LEGENDARY KIDS’ MUSIC STAR LAURIE BERKNER TAKES ANOTHER RIDE TO THE TOP WITH HER 13th ALBUM WAITING FOR THE ELEVATOR SET FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 4, 2019
“The queen of kids’ music” – People magazine
“The Adele of the preschool crowd” – The New York Times
NEW YORK (August 1, 2019) – Legendary children’s musician Laurie Berkner returns with her 13th album, Waiting For The Elevator, on October 4, 2019. The album brings together a scrumptious variety of original, interactive songs that vividly define Laurie’s signature style while introducing new voices, new learning play, and even a new language!
“At the beginning of 2019, I chose a word to represent what I wanted to strive for this year. The word was ‘growth,’” says Laurie Berkner. “In that spirit, I wrote the songs on Waiting For The Elevator about various forms of growth that are part of a child’s development, like exploring and learning about feelings, movement, letters, numbers, colors, months, games, and relationships. I hope these songs help elevate simple, everyday experiences to be more special and worthy of celebration, like … waiting for the elevator!”
The Los Angeles Times declared, “Laurie Berkner does what Fred Rogers did: respect, validate and reassure young children.” In Waiting For The Elevator, Laurie creates an entire world of song and expression in which enthusiasm and respect for the growing child is front and center, with emotional development sitting right alongside intellectual development. Each song leads to the next, in a seamless array of concepts and feelings.
On Waiting For The Elevator, Laurie’s voice, famous for its clarity, personality and warmth, is paired with instrumental and vocal teamwork that is undeniably world-class. Laurie is joined by special guest, Tony Award-winning Broadway actor and singer Gavin Creel (Hair, She Loves Me, Hello, Dolly!, Waitress), as well as regular bandmates Susie Lampert (keyboards), Brady Rymer (bass), and Bob Golden (drums, percussion) and other talented musicians, including gifted Broadway orchestra players David Mann (sax) and Nicholas Marchione (trumpet).
Part of the magic of Laurie Berkner is that when you hear one of her songs, even for the first time, it seems as if you have known that song forever. On Waiting For The Elevator, this is especially true of the title track, a counting song that is already one of Laurie’s most-requested numbers; “Do You Hear The Bells?” featuring the crystal clear voice and consummate musicianship of Gavin Creel; the playful “A Dollar,” where Laurie brings a load of fun to making change; and the romping, stomping “Somos Los Dinosaurios,” a Spanish version of Laurie’s beloved classic “We Are The Dinosaurs.” Here, Laurie has recorded in another language for the very first time!
Other highlights, on an album abounding with many special moments, include “Look At All The Letters,” an alphabet song that emphatically grabs and holds the attention; “I Missed You,” whose lyrics pour a lifetime of child-parent love into a minute and five seconds; the Nashville brass-style dance number, “I Know How That Works;” the gently rhapsodic “A Mermaid’s Song;” the super-snappy “Did You Go To Ohio?” and a pair of songs, one for mom and one for dad: “A Hug From My Mama” and “I Love You Daddy.” Not to be missed are Laurie’s stunning a capella opening to “Big Blue Box” and the celestially soaring chorus of “Purple Bricks In The Sky,” inspired by a remark made by Laurie’s three-year-old friend, Rory.
Laurie Berkner is a singer, songwriter, lyricist, author, and founder of Two Tomatoes Records, LLC. Laurie’s albums, released on her own Two Tomatoes label, have been best sellers on a chart typically dominated by movie soundtracks and major label compilations. With an average of nine million monthly streams and millions of albums, songs, and DVDs sold, Laurie’s songs have become beloved classics for children worldwide. Her debut DVD, which went quadruple platinum, was the first-ever indie children’s music DVD to enter Billboard’s Top Music Video chart at #1. Her top five music videos have garnered more than 32 million views on YouTube.
A longtime fixture on TV’s Nick Jr. and Sprout channels, Laurie was the first recording artist to ever appear in a music video interstitial on Nick Jr. and was featured in nearly all the episodes of the channel’s Jack’s Big Music Show. Laurie’s music videos now appear on NBCUniversal’s Universal Kids channel. She is a familiar radio presence on SiriusXM’s Kids Place Live channel and other children’s broadcast outlets around the world. Laurie can also be heard in a ten-chapter Audible Original Series she created, Laurie Berkner’s Song & Story Kitchen.
Laurie wrote the music and lyrics for three children’s musicals originally produced Off-Broadway by New York City Children’s Theater and now performed regionally: Wanda’s Monster, The Amazing Adventures of Harvey and the Princess, and Interstellar Cinderella. She has authored a number of picture books based on her songs, the most recent of which were We Are the Dinosaurs, Pillowland, and Monster Boogie, all published by Simon & Schuster.
As one of the most popular children’s entertainers in the US, Laurie has filled numerous performance spaces nationwide with adoring fans. She maintains a busy touring schedule, both solo and with The Laurie Berkner Band, and counts Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the White House among the many prestigious venues at which she has appeared.
Waiting For The Elevator will be available at all major online outlets.
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CD Details: Waiting For The Elevator
Release date: October 4, 2019
For ages 1 – 7
Label: Two Tomatoes Records
SRP: $9.99 digital. $11.98 CD
Run time: 47 minutes
WAITING FOR THE ELEVATOR TRACK LIST:
Waiting For The Elevator
A Dollar
Did You Go To Ohio?
Look At All The Letters
12 Months
Do You Hear The Bells? (featuring Gavin Creel)
Chipmunk At The Gas Pump
I Missed You
I Know How That Works
I Love You Daddy
A Hug From My Mama
Piggyback Ride
A Mermaid’s Song
Big Blue Box
Come Out Come Out
I Am Angry (Yes I Am!)
Purple Bricks In The Sky
This Mountain
BONUS: Somos Los Dinosaurios
