Have you heard of the Philadelphia Chickens?
Swing, Slide, and ROLL!
Most of you have surely seen the Sandra Boyton books: you get them as gifts when the kiddies are born, you give them as gifts to other newborns, and the silliness of these books is a key part of their charm and pleasure. Some random titles include:
MOO! BAA! LA LA LA!
DOGGIES
THE BELLY BUTTON BOOK
BUT NOT THE HIPPOPOTAMUS
BLUE HAT GREEN HAT (that’s the one where the turkey seems to have trouble getting dressed and keeps going OOPS! For that, we dubbed the author “Sandra OOPS! Boynton”)
And our personal favorite: HIPPOS GO BERSERK!
Boynton began her career in the greeting card business, and I can see the images she drew on cards I sent and received. After doing quite well for herself, Boynton decided to reach a much younger audience, and she’s never looked back. She’s a great talent. And perhaps The Philadelphia Chickens is her very best work.
Boyton teamed up with her friend Michael Ford to produce a book and music tape called Rhinoceros Tap many years ago, and several years later, the two hooked up again, this time for an all-out full-length CD. The musical styles are based on what she grew up on, with the songs still about cows and aardvarks and puppies and beasts and, yes, dinosaurs. She wrote the words and worked with Ford on the music and arrangements.
The big gimmick was to bring in an all-star cast of talents to sing; many of the songs were written with these people in mind – but not everyone who sings on this record is known for their singing talents. Did you know that Scott Bakula (of QUANTUM LEAP and STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE fame) could sing? Or Eric Stoltz? Or Laura Linney? Miranda Richardson? You think of them as actors first, but here they are.
The breadth of music range is quite impressive: Broadway-type performances are most common, with a thrilling jazzy tune called “I Like to Fuss,” sung by the original Evita, Patti LuPone. Stoltz sings a love song, my youngest’s favorite, “Snugglepuppy.” There’s a song about belly buttons that my wife is quite fond of. A country song about a sad T-rex, and then a great Andrews Sisters imitation for that same dino. A Kevin Kline song that proceeds at breakneck speed. Boyton’s own children get into the act as well. You might even cry when you hear her daughter sing a ballad to a jar of chocolate chip cookies, far out of reach of the singer’s short body (something every child can identify with). Linney sings a great song about a little one who finds an “it” – a very large thing that eats lots of stuff – and wants to keep it as a pet. A barbershop quartet sings about being aardvarks. And the Bacon Brothers sing the great, swinging title track.
The CD is set up like a Broadway revue, and I sure wish to heck there’d been a video made of it, because it’d be hilarious to see these characters come to life. As it is, the Boyton book is fabulous – with great images and reprinted lyrics, and even a little sheet music. My mom, a music teacher, has her own copy and she plays from it when we visit. Boynton even designed a CD jacket that you could cut out and put into a jewel case.
I can’t say enough about this book/CD set. You can even go to bookstores and get yourself some plush toys of the chickens. Yes, we did. You won’t be able to stop swinging. The kids love ’em. And so will your parents!