Thursday, July 4, 2013

Hawaii: The First Recorded "HUGs Around The World" Lullaby


As we travel this year, Jan and I have decided to try writing lullabies. I study the music of the cultures we visit, and Jan studies their birthing and parenting practices. Then we write a song that joins these ideas with HUG Your Baby concepts. Our plan is to write a series of lullabies that celebrate babies and families around the world, that express and teach HUG Your Baby insights and strategies, and that make a record of our travels. Our working title is “HUGs Around the World.”


The first song in this collection, “HUG Hawaiian Lullaby,” is now finished! You can listen, and watch, at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXBNgrKIYKE


With permission, Jan used photos of her patients; she also purchased some stock photos, to make the slide show that accompanies the song.


The creative efforts of the talented Tony Bowman were instrumental in bringing this Hawaiian-style song to life. I wrote the music, and Jan and I wrote the lyrics, but Tony recorded, arranged, and produced the song in Chatham County, North Carolina. Tony and Ronda Bowman are the vocalists. Brian Dennis of Carrboro, NC, played guitars and ukulele. Our son, Jonathan Henderson of Durham, NC, added the upright bass part. Credit Tony with all other instrumental performances—as well as engineering, mixing, and mastering the track.


Next up for recording is the Australian lullaby. Songs based on Japanese and Korean melodies have already been written by Jan and me. In earlier stages of development are: a Malaysian/Indonesian “kroncong” song, and a lullaby featuring music by gamelan instruments and lyrics about Balinese ritual practices surrounding childbirth and child development.



Jan and I are grateful to Tony for all his hard work, and we look forward to making other HUG lullabies available as soon as they are recorded. I hope you enjoy the fruits of this labor of love!

No comments:

Post a Comment