Personnel: Raffi (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar); Ken Whiteley (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, tenor banjo, mandolin, piano); Bonnie Simpson, Lisa Campbell, Daniel Whiteley, Debi Pike, Jude Johnson, Garnet Rogers, Buckskin Pete, Joel Simpson, Warren Cooper, Jenny Whiteley (vocals); Chris Whiteley (harmonica, trumpet); Ed Roth (accordion, piano, electric piano, organ, synthesizer); Bob Doidge (acoustic bass, electric bass); Bill Cymbala (drums, congas, percussion).
Liner Note Author: Raffi.
Recording information: Grand Avenue Studio, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (11/1977); Grant Avenue Studio, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (11/1977).
Photographer: Onnig Cavoukian.
Arranger: Charity Bailey.
Sometimes known as the Bruce Springsteen for the younger set, Egyptian-born, Canadian-based singer-songwriter Raffi teamed up with veteran producer Daniel Lanois for 1998's MORE SINGABLE SONGS. While Raffi lists Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell as his biggest influences, recent years have seen him go global.
On MORE SINGABLE SONGS he incorporates folk, reggae, ragtime, gospel, jazz, country and even calypso into his oeuvre. And while his musical influences--and his popularity--now reach throughout the world, there is nothing the least bit stuffy about him. Just check out his sweet vocal delivery on "Six Little Ducks," a surefire children's favorite. And one cannot overlook his trademark gentle humor on MORE SINGABLE SONGS with songs such as "If I Had a Dinosaur" and the whimsical "Oh Me, Oh My," in which he concludes "You don't need a lumberjack to pour your milk!" MORE SINGABLE SONGS is an easy listen, too, for parents raised on the folk music of the '60s and '70s, and even includes an excellent version of the folk classic "New River Train."
