Bollman (1986)
• Raquel Alessi (1989–1990)
• Jensen Karp (1989–1990)
• Josh Keaton (1989–1990)
• Veena Goel (1990)
• Danielle Keaton (1992–1995)
• Alexandra Picatto (1993–1995)
• Galen Hooks (1994)
• Lynsey Bartilson (1995)

Home Videos

From December 3, 1985 to July 7, 1998, Kidsongs home video episodes encompassing 300 children's songs, nursery rhyme, and cover versions of pop hits from the '50s-'90s were produced, featuring a variety of topics that are of interest to kids: animals, birthdays, the zoo, sports, summer camp, fantasy, vehicles, and general silliness. 14 have been certified platinum by the RIAA, with 5 of them having sold more than 2 million copies. As of now, the videos have sold over 19.5 million copies.

The following is a complete list of Kidsongs music video titles available on VHS:

A Day at Old MacDonald's Farm (1985) [US: 4x Platinum]

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. Old MacDonald Had a Farm
• 2. Shortenin' Bread
• 3. Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
• 4. Mary Had a Little Lamb
• 5. This Old Man
• 6. Skip to My Lou (also heard instrumentally during the end credits of this video and Ride the Roller Coaster)
• 7. Take Me Out to the Ball Game (includes footage from the 1984 World Series a year before)
• 8. John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
• 9. She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain
• 10. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star with Donetta singing the song.

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (1986) [US: 2x Platinum]

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (United States) (also used in the final scene and during the end credits)
• 2. Funiculi, Funicula (Italy)
• 3. Did You Ever See a Lassie? (Scotland)
• 4. London Bridge (England)
• 5. Frère Jacques/Are You Sleeping (France)
• 6. Kumbaya (South Africa)
• 7. Waltzing Matilda (Australia)
• 8. Sakura, Sakura (Japan)
• 9. Los Pollitos (Mexico)
• 10. Day-O (Banana Boat Song) (Jamaica)

Good Night, Sleep Tight (1986) [US: Platinum]

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. Playground Medley: Ring a Ring o' Roses/Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man/A-Tisket, A-Tasket/Let Us Dance, Let Us Play (Michael Lloyd)
• 2. Our House (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
• 3. Tomorrow is a Dream Away (Michael Lloyd) (also used during the end credits)
• 4. The Unicorn
• 5. St. Judy's Comet (Paul Simon)
• 6. Hush, Little Baby (also used in A Day Full Of Songs)
• 7. Brahms Lullaby
• 8. All the Pretty Little Horses
• 9. Good Night (Lennon-McCartney)

Cars, Boats, Trains and Planes (1986) [US: 2x Platinum]

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. Car Car Song (Riding In My Car) (Woody Guthrie)
• 2. Daylight Train
• 3. Up and Down, Round and Round (Michael Lloyd)
• 4. Row, Row, Row Your Boat
• 5. I Got Wheels (Michael Lloyd) (also used during the end credits)
• 6. Up, Up and Away (The Fifth Dimension)
• 7. Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone? (S. Winner)
• 8. I Like Trucks (Michael Lloyd)
• 9. US Air Force (Wild Blue Yonder)
• 10. The Bus Song

Sing Out, America! (1986), Renamed "Home on the Range" in 1990 and renamed "Yankee Doodle Dandy" in 2002 [US: Platinum]

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. Yankee Doodle Boy
• 2. America's Heroes (Michael Lloyd) (also used during the end credits)
• 3. Home on the Range
• 4. I've Been Working on the Railroad
• 5. Oh Susanna
• 6. Deep in the Heart of Texas
• 7. There's a Hole in My Bucket
• 8. Turkey in the Straw
• 9. If I Had a Hammer
• 10. You're a Grand Old Flag
• 11. Living in the USA

A Day with the Animals (1986) [US: 3x Platinum]

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. BINGO
• 2. Do Your Ears Hang Low? (also used during the end credits)
• 3. Little Bo Peep
• 4. Why Don't You Write Me? (Simon and Garfunkel)
• 5. Rockin' Robin
• 6. Water World (Michael Lloyd)
• 7. The Wanderer (Dion DiMucci)
• 8. Harmony (Michael Lloyd)
• 9. Pet Store Medley: How Much is That Doggie in the Window? (the last portion of the song is used after Itsy Bitsy Spider)/Little Duckie Duddle/Hickory Dickory Dock/Itsy Bitsy Spider

What I Want to Be! (1987) [US: Platinum]

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. What Do You Want to Be? (Michael Lloyd) (also used during the end credits)
• 2. Sea Cruise
• 3. Drivin' My Life Away
• 4. Teacher's Medley: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe/School Days/The Alphabet Song
• 5. I Want to Be a Fireman (Michael Lloyd) (also used during the end credits)
• 6. Candy Man
• 7. Them Bones (also used during the end credits)
• 8. Mr. Policeman (Michael Lloyd) (also used during the end credits)
• 9. Rodeo Rider (Michael Lloyd)
• 10. Act Naturally

The Wonderful World of Sports (1987) Renamed “Let's Play Ball” in 1990, and Renamed “Sport Adventures” in the UK in 1994 [US/UK: Platinum]

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. It's Not If You Win or Lose (Michael Lloyd) (also used during the end credits with extended version)
• 2. Practice Makes Perfect (Michael Lloyd)
• 3. Bend Me, Shape Me
• 4. I Get Around (Beach Boys)
• 5. Over the River and Through the Wood
• 6. Footloose
• 7. Rah, Rah, Sis Boom Bah (Removed from the British version)
• 8. Catch a Wave (Beach Boys)
• 9. Centerfield
• 10. You Know That You Can Do It (Michael Lloyd)

A Day at the Circus (1987) [US: 2x Platinum]

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. The Circus is Coming to Town (Michael Lloyd) (Original lyrics to melody of The Army Goes Rolling Along) (also used during the end credits)
• 2. Polly Wolly Doodle
• 3. Strolling Through the Park
• 4. The Sabre Dance (Instrumental)
• 5. Put On a Happy Face (song)
• 6. The Ringmaster Song (Michael Lloyd)
• 7. The Man on the Flying Trapeze
• 8. The Lion Tamer (Michael Lloyd)
• 9. If You're Happy and You Know It
• 10. Entry of the Gladiators (Instrumental)

A Day at Camp (1989) [US: Platinum]

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. The More We Get Together (also used during the end credits)
• 2. The Army Goes Rolling Along
• 3. Fishing Blues
• 4. On Top of Spaghetti
• 5. Campfire Medley: 99 Bottles of Pop/Pop Goes the Weasel/Found a Peanut/The Ants Go Marching
• 6. Boom, Boom, Ain't It Great To Be Crazy?
• 7. Animal Medley: I Went to the Animal Fair/Little Bunny Foo Foo/Pussy Cat Pussy Cat/Baa, Baa, Black Sheep/The Old Grey Mare/I Had a Little Rooster
• 8. Whistle While You Work
• 9. The Hokey Pokey
• 10. When the Saints Go Marching In

Ride the Roller Coaster (1990) [US: Gold]

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. Let's Twist Again
• 2. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
• 3. Little Deuce Coupe
• 4. Fast Food (Michael Lloyd)
• 5. Here We Go Loopty Loo (Traditional)
• 6. Anything You Can Do
• 7. Splish Splash
• 8. A Pirate's Life
• 9. We're Gonna Get Wet (Michael Lloyd)
• 10. 1812 Overture (Instrumental)

Very Silly Songs (1990)

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. The Name Game
• 2. Down by the Bay
• 3. Rig-a-Jig-Jig (also used during the end credits)
• 4. Mail Myself to You (Guthrie)
• 5. Purple People Eater (includes footage from concert venue)
• 6. Fiddle-I-Dee (from Kentucky)
• 7. The Thing
• 8. Jim Along Josie
• 9. Michael Finnegan
• 10. Do the Silly Willy (Michael Lloyd)

A Day of Fun (1991) (Only released on VHS)

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. BINGO (From "A Day with the Animals")
• 2. I Got Wheels (From "Cars, Boats, Trains and Planes")
• 3. Old MacDonald Had a Farm (From "A Day at Old MacDonald's Farm")
• 4. Day-O (From "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing")
• 5. The Circus is Coming to Town (From "A Day at the Circus")
• 6. We're Gonna Get Wet (From "Ride the Roller Coaster")
• 7. Down by the Bay (From "Very Silly Songs")
• 8. Them Bones (From "What I Want to Be")
• 9. I've Been Working on the Railroad (From "Sing Out, America!/Home on the Range/Yankee Doodle Dandy")
• 10. When the Saints Go Marching In (From "A Day at Camp")
• 11. The More We Get Together (End Credit Version) (From "A Day at Camp")

We Wish You a Merry Christmas (1992)

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. Deck the Halls
• 2. All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth
• 3. Silent Night (Instrumental)
• 4. Frosty the Snowman
• 5. Jingle Bells (also used during the end credits)
• 6. Santa, Please Don't Forget Me (Michael Lloyd)
• 7. If I Had A Pony For Christmas (Michael Lloyd)
• 8. The Twelve Days Of Christmas
• 9. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
• 10. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
• 11. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Play-Along Songs (1993)

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. Come On and Join in the Game
• 2. Fooba Wooba John
• 3. Down by the Station
• 4. Oh, Dear, What Should the Color Be?
• 5. Bumpin' Up and Down (in My Little Red Wagon)
• 6. Three Little Fishies
• 7. The Green Grass Grows All Around
• 8. Chickie Chickie Beat
• 9. Ten in the Bed
• 10. Come On and Join the Band (Michael Lloyd) (also used during at the end credits)

If We Could Talk to the Animals (1993)

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. Hound Dog (Elvis Presley)
• 2. Talk to the Animals (also used during at the end credits)
• 3. Five Little Monkeys
• 4. Raccoon and Possum
• 5. Over in the Meadow
• 6. The Bear Went Over the Mountain
• 7. Farmer in the Dell
• 8. The Kickin' Mule
• 9. The Old Hen
• 10. See You Later, Alligator (Bill Haley and his Comets)

Billy Biggle's Favorite Songs (1994) Renamed "My Favorite Songs" in 2002

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. Down by the Bay (From "Very Silly Songs")
• 2. Jim Along Josie (From "Very Silly Songs")
• 3. Five Little Monkeys (From "If We Could Talk to the Animals") (also used during the end credits)
• 4. BINGO (From "A Day with the Animals")
• 5. Michael Finnegan (From "Very Silly Songs")
• 6. We're Gonna Get Wet (From "Ride the Roller Coaster")
• 7. Take Me Out to the Ball Game (From "A Day at Old MacDonald's Farm")
• 8. Down by the Station (From "Play-Along Songs")
• 9. I've Been Working on the Railroad (From "Sing Out, America!/Home on the Range/Yankee Doodle Dandy")
• 10. Raccoon and Possum (From "If We Could Talk to the Animals")
• 11. The Farmer in the Dell (From "If We Could Talk to the Animals")
• 12. Old McDonald Had a Farm (From "A Day at Old MacDonald's Farm")

Country Sing-Along (1994) Renamed "I Can Go to the Country" in (1997)

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. Swingin' (John Anderson)
• 2. On the Road Again (Willie Nelson)
• 3. Watch Our Oats and Barley Grow
• 4. The Old Chisholm Trail with Billy and Ruby Biggle
• 5. Born to Be a Cowboy (Michael Lloyd) (also used at the end credits)
• 6. Buffalo Gals
• 7. Nashville Cats
• 8. Achy Breaky Heart
• 9. Country Kid (Michael Lloyd)
• 10. Happy Trails to You

Boppin' with the Biggles (1994) Renamed "I Can Bop With the Biggles" in (1997)

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. Walkin' the Dog
• 2. Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
• 3. Alley Cat
• 4. La Bamba (Ritchie Valens)
• 5. Put Your Little Foot Right There
• 6. Loco-Motion
• 7. Little Red Caboose (also used at the end credits along with some instrumental music)
• 8. Peppermint Twist
• 9. Rock Around the Clock
• 10. Paw Paw Patch

Let's Put on a Show! (1995) Renamed "I Can Put On a Show" in (1997)

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. We'll Put on a Show (Michael Lloyd) (Sung to the tune of Red River Valley) (also used during the end credits)
• 2. Personality
• 3. It's Magic (Michael Lloyd)
• 4. Blue Suede Shoes
• 5. Mr. Bass Man
• 6. By the Light of the Silvery Moon
• 7. Me and My Shadow
• 8. The Best Dog in the World (Michael Lloyd)
• 9. It's Time for the Show (Michael Lloyd)
• 10. Give My Regards to Broadway

Baby Animal Songs (1995) Renamed "I Can Sing Baby Animal Songs" in (1997)

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. The Petting Zoo (Michael Lloyd) (Sung to the tune of Down on Grandpa's Farm) (also used during the end credits)
• 2. Woolly Bully
• 3. A You're Adorable
• 4. Jeepers Creepers
• 5. Yes! We Have No Bananas
• 6. Side by Side
• 7. Oh, You Beautiful Doll
• 8. Five Little Ducks
• 9. Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)
• 10. The Way You Walk (Michael Lloyd)

I Can Dance! (1997)

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. I Can Dance! (Michael Lloyd) (also used during the end credits)
• 2. Dancing in the Street
• 3. Charleston
• 4. Don't You Just Love to Waltz? (Michael Lloyd) (sung to the tune of My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean)
• 5. Twist and Shout
• 6. Mexican Hat Dance
• 7. The Yellow Rose of Texas
• 8. Come on and Conga (Michael Lloyd)
• 9. Barefootin'
• 10. Mashed Potato Time
• 11. At the Hop

I Can Do It! (1997)

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. I Can Do It! (Michael Lloyd) (also used during the end credits)
• 2. Look What I Can Do (Michael Lloyd)
• 3. How Does Your Garden Grow?
• 4. All Shook Up
• 5. C'mon and Swim
• 6. Peanut Butter and Jelly
• 7. Button Up Your Overcoat!
• 8. Bicycle Built for Two
• 9. In the Good Old Summertime
• 10. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
• 11. The Best Sandcastle (Michael Lloyd)

Adventures in Biggleland: Billy's Birthday (1998)

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. Adventures in Biggleland (Michael Lloyd) (also used during the end credits)
• 2. I'm a Big Boy Now (Michael Lloyd)
• 3. Playmate
• 4. Pat-a-Cake
• 5. Go In and Out the Window
• 6. Jump-Jump, Turn Around, Start Again (Michael Lloyd)
• 7. Simon Says
• 8. Limbo Rock
• 9. Happy Birthday to You
• 10. You Can't Sit Down

Adventures in Biggleland: Meet the Biggles (1998)

Featuring these music videos:

• 1. Adventures in Biggleland (Michael Lloyd) (also used during the end credits)
• 2. Consider Yourself
• 3. The Sidewalks of New York
• 4. Alouette
• 5. Alexander's Ragtime Band
• 6. Let's Rock It Up (Michael Lloyd)
• 7. The Muffin Man
• 8. Harrigan
• 9. Let's Be Silly (Michael Lloyd) (Sung to Today Is Monday/Everybody Happy)
• 10. Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-Dee-A

Television series

The Kidsongs Television Show debuted on September 19, 1987, with 26 half-hour episodes for 30 minutes distributed by Orbis Entertainment. The half-hour, live action episodes featured the Kidsongs Kids running their own TV show in a top 8 countdown-style show, featuring music videos from the Kidsongs home video series. It ran on network affiliates, primarily on Saturday mornings. It garnered excellent ratings and ran for 2 years, before moving to the Disney Channel, Las Estrellas for another four years. It won the prestigious Excellence in Children's Programming Award from ACT. In 1987–88, it was called The Kidsongs TV Show.

In 1994, a new version of the television series was developed by Rosenstein and produced in conjunction with Chicago Public television station WTTW for 30 minutes and distributed by American Public Television to PBS stations nationally. Airing as part of the PBS Kids "Ready to Learn" block, The Kidsongs Television Show aired throughout the country and, by 1998, reached 89 percent of households. Many of the original Kidsongs videos were used in the public television series, along with new educational content and in-studio guests. The kids are joined by the fantasy characters Billy and Ruby Biggle and their magical friends from Biggleland. The Biggles help the children resolve their problems and concerns in a comforting, kind way. They address age-appropriate issues, such as not wanting to share, jealousy, friendship, telling the truth and patience.

Seasons one through four of The Kidsongs Television Show totalled 96 episodes. It ran on Public Television for six years, winning critical acclaim. Currently, fifteen episodes of The Kidsongs Television Show are available on DVD, and the series is also available in its entirety on digital download through iTunes and Amazon Video.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1987–1988)

Season 2 (1994)

Season 3 (1995)

Season 4 (1997)