MP3 Family Ride - KIDS/FAMILY: Children´s Pop

Original Rock for the entire family.

16 MP3 Songs
KIDS/FAMILY: Children's Pop, POP: Beatles-pop



Details:
mr. RAY (Ray Andersen) grew up in the house that
legendary songwriters, Carole King and Gerry Goffin lived in...

It all began when his Dad told the family that they'd be moving into the former home of the legendary singer/songwriters,
in West Orange, New Jersey. It is the house where Carole King wrote most of Tapestry,
and she and Gerry Goffin wrote the hit song, Pleasant Valley Sunday, for the Monkees.
Pleasant Valley Way runs right through West Orange and the song's lyrics summarize suburban life,
and mentions neighbors on mr. RAY's street.

Upon an older cousin turning him onto the Beatles, and discovering from there the beauty of great songwriting,
Ray was inspired at a very early age to attempt playing the piano, guitar and drums, and start crafting his own songs-without a single lesson.

Besides having his Rock and Roll idols and inspirations, Ray was always attracted to the zaniness of TV/movie personalities
& entertainers that transcended their age, like Jerry Lewis, Danny Kaye, Dick Van Dyke, etc. Ray describes it as, "...keeping
one foot in childland, and one foot in the grown-up world. It's a delicate balance." Seeing these personalities prompted
Ray to start acting in local productions and studying at New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts.


As he became adept at playing a number of instruments, it was time to start playing live professionally...
In the early 80s, he was a member of the notable Asbury Park NJ, Stone Pony house-band, Cats On A Smooth Surface.
Bruce Springsteen played with Ray and the band so much, he often raved to the press worldwide, that they were
his favorites jam with when he was off tour.

In 1995, Ray and his wife, Patti Maloney, formed a pop/rock duo, Blue Van Gogh, and they released an album
and video to international acclaim, and toured throughout Germany as the opening act for matchbox twenty in April of 1998.

Later that year, 1998, Ray got a call to play guitar, keyboards & sing backup for international rock star, Meat Loaf...
Besides giving him the thrill of performing in some of the world's great arenas, Ray, as part of Meat Loaf's band
did a lot of TV such as David Letterman, Jay Leno, The View, VH1's Storytellers, Hard Rock Live and many European TV shows.
In October of 1999, the #1-rated VH1 Storyteller Show of all time, Meat Loaf's, went on the road through 2000,
& Ray along with Mr. Loaf can be seen forever preserved on the Storytellers DVD and CD.

Throughout all of this, of course, mr. RAY was entering into a new musical galaxy where
his critics were a lot tougher...even if they were under the age of 8.
But Ray knew how to get through to them with his music. In 1994, his wife, who was part-timing at a pre-school,
asked Ray to come in and perform some songs for the kids. In no time, he became known as "mr. RAY,"
clad in his trademark hip eyeglasses and clothes, holding an eye-catching, colorfully-stickered guitar.
The kids were quickly hooked on a new version of Mr. Rogers. Singing about friendship, dinosaurs and rainbows never s
ounded so cool beforeâ¦It was such a success that parents everywhere started begging him to record these songs for
"those long car rides with the kids!" mr. RAY wrote and co-produced his own album entitled, "START DREAMING!"
released in April 2001, geared to pre-schoolers, but really kids of all ages...

He then signed with Sugar Beats Entertainment (a company owned by Carole King's daughter) to distribute his album nationwide.
In March 2003, mr. RAY (no longer Ray Andersen!) signed a DVD/Video deal with a Philadelphia-based company,
Center City Film & Video. (CCFV.com) The 39 minute DVD is designed to entertain mr. RAY's core demographic,
2-6 year olds...Live footage intertwined with animation based on his songs is featured.
The company produces McDonald's commercial spots for Citibank, the 76ers,
and many more national companies.
He's been featured in Parenting Magazine, the New York Times, and more recently, the Wall Street Journal.
They profiled him, complete with a rare (for them) color picture
that has sparked a flood of inquiries from top players in the entertainment industry.

Not surprisingly, TV is on the horizon for him...
In June he was on AMC's reality-based series, Into Character, where he portrayed (as himself) a
rock guitar instructor on the La Bamba episode.

On August 6th at 6pm, mr. RAY appeared on QVC and sold his DVD and Start Dreaming CD.

mr. RAY's second album, 'Songs From The Kids' Lounge" was released in October 2004.

The third mr. RAY album, "Family Ride" will be released in November 2006.

mr. RAY and his wife, Patti, become parents for the first time in December 2004,
adopting a beautiful newborn girl from Pennsylvania - they named her Layla.