Coming up on The Children's Hour, we're joined by Kid Pan Alley. It's an organization that
empowers kids around the United States to write their own songs. We're joined this time by
Paul and Cheryl Reisler. They've written more than 2,500 songs with more than 70,000 children
in the last 30 years. Together, our kids crew, Paul and Cheryl, will work to create lyrics
for a bridge of a song. Explore the fundamentals of music education with us this time on The
Children's Hour. Stick with us. The Children's Hour is Kids Public Radio produced by The Children's
Hour Incorporated, a New Mexico nonprofit. Find out more about us and see pictures and links
related to this show at ChildrensHour.org. It's time for The Children's Hour, Kids Public
Radio.
What am I if I stand up my whole life? I don't know what! A tree! Ha, ha, ha!
It's time for The Children's Hour Kids Public Radio.
It's a
singing and singing and
That's Lyre le Temps from Outside the Box with Beautiful Day. You're listening to The Children's Hour
and I'm Katie Stone. I am so happy to be with everyone today on the show, including all of
you out in listener land and all of these kids on Zoom. Hello, everyone. Hello. And who's
with us today? Hello, it's Amadeus. Hi, it's Jo. Hi, it's Sonia. Hi, it's Ethan. Hi, it's
Illuminata. Hi, it's Anahi. Hi friends, it's Melissa. Hi, it's Cade. Well, I'm so delighted everybody's
with us today. Thank you for being here. And on the show today, we've got Kid Pan Alley
and they are famous for writing songs with kids, classrooms of kids, schools of kids. We're
going to learn a lot more about it. And I think we're going to be writing a song together today.
Stick with us. This is The Children's Hour and this is Kid Pan Alley.
Things I don't know oh I don't know if she's got a brain I don't know if it's gonna rain.
And I really don't know his name I don't know
I'll get a piece of coal and a rubber duck. And a goldfish on a string. I'll get breath mints
and underwear. And all the love my family can share this year
I our love's what I know. Yes, our love is what I know.
Every time she tags me my knees go weak
Taking all of me out of.
I'm embarrassed to admit I told her quit and all I always got uh song.
I tried to run away, but she always makes me stay. She's taking all of me out of my
I'm scared of her. Every time she tags me my knees go weak I collapse in a puddle I fall.
She's a tongue twister, she's worse than my sister It's just plain scary like.
Tell her.
This song I will sing for you. It is about some very important people in my life. Let
me tell you. Well, I've got 12 pet pigeons and a chihuahua named Mohican, a few cute
fish and a parrot named Maria. They keep me from getting lonely since I moved from California.
Still my best friend will always be you Best friends, they always by your side. Yes
they are. Best friends, they stand the test of time. They cheer you on. Best friends,
all they will cheer you on. They will be by your side while you are young, even as you
get older. Yes. So here I am in Dallas With enough pets to fill a palace. And all I can
do is think of you.
And pizza with anchovies Still my best friend will always be you. Oh my best friends. They're
always by your side Don't you worry. Best friends. They stand the test of time. They cheer you
on. Best friends. Let's do it for my best friends.
I've got four big diaries, one page for every secret, and the worst kept secret is that I
miss you. It's time to find some new friends! Go to the park and play with them. But my best
friend will always be you. Don't you worry, you're not be flased! Best friends, they're always
by your side. Don't you worry, best friends. They stand the test of time, they cheer you
on. Best friends, oh best Best friends, they always by your side. Best friends, they stand
the test of time. They cheer you on. Best friends, they will cheer you on. Best friends,
they cheer you on.
Listen what I tell you man! That's a little sample of Kid Pan Alley right here on The
Children's Hour. That one that you just heard was featuring Vance Gilbert. It's called Best
Friends and it's the title track from that release. I always Come Back For More was Ellis
Paul and the one before that I Don't Know was from Tidal Wave of Song. You're listening to
The Children's Hour and today on the show we are delighted. to have some of the world's
most prolific songwriters of all time, Kid Pan Alley's Paul and Cheryl Reisler. Welcome to
The Children's Hour. Well, thanks so much. You have written more than 2,500 songs with over
30,000 children. And well we're kids here on The Children's Hour, and I think we want to
know what you do. Well, we've written a lot of songs since, I guess, we put that on our
website. We've written about 2,700 songs with about 70,000 children now. So it's a lot of
songs. We started Kid Pan Alley 22 years ago, or almost 23 years ago now. We've written songs
about every imaginable thing from love songs to bilingual songs to songs about the earth.
And there's just a song about every imaginable thing now. Wow. You've written a lot of works,
but you've also published a lot of CDs and you've even been nominated for a Grammy. And we want
to play your music today on the show, but we also, wonder if you'll kind of take us through
a little maybe exercise of what you do. Sure. We'll take a song that is from one of our
albums. It's a song called Skin. It's from our album, One Little Song Can Change the World,
which is all songs about things with character. It's a song I wrote with kids down in Elkin,
North Carolina. I asked them, what do you want to, you know we go in and say, what do you want
to write about today? And they wanted to write about racism. And they wrote this beautiful
song about skin. I want to know who you are. Don't want to judge you by your car. Do you
speak the truth? Can you sing like Ray? I want to hear what you have to say. Skin, it can
be pretty thin. Skin, it's just the suit you're in. And I think I'll play a little bit of it.
And what we'll do is we'll write a bridge for it. Now, that's a different section than what is
here already. So in other words, the bridge is going to be a contrasting section. We have
verses and choruses here. The verse has different words each time. That's where we tell the story.
The chorus has the same words each time. That's where we give kind of the overview. And the
bridge is just a different section that connects two choruses together. It only happens once.
It's usually short. But I'll play a little bit of skin here for you. And so you can hear
what it sounds like.
And this is the bridge part. Okay, okay, let's hear the original song. This is coming off
of a CD called One Little Song Can Change the World. And it can.
I want to hear what you have to say. Skin, it can be pretty thin. Skin, it's just the
suit you're in. Skin.
Skin want to know what's in your heart Don't matter if your skin is light or dark I don't
care where you live or what you wear. If you got cornrows or straight blonde hair. Skin,
it can be pretty thin. Skin, it's just the suit you're in. Skin. Skin.
We stood for, made us think. We're all God's children, all just the same. With different
faces and different names. Skin, it can be pretty thin. Skin, it's just the suit you're in.
Skin, it can be pretty thin, skin. Not some pseudonym.
So beautiful angels in sweet candy.
Come on, give me.
That's Kid Pan Alley, and we've got more with them coming right up. You're listening to
The Children's Hour, Kids Public Radio. We'll be right back. The Children's Hour is a production
of The Children's Hour Incorporated. We're a New Mexico-based nonprofit organization, and
we're funded by listeners just like you. Learn more at ChildrensHour.org. The New Mexico Department
of Cultural Affairs supports The Children's Hour. Celebrate the diverse cultural communities
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You heard Podington Bear over the break and before the break, Kid Pan
Alley right here on The Children's Hour. The CD is called One Little Song Can Change the
World. That's the Skin song. And we're here with Cheryl and Paul Reisler from Kid Pan Alley
and all our crew. And you say you want us to write a bridge for that song? What? Well, I
just wanted to give you all an idea of how we work in Kid Pan Alley. I mean, that song's
pretty complete, but we'll write a short bridge so you can get an idea of how to write songs
a little bit, because I see some really good songwriters out there in my screen. So a bridge
is a different section, and it just connects two things together, just like a bridge over
the river. I would go before, probably before, between two choruses at the end. So, if we were
saying something totally different, like, you know, here we're talking, someone's saying,
oh, you know, I want to know what's in your heart, I have a dream. Maybe this is where
we say something like, well, we should all accept each other or something like that. What do
you guys think? Who's got an idea for me? One of the things that I think about this song
that's nice is that it lets us know that in a way, even though we may look different, we're
all really the same. And we can all share a sense of love for each other, which is one
of the most important things to do. And it lets us know to always be kind. So it's always
important to keep that in mind in our day-to-day life. And I think it's a great thing to write
about. Well, you just wrote the bridge there pretty much. You had a lot of ideas. if anybody
else has anything they want to add to it there, we're just getting ideas and then we'll write
the bridge. But you gave us a ton of stuff there, Amadeus. That's fantastic. Who else has an
idea there? Well, what about the idea of like, everybody has a skin, like birds have skin.
Oh, that could be kind of cool. You know, birds and snakes, they have their own skin. We love them
in the suit that they're in. Something like that. That's really cool also. Okay. And any
of the kids, have, any of your kids have another idea? Well, you have to like treat people with
respect because not only is that disrespecting them, but it's like still saying that they're
different and, That's like a thing. Yeah, so we got to treat them with respect and even
though we're different, we're all the same. So I think we have three directions we could
go in. So let's decide. One is we got to treat people with respect because even though we're
different, we're all the same. Another direction could be everything has a skin, birds and snakes.
It's just the suit they're in. Or we got it. We got to always be kind in our day to day
life. So let's vote on one, you get one vote, but when you vote, put your hand on your forehead
so we can see what you're voting for. And so I'm gonna call them out, or Cheryl's gonna
call them out one at a time here. How many want the bridge to start with? Everything has a
skin, birds and snakes. One, two, three, four, five. How many would like the bridge to start
with? Treat everyone with the same respect. Hold them up there, one, two. Okay. And the
last one, how many would like it to start with, gotta always be kind in our day-to-day life.
Okay, it was the first one. Yeah, everyone has a skin. Birds and snakes and I want
to rhyme with skin. Birds and snakes and all the what? How about chameleon? Ooh! And I love
how they change their skin. Oh! Birds and snakes and chameleons. We're writing a bridge to
a song with Kid Pan Alley. It's kind of like the work that they do in schools all over
the country. working with schools and kids and students to write a song collaboratively together.
They have just written so many songs, over 2,500 of them. But you can hear some of their work
on releases that they've made. We've got links at childrenshour.org. Look for this episode,
Kid Pan Alley. But their songs often reflect what's going on in the world in a way. And
the latest release is no exception. It's called maybe by next year. You're listening to The
Children's Hour with Kid Pan Alley.
The of our road is dark and frightening. Going on a journey to reach enlightenment. This is
for anyone who's ever been silenced. Peace is more than the absence of. A foundation made
of empathy. A road paved with trust, support and understanding. It takes uh all of us to
build this bridge to peace. You're starting today for a better tomorrow.
To the world where we're not trapped by sorrow may oppose us, are strong. If we rise together,
we can right what's wrong. nation made with empathy. A road paved with trust. Support and
understanding It takes all of us. To build this bridge to peace.
Leave your judgments behind, your justice will be served. A foundation made of empathy, a
road paved with trust, support and understanding. It takes all of us to build this bridge
to peace. To build this bridge to peace To build this bridge to peace. You're listening
to The Children's Hour. Our guests are Paul and Cheryl Reisler from Kid Pan Alley. And
we just wrote the lyrics to a bridge to a song right here on The Children's Hour. Excellent.
Excellent. OK, now we got to come up with a little music for it. So who can read the first
line for me? Go ahead there, Anahi. Everyone has a skin, birds and snakes and those shapeshifting
chameleons. Everything has a skin. birds and snakes and those shapeshifting chameleons. So
what were we clapping there? We were clapping, it starts with an R. Is it syllables? Well,
not quite. I mean, we were clapping syllables, but if we just clap syllables, we would go,
everyone has a skin. Some of the ones are longer and some are shorter. It's a musical
term. It's called rhythm. And so when we speak, we speak in rhythm. We don't make every syllable the
same length, but rather we have rhythm. The interesting thing is when we speak, we actually
speak, our voice goes up and down, it's different pitches. Everyone has skin, birds and snakes
and those shapeshifting chameleons. You notice how on chameleons our voice kind of went up,
chameleons. The same thing happens when we think about a melody. It's really just expanding
the distance in the speech when we sing different notes. So this is where Paul always asks his
famous question. Who wants to sing? Some people are smiling. They're thinking about it. All
right. Because this is a bridge, Paul and I are going to sing the chorus, which is right
here, this part first. And then you're going to come in and sing this part. Alright, just
sing the first line. We'll get you a prep. Here we go. Everyone has a skin. Birds
and snakes and those shapeshifting chameleons.
Had a dream like Dr. King. What he stood for made us think. All God's children are just
the same. With different faces and different names. Skin, it can be pretty thin. Skin is
just the suit that your in.
And so now you have actually helped us make this song a more complete song. It now has
a verse, a chorus, a verse, another chorus, and now a bridge. You're listening to The Children's
Hour. Our guests on the show today are from Kid Pan Alley. For over 20 years, they've been
making music with kids, original songs, and we just wrote a bridge right here on The Children's
Hour. We're gonna play some of their music. This is from their CD Maybe by Next Year, right
here on The Children's Hour.
The stars reached the earth and the broken room said goodbye. We all fell asleep and
we all saw the sun. We've got to take care, take care of the earth It's the only one
we've got, this big ball of. We all shine like stars and we all make a wish and we keep
it in our hearts. Our lives will be our own Let the earth be our canvas, the diamond
in our sky. Let love show the way, our light always shine. The day the stars reached the
earth and the broken moon said goodbye, we all fell asleep and we all saw the sun. We've
got to take care. Take care of the earth It's the only one we've got. This big ball of dirt.
If we were like the sun. With fire in our eyes. We'd warm the soul of everyone. And our hearts
would beat as one If we were close to the moon. But we had our own lives Be the candle in It.
Shines so bright.
Stars reach the earth and the broken moon said goodbye we all fell asleep and we all saw
the sun we've got to take care, take care. She's the only one we've got, this big boy
day the stars reach the earth and the broken moon say goodbye.
I used to know the names of all the stars. Now I just know a few planets. Like Jupiter, Earth
and Mars. I used to know the name of every child Back before I was born. Back when I was safe
and warm. Back when I was flying in the sky. Now I have to go to school. And learn it all
again. Get good And try to remember. Queen I used to know the words to all the songs. Now
I only know the melodies and I just I'm alone I used to know the language of the birds
The robin and the blue jay. I always knew what they would say. The prettiest songs that I have
ever heard. Now I have to go to school. And learn it all again. The treasure never leaves
used know the names of every tree. And now they're just a forest in the dusk of evening I used
to see the garden everything. And now it's just a rustling. A whisper that I'm trusting. When
the redbud blossoms in the spring to and learn it all again to let my dream take me to the
place where it began
sleep and learn it all again and let my dream and take me to the place where it began I
used to know the names of all the stars
you
was passing by my brother called me in and he said to me you'd better take time in life.
People take time in life people take time in life people take time in life you got far way
too good I was passing by my sister called me in and she said to me you'd better take time
in life people. People take time in life People take time in life. People take time in life.
You got far way to go.
And I was passing by, my father called me in. And he said to me, better take time in life.
People take time in life. People take time in life. People take time in life. You got far way
to go I was passing by my mother called me in and she said to me. You better take time
in life people take time in life people take time in life people take time in life you got
far way to go.
People time in life. People take time in life. People take time in life. You got far way to
go. People take time in life. People take time in life. People take time in life. You got far
way to go.
Fox and Branch, the title track from their release called Take Time in Life. We've got
a lot of information and links posted at ChildrensHour.org. Look for this episode, Kid Pan Alley. We've
got more with our guests coming up. Stick with us. You're listening to The Children's Hour
Kids Public Radio. We'll be right back. The Children's Hour is making weekly learning guides
for every episode thanks to the support of the Albuquerque Community Foundation. You can
support this effort too. Go to childrenshour.org and click donate and find our learning guides
under our podcast menu. Support for The Children's Hour provided by New Mexico Arts, a division
of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Support for The Children's Hour provided by the City of Albuquerque Cultural Services Department
and the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund. One two three four i wonder who's out side my
door one two three four i wonder who's out side my door let's count and do some rhythms
you'll be doing this slapping your thighs and then clapping your hands all right let's try
it one two three four i wonder who's out side my door again one two three four uh
my door. Okay rest a bit. This time count and slap your thighs and beat your chest.
1, 2, 3, 4 I wonder who's outside my door 1, 2, 3, 4 I wonder who's outside my door again
1, 2, 3, I wonder who's outside my door. Okay. Try counting and slapping your thighs and tapping
your knees so you'll be going forward. Alright? 1, 2, 3, 4 I wonder who's out side my door
one two three four i wonder who's out side my door again one two three four i wonder
who's out side my door one two three four i wonder who's out side my door. Now let's
whisper our counts and just snap our fingers as we whisper but have a whispering tone like
this one two Let's try.
Again.
Uh huh.
That's the one and only Ella Jenkins from a release released long ago, Growing Up With
Ella Jenkins, Rhythms, Songs, and Rhymes. You're listening to The Children's Hour. I'm
Katie Stone. With us today on the show is Cheryl and Paul Reisler from Kid Pan Alley. And the
kids have some questions for you. What inspired you to start making music? Well, I mean, I've
been making music my whole life. I started writing songs when I was about five years old, but
I had a pretty long career as a musician. I started a band called Trapezoid when I was
25, and that lasted for over 20 years. And we toured all over the world and made lots of
records. And Cheryl and I live in a very small rural community in Virginia. One of our good
friends was organizing an interdisciplinary residency at our local elementary school. We
only have one elementary school in the county. And she asked me if I do music with the kids.
And I thought, well, I don't want to be teaching them some song. I like creating stuff, not
recreating it. And I said, well, I'll do it if I can write songs with them. Let's see
how that goes. And so that's what we did. And the first day I went in there, I had all these
plans. And in the first five minutes, I threw away all my plans and we wrote five songs the
first day. It just kind of went from there. We wrote 60 songs in three weeks there and
everyone wanted copies of the songs. And I got this idea to get all the different musicians
in our community together and make a record of those songs. We recorded about 19 of those
songs. That album came out and then the conductor of the Nashville Chamber Orchestra heard it
and decided they wanted to do an album with us. And so we went to Nashville and we wrote
about 60 songs in Nashville. and we recorded them with orchestra and a lot of very famous
artists like Amy Grant and Delbert McClinton, Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn. So we had all
these great singers singing songs we with kids just like you guys. And that album did pretty
well. We got a Grammy nomination for one of the songs and that sort of put us on the map.
And so we've been going nonstop writing songs. I'm writing songs pretty much every day with
kids during the week. We're in schools all over the country and we're having a blast because
kids are so much fun to write songs with. What are some of your favorite things to write songs
about? I seem to like to write songs about lots of different things. I don't like to repeat
myself so much. And one of the things I love to do is do things that I learn by every song.
I learn something in every song. So if we're writing about different things, whatever we're
writing about that day is my favorite thing in the moment. And actually, that's part of
being a good songwriter is being in the moment and listening to what's going on in the room
and getting excited about it. And I like to write different things. You know, I've written
a full length piece for orchestra and narrator. I've written two musicals with some of
the songs or Kid Pan Alley songs. So all these things are ways you learn. You learn to tell
stories through music. And so that's the great thing about a musical. You're telling a story
in music. We only have a little bit of time left with Kid Pan Alley today on The Children's
Hour. And I just wanted to know if you wanted to leave kids in our audience with a parting
thought about the work you do and what really you want kids to know, what would that be?
I think that our mission is to inspire kids to be creators of their own culture and to
reinvigorate creativity as a core value. And what we want them to know is that they can be creative.
They don't have to be employed by one of the three major record companies to write a song.
Kids can write songs that are every bit as good. So we want you to know it's not even
writing songs, it's the creative process. No matter what you're doing, is to approach it
creatively, to really be there and listen for what it's telling you and to shape it
and give it, create your own culture instead of buying your own culture or buying someone
else's culture. And that's what we want you to know. We want you to remember, you can
do it. I think what I would want each of you, especially those of you with us today to know
is your voice is important and how you feel and how you think has a place. And whether
it's in a song or a picture, a poem, or just even your smile, just know how important you
are and what a great difference you make in this world. That's Cheryl Reisler and Paul
Reisler and you can find out a whole lot more about them. We've been playing music all day
today on The Children's Hour from Kid Pan Alley. Lots of releases are available. These songs
were written in collaboration with more than 70,000 children over the years. A pretty amazing
accomplishment. Thank you so much for being with us on The Children's Hour. Oh, well,
thank you.
Heroes can fly and others don't need to. Some can stretch from here to there and others
lead the way to somewhere.
What they dream and what they do inspires us all to see it through. Stand up and be heard.
and change the world. Stand up and be. This song can change the world
cousin. Cassie help me when I Rosa Parks and Dr. King, they help us believe in something.
Some don't think like others do It takes courage to do something new. Stand up
you
you.
Song can shake
wanna a dancer, a superhero. So many things that I wanna be. When I grow up.
I
be a doctor or a scientist so many things that i wanna be when i.
I need to go to school.
That's Nathalia from Cuando Era Pequena and you're listening to The Children's Hour, I'm Katie Stone we're
almost out of time we really enjoyed our time with Kid Pan Alley. We've got a learning guide
with this episode pictures and links at childrenshour.org look for Kid Pan Alley we're gonna go out with
one last song from Kid Pan Alley's Title Wave of Song this is chocolate states of America
we'll catch you next time.
There chocolate frost hopping Eating M&M's they were always talking. There was chocolate
fungus and cow. And gooey melted. Hershey mugs I chocolate eyeballs, cow tails,
lollipops I ate chocolate. Easter buddies and robots. And I broke out in a case of chocolate.
I've eaten only in the chocolate states of America.
PlayStation 2, play on my chocolate vacation on a chocolate beach and a. Hershey's seat.
Walking in the heat, so much chocolate sand underneath my feet, dancing around to a chocolate
band and there's just more chocolate and more chocolate and I even got a chocolate hand I
lick when it's hot. it drips on my pants it leaves a spot I chocolate eyeballs, cow tails,
lollipops I ate chocolate Easter bunnies and robots. Then I broke out in a case of chocolate
poison ivy. But only in chocolate states of America I ate chocolate eyeballs, cow tails, lollipops
they put on my plate chocolate turkey, chocolate eyeballs. They had chocolate frogs. They had
chocolate chairs and chocolate wheels. They had chocolate men of steel. And none were too
big. I ate it all. In the chocolate states of America. All your wants, all your chocolate
needs. Chocolate is tea. And you never get tired of it.
or your teeth or make up your bed in the chocolate shapes of America
The Children's Hour is produced by The Children's Hour Incorporated, a New Mexico nonprofit.
You can find photos, playlists, learning guides, and activities for every episode at ChildrensHour.org.
This episode of The Children’s Hour was written and produced by me, Katie Stone, with production
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