Unique, radio style "broadcast" of songs, tales, and tunes featuring Bill Wellington, a cast of zany characters, and some top-notch musicians. Parents Choice Gold Award and ALA Notable winner.

12 MP3 Songs
KIDS/FAMILY: Kid Friendly, KIDS/FAMILY: Children's Storytelling



Details:
Bill Wellington

Parentsâ Choice Magazine once said: âChildren couldnât ask for a better storyteller than Bill Wellington.â Bill is not only a great storyteller, he is also an accomplished musician, an award-winning recording artist, and one of the funniest family entertainers around. He has performed everywhere from one-room schoolhouses to the National Theatre, sharing his love of folk music, folktales, and folk dance.

Wellington is the former Old Time Banjo Champion of West Virginia. He also excels on fiddle, guitar and Irish Flute. He has played for square dance all across the Easter United States, and continues to be in demand as a dance musician and dance caller.

One of Billâs talents is to write songs that really hit a nerve with kids. The titles of such songs include: âGrounded,â âStay Out of My Room,â and âHow Could We Live Without TV?â They reveal how Wellington writes from a kidâs point of view without any sense of trying to tell children how to be. âHe relates to children in a childlike way,â according to Booklist.

Billâs most popular song may be Gnarly Roadrash, which tell the story of a boy who overcomes adversity to become a skateboarding legend. This song compares learning how skateboard to any worthwhile challenge, showing youngsters that the desire to succeed is the most important thing. While the words are written by Bill, the melody is an old American fiddle tune called Red Wing. Woody Gutherie used the same melody for his song âUnion Maid.â

Bill Wellington began making recordings for children in 1990. The release of âRadio WOOFâ in that year was a huge success, as this recording won both the American Library Association âNotableâ Award and the Parentsâ Choice Gold Award. There are now seven Radio WOOF recordings, each using a format that allows Wellington to play such characters as Dr. I. M. Anonymous, the founder of folklore; Rover Reporter, a real news hound; and Laurence, the worldâs most whimsical walrus.

WOOF has won rave reviews in the national media including USA Today, who called Radio WOOF a âcure for the back-to-school blues,â and Parents Choice Magazine who called WOOF a âfunnybone feast.â