Vaccines are on the way! But ramping up to 350 million people (which means more than half a BILLION vaccinations) means there’s still a long time until we all celebrate our family reunions. This is especially frustrating since testing was not done on children under age 16. Seizing on the jumbled emotions of these turbulent, virulent times, Erica Rabner is releasing The COVID Album: Songs To Help Kids and Families Cope.
Erica is acutely aware of the impact of enforced pandemic separation, as her own grandmother passed away last summer. Over the final six months, there was no in-person contact between them, which inspired her to write “Grandma, I Miss Ya,” with backing vocals by Grammy winner Jon Samson. The new video for the song (complete with archival footage of Erica and her grandmother) is viewable below this review.
The year 2020 became a traveling adventure for Rabner, who traded her New York City for a car and moved cross-country. Using her background in early children education, she recorded tracks in a closet in Austin, Texas that became The COVID Album, including “Imagination Station,” “Manage Your Feelings,” and “Wash Your Hands,” which became the source of more than 500 TikTok videos featuring kids and their creative masks.
Many parents have just about given up trying to get their children to understand the importance of wearing masks. After consulting with a pediatrician, Erica crafted the harmonic “Mask On” to remind families that “personal protective equipment” (PPE) directly affects everyone:
Mask on, put your mask on
Cover your nose and mouth
Don’t leave your house without your mask on
The COVID Album shows Erica’s affinity with younger audiences (her “day job” is a research analyst for Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood). While everybody is dealing with pandemic fatigue, parents can step aside for a little while and let Erica Rabner fill the emotional, entertainment, and educational void.
The COVID Album: Songs To Help Kids and Families Cope is available from Erica Rabner’s website, Amazon, and iTunes.
Here is the video for “Grandma, I Miss Ya”:
