Kidsongs | |
---|---|
Genre | Children's music sing-along |
Written by | Carol Rosenstein Abbie Crow Rich (1986) Bruce Gowers |
Directed by | Bruce Gowers |
Composer | Michael Lloyd |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 25 |
Production | |
Executive producers | Carol Rosenstein Bruce Gowers James Rich Jr. (1985–1986) |
Producer | Carol Rosenstein |
Camera setup | Multiple-camera setup |
Production companies | Together Again Video Productions (1985–1995) Together Again Productions (1995–1998) Warner Bros. Records (1985–1995) Sony Wonder (1997–1998) |
Original release | |
Release | December 3, 1985 – July 7, 1998 |
Kidsongs is an American children's media franchise that includes Kidsongs Music Video Stories on DVD and video, the Kidsongs TV series, CDs of children's songs, songbooks, sheet music, toys, and a merchandise website. [1] It was created by producer Carol Rosenstein and director Bruce Gowers of Together Again Video Productions (TAVP). [2] [3] [4] The duo had produced and directed over 100 music videos for Warner Bros. 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 formed between TAVP, WBR, and View-Master Video, with TAVP responsible for production and WBR and View-Master responsible for distribution to video and music stores, and toy stores respectively.
The home video series was launched with four Kidsongs Music Video Stories episodes at New York's Toy Fair on January 1, 1985. "A Day at Old MacDonald's Farm" was one of those first four and has sold over 4 million copies [5] and won the Vira Award. [6] Each half-hour Music Video Stories episode features 10 to 15 songs, in a music video style production starring children. They sing and dance their way through well-known children's songs, nursery rhymes, and covers of pop hits from the '50s, '60s, '70s and ‘80s—all tied together by a simple story and theme.
The TAVP/WBR/View-Master Video partnership (Viewmaster was acquired by Tyco Toys in 1989–95) [7] produced 16 Kidsongs episodes of the Music Video Stories. In 1995, WBR and TAVP bought out Tyco's distribution rights and produced three more View-Master videos called Billy Biggle's Favorite Songs, "Country Sing-Along" and "Boppin' with the Biggles" in 1994, and two KidVision videos called "Let's Put on a Show!" & "Baby Animal Songs" in 1995, as part of a new venture with another division of Warner Bros.--Warner Vision. [8] In 1997, TAVP acquired all rights from WBR/Warner Vision and became the sole owner of all Kidsongs properties.
Later in 1997, TAVP entered into a distribution/production agreement [9] with Sony Wonder, which resulted in the production of four more titles called "I Can Dance!", "I Can Do It!", "Adventures in Biggleland: Billy's Birthday" and "Adventures in Biggleland: Meet the Biggles". That agreement ended on July 1, 1998, and in 2002, distribution rights were licensed by RLJE Films, which continues to distribute the videos.
From December 3, 1985, to July 7, 1998, Kidsongs home video episodes encompassing 300 children's songs, nursery rhymes, and cover versions of pop hits from the '50s to the '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, [10] 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:
The Kidsongs Television Show | |
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Genre | Children's music |
Written by | Carol Rosenstein |
Directed by | Bruce Gowers |
Opening theme | "We Want Our Kidsongs" |
Ending theme | "We Want Our Kidsongs" |
Composer | Michael Lloyd |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 4 |
No. of episodes | 96 |
Production | |
Executive producers | Carol Rosenstein Bruce Gowers |
Producer | Carol Rosenstein |
Camera setup | Multiple-camera setup |
Production companies | Together Again Productions Warner Bros. Records (seasons 1–3) Sony Wonder (season 4) Orbis Communications (season 1) WTTW National Productions (seasons 2–4) |
Original release | |
Network | Syndication |
Release | September 19, 1987 – September 26, 1997 |
The Kidsongs Television Show debuted on September 19, 1987, with 26 half-hour episodes distributed by Orbis Entertainment. [11] 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. [12] The series aired for two years in syndication, then was rerun on The Disney Channel in 1990. It won the prestigious Excellence in Children's Programming Award from ACT. In 1987–88, it was called The Kidsongs TV Show. [13]
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 public television stations nationally. The Kidsongs Television Show reached 89 percent of households by 1998. [14] 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 totaled 96 episodes. It ran on public television for seven years, winning critical acclaim. [13] [15] Currently, fifteen episodes of The Kidsongs Television Show are available on DVD, [1] and the series is also available in its entirety on digital download through iTunes and Amazon Video.
The hosts this season are Chris Lytton and Triskin Potter.
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Our First TV Show!" | September 19, 1987 |
2 | 2 | "Let's Sing American Songs" | September 26, 1987 |
3 | 3 | "Studio Fun" | October 3, 1987 |
4 | 4 | "We've Got This Down" | October 10, 1987 |
5 | 5 | "We're on a Roll" | October 17, 1987 |
6 | 6 | "Classic Kid's Songs" | October 24, 1987 |
7 | 7 | "What's at #1?" | October 31, 1987 |
8 | 8 | "Songs & Games" | November 7, 1987 |
9 | 9 | "Practice Makes Perfect" | November 14, 1987 |
10 | 10 | "Let's Count 'em Down" | November 21, 1987 |
11 | 11 | "Music Video Madness" | November 28, 1987 |
12 | 12 | "Let's Get Moving" | December 5, 1987 |
13 | 13 | "Made by Kids" | December 12, 1987 |
14 | 14 | "For Kids & Starring Kids" | December 19, 1987 |
15 | 15 | "It's Sing-a-Long Time!" | December 26, 1987 |
16 | 16 | "It's a Kid's World" | January 2, 1988 |
17 | 17 | "We Want Our Kidsongs" | January 9, 1988 |
18 | 18 | "Kidsongs Rocks" | January 16, 1988 |
19 | 19 | "What's Climbing Up the Charts?" | January 23, 1988 |
20 | 20 | "Hits, Classics & Sing-Alongs" | January 30, 1988 |
21 | 21 | "Join the Sing-Along Fun" | February 6, 1988 |
22 | 22 | "School Days" | February 13, 1988 |
23 | 23 | "We Love Our Kidsongs" | February 20, 1988 |
24 | 24 | "Livin' in the USA" | February 27, 1988 |
25 | 25 | "Counting Down the Chart" | March 5, 1988 |
26 | 26 | "It's a Wrap!" | March 12, 1988 |
The hosts this season are Christian Buenaventura and Alexandra Picatto (credited as Alexandra Palm). This is also the debut of Kidsongs' new mascots, the Biggles (though Ruby would appear in later episodes).
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|
27 | 1 | "Alligator on the Loose" | April 4, 1994 |
28 | 2 | "A Fish Story" | April 5, 1994 |
29 | 3 | "Billy's Tummy Ache" | April 6, 1994 |
30 | 4 | "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!" | April 7, 1994 |
31 | 5 | "The Mail Must Go Through" | April 8, 1994 |
32 | 6 | "Teamwork" | April 11, 1994 |
33 | 7 | "Where in the World is Billy Biggle?" | April 12, 1994 |
34 | 8 | "Katie's Little Lie" | April 13, 1994 |
35 | 9 | "Just a Little Magic" | April 14, 1994 |
36 | 10 | "Kevin's Raffle Tickets" | April 15, 1994 |
37 | 11 | "Just a Little Bit of History" | April 18, 1994 |
38 | 12 | "Circus Day" | April 19, 1994 |
39 | 13 | "I Can't Play Sports" | April 20, 1994 |
40 | 14 | "A Community Assignment" | April 21, 1994 |
41 | 15 | "Dinosaur Day" | April 22, 1994 |
42 | 16 | "Around the World in 30 Minutes" | April 25, 1994 |
43 | 17 | "Megan's Bad Day" | April 26, 1994 |
44 | 18 | "Safety First" | April 27, 1994 |
45 | 19 | "Recycled TV" | April 28, 1994 |
46 | 20 | "Professor Majorchord's Music Lesson" | April 29, 1994 |
47 | 21 | "Change for the Better" | May 2, 1994 |
48 | 22 | "Weather Biggle" | May 3, 1994 |
49 | 23 | "Olympian Dreams" | May 4, 1994 |
50 | 24 | "Wild West Fever" | May 5, 1994 |
51 | 25 | "Responsibility" | May 6, 1994 |
52 | 26 | "Birthday Blues" | May 9, 1994 |
53 | 27 | "Aviation Adventures" | May 10, 1994 |
54 | 28 | "Sign Language Communication" | May 11, 1994 |
55 | 29 | "I Need a Little Pasta" | May 12, 1994 |
56 | 30 | "A Kidsongs Kid's Best Friend" | May 13, 1994 |
The hosts this season are Aaron Harvey, Alexandra Picatto (credited as Alexandra Palm), and Lynsey Bartilson (only in two episodes) with the Biggles.
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|
57 | 1 | "Transportation" | October 2, 1995 |
58 | 2 | "It's Showtime" | October 3, 1995 |
59 | 3 | "Man's Best Friend" | October 4, 1995 |
60 | 4 | "We're Dancing Now" | October 5, 1995 |
61 | 5 | "It's a Latin Life" | October 6, 1995 |
62 | 6 | "Brooke's Lost Bike" | October 9, 1995 |
63 | 7 | "Alex Alex Alex" | October 10, 1995 |
64 | 8 | "Garage Sale" | October 11, 1995 |
65 | 9 | "Here, Kitty Kitty" | October 12, 1995 |
66 | 10 | "Mind Your Manners" | October 13, 1995 |
67 | 11 | "I Have an Idea" | October 16, 1995 |
68 | 12 | "Share and Share Alike" | October 17, 1995 |
69 | 13 | "Collector's Item" | October 18, 1995 |
70 | 14 | "Fiddle Me This" | October 19, 1995 |
71 | 15 | "All the News That's Fit" | October 20, 1995 |
72 | 16 | "Circle of Life" | October 23, 1995 |
73 | 17 | "Practice, Practice, Practice" | October 24, 1995 |
74 | 18 | "Reach for the Stars" | October 25, 1995 |
75 | 19 | "Playing Favorites" | October 26, 1995 |
76 | 20 | "They Raise Horses, Don't They?" | October 27, 1995 |
The hosts this season are Sergio Centeno and Tiffany Burton with the Biggles.
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|
77 | 1 | "All Together Now" | September 1, 1997 |
78 | 2 | "Gone to the Dogs" | September 2, 1997 |
79 | 3 | "Put Your Dancin' Shoes On" | September 3, 1997 |
80 | 4 | "Bang Your Drum Loudly" | September 4, 1997 |
81 | 5 | "When I Grow Up" | September 5, 1997 |
82 | 6 | "Life's a Beach" | September 8, 1997 |
83 | 7 | "It's 60's Day" | September 9, 1997 |
84 | 8 | "A Doggone Great Day" | September 10, 1997 |
85 | 9 | "Working Together" | September 11, 1997 |
86 | 10 | "Under the Sea" | September 12, 1997 |
87 | 11 | "Dedication and Practice" | September 15, 1997 |
88 | 12 | "We Are Family" | September 16, 1997 |
89 | 13 | "Let's Look It Up" | September 17, 1997 |
90 | 14 | "Brady "Safety" Kimball" | September 18, 1997 |
91 | 15 | "Throwing Curve Balls" | September 19, 1997 |
92 | 16 | "Animal's Galore" | September 22, 1997 |
93 | 17 | "Billy's Doctor Visit" | September 23, 1997 |
94 | 18 | "Aloha, Biggleland" | September 24, 1997 |
95 | 19 | "Monster Truck Day" | September 25, 1997 |
96 | 20 | "Dream On" | September 26, 1997 |
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