It’s hard to believe there was a time when Caspar Babypants wasn’t a part of our children’s music experience. And yet it’s true; his first CD did not erupt until 2009. Since then, we’ve witnessed the music of Chris Ballew’s alter ego firsthand (alas, before I started recording songs at live performances), viewed his amusing videos, and heard all of his releases, including his latest (an astronomical number 16), entitled Flying High!
This is the paragraph where I usually delve into the background of the musician and his cultural or personal relevance to me as a reviewer. Let’s skip that part. Read about the metamorphosis of Caspar Babypants here. In short, Chris is a dad and a former alt-rocker who now uses his powers of creation for the younger set. More than once I’ve uttered, “That’s just ridiculous!” while listening to a Babypants track, then found myself singing along a moment later, including the brand new “Shine It Up!”
The works of Caspar Babypants are often hard to explain. Chris brings forth characters and situations that exist in a realm between authentic and fantastic, such as “Roly Poly Buggy Ball,” an ode to armadillidium members of the insect family. He exercises his Dr. Seussian muscles with “Rhymes With Orange” with four concoctions that my younger son thought might actually exist. “Google them,” I suggested. Chris also delves into southern rock, giving “Ducky Is the Name of My Bike” an Allman Brothers guitar twang.
Chris has an obsession with taking traditional songs such as “London Bridge” and giving them a redo. Flying High! features “London Bridge Is Falling Apart,” “I’ve Been Asleep on the Railroad” (think “working on…”) and “Sittin’ in a High Chair” (a modernized version of the more than 100-year-old plantation favorite, “Shortenin’ Bread“).
Chris says the inspiration for his foray into children’s music was the artwork of his wife, Kate Endle. Together they have crafted a line of children’s books (based on more original Babypants tunes) that can be found here.
Flying High! maintains the high standard of past Babypants releases. It’s hard to believe that Chris has produced nearly 300 tunes (there are a couple of Beatles-themed CDs in his oeuvre). It’s easy to believe that he’s far from done producing effervescent, engaging Caspar Babypants’ kids tunes.
Flying High! is available on Caspar Babypants’ website, Amazon, and Apple Music.
Here is the video for his song, “Made for You This Little Song”:
