Recess! Media

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That’s John Lithgow with the chorus for the famous Jimmy Durante number “Inka Dinka Doo.” It’s on a new CD of upbeat sing-along songs for kids and their families called The Sunny Side of the Street. The multi-talented Mr. Lithgow is one of the very few celebrities who have tried their hands at creating books and music for children who should be entrusted with this noble calling.

This latest recording of show tunes and novelty songs from bygone days is a refreshing reminder of the great music that is waiting to be rediscovered, especially in new settings like these. Just take the title song for the CD. Here Mr. Lithgow and Madeleine Peyroux tell us about a nervous first-grader’s send-off to the first day of school and the welcome advice he gets to help him on his way.

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This is a cheerful assortment of retro, big-band tunes. It’s like an old-fashioned night club come to the nursery. If that’s your cup of tea, you’ll want to sit back and relax with Mr. Lithgow and his friends, like Sherie Rene Scott, and have a soothing sip of their “Lullabye in Ragtime.”

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