This month from our Music Notes column:

Since when did the music your kids like have to alienate (or nauseate) you? Or vice versa? Music aficionado Eric Thom surprises us with picks that have the power to bring everybody together.

Stranger things have happened. Songs From the Neighborhood: The Music of Mister Rogers
(Nostalgia Ventures) songsfromtheneighborhood.com

There are so few things in the world that everyone feels the same about – except maybe Fred McFeely Rogers: aka Mister Rogers. His 33 year reign over children’s television touched our generation and that of our own kids by inviting us into his home. And not only was his appeal universal, he became a model of all that is loving and normal in a chaotic world – offering his imaginative take on life as he nurtured individuality and self-confidence. Who knew that the one-time music grad, Presbyterian minister and NBC producer wrote and composed all the music for his famous show? Or, that the original concept for the 1966 Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was first piloted three years earlier for CBC on a show called Mister Rogers, where he made his sweater-wearing debut as oncamera host?

Clearly, Rogers was a man with a huge family of fans. Among the mare the dozen singers who came together on this major production (CD and DVD). This is a sit-up-andpay-attention collection of voices who, together, have earned between them more than 70 Grammy and Dove Awards: Donna Summer, Roberta Flack, BJ Thomas, Crystal Gayle, Jon Secada and Ricky Scaggs. Producer/composer Dennis Scott quarterbacked this Grammy nominated, loving tribute, encouraging the singers to choose a favourite Rogers’ composition and interpret it on their own terms. While this mixed bag doesn’t quite resemble Fred’s inimitable ways, Mister Rogers’ spirit remains alive in each positive, uplifting message. Stand-out tracks include Roberta Flack’s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” BJ Thomas singing “It’s Such A Good Feeling,” and the ensemble’s wrap-up, “Thank You For Being You.” On the DVD, kids can revisit Mister Rogers’ world as performers offer their personal take on this man and his legacy. A fitting tribute to the positive influence that one individual – wearing his familiar red sweater (knitted for him by his Mom) and sneakers – had on so many.