One of the most important roles of any parent is imparting a love of music to their children at as young an age as possible. Well, maybe “most important” is overstating things a bit, but still…
I’ve written about the challenge before, and how a Leonard Cohen song in a kids’ movie was a gateway to introducing my daughter to the classics. I’d so much rather have children discover music through the original artists’ recordings than via supposedly-family-friendly versions like Kidz Bop. I mean, honestly, isn’t virtually all of The Beatles catalog family friendly?
The same can be said of the vast library of songs by the legendary Frank Sinatra. His music is timeless, and belongs in the soundtrack of all of our lives. But for your children, where do you begin?
Chances are you have some Sinatra in your music library already, and someday you should pass it all along to your children. But if you’re looking for a great introduction to the Chairman of the Board for the very youngest members of your family, you can’t do much better than this new collection.
Baby Blue Eyes… May The First Voice You Hear Be Mine Is a set of 20 original Frank Sinatra recordings spanning his career across Reprise, Capital and Sony. The title is a variation on one of Sinatra’s oft used toasts to his audience, “May you live to be a hundred and the last voice you hear be mine.” The collection is envisioned as a child’s first musical library. The set was curated by Tina Sinatra, who had this to say about her father’s music:
“Dad is perhaps best remembered as a saloon singer. He often referred to himself as such. But, first, he was a Father and that emotional connection to the child in all us is ever-present in this collection of songs that I have chosen as a concert to each new generation.”
Here is the complete track list for Baby Blue Eyes… May The First Voice You Hear Be Mine:
01. Yes Sir, That’s My Baby
02. Ain’t She Sweet
03. It’s A Wonderful World
04. Isn’t She Lovely
05. I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
06. Pocketful Of Miracles
07. I Believe
08. It’s Only A Paper Moon
09. High Hopes
10. Jeepers Creepers
11. Pennies From Heaven
12. How Cute Can You Be?
13. A Baby Just Like You
14. Bein’ Green
15. Hush-A-Bye-Island
16. Fairy Tale
17. Young At Heart
18. Dream
19. Put Your Dreams Away
20. Cradle Song (Brahms Lullaby)
By the way, that’s actually Baby Frank on the album cover above… making the ladies swoon since 1915.
