Laurie Berkner

Biography

Growing up in Princeton, New Jersey, Berkner was involved in choirs, bands and musical theater. As a student at Rutgers University, she toured Europe as a choir soloist and an orchestral guitar player. After working as a summer-camp music counselor, she spent several years as a children's music specialist for day care centers and preschools in the New York area.

In 1992, she began to perform as a professional rock musician, playing in an all-female cover band called Lois Lane. When she started a band that played original music, Red Onion (Berkner, Brian Mueller, Adam Bernstein and Alan Lerner), she found song-writing to be a struggle—a problem that disappeared when she started writing children's music. "Writing music for kids has not been a struggle at all," Berkner has said. "The more I started working on material for children, the more I realized that it opened up creativity in me that I never knew I had."

Some of her first performances as a children's musician were birthday party gigs at $125 a show. "Those days were intense," she told The New York Times. "I used to arrive early and memorize every child's name, so I could feel like I knew them."

In 1997, working with Susie Lampert, Mueller and guest bassist Adam Bernstein, she put out her first album, Whaddaya Think of That? as a cassette-only release. She had been encouraged to record by the parents of the children she worked with. "The children were really responding to the music we created together," she said. The album contained original songs like "We Are the Dinosaurs" and "I Know a Chicken", along with covers of classics like "The Cat Came Back" and "Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)".

In 1998, Berkner formed her own independent record company, Two Tomatoes Records, to release her second album, Buzz Buzz, which includes such Berkner standards as "Pig on Her Head" and "Monster Boogie". With 1999's Victor Vito, Berkner achieved national fame, appearing on the FX network's American Baby Show and winning a Parent's Guide to Children's Media Award. Her album Rocketship Run came out in August 2008. A greatest hits compilation, "The Best of The Laurie Berkner Band" followed two years later, and "A Laurie Berkner Christmas" was released in 2012.

Berkner's audience increased dramatically when she appeared on The Today Show in 2001. Since then, she has played in high-profile venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center; she has also played at the White House Easter Egg Roll. Berkner also played a free concert in Central Park to celebrate Earth Day, which was attended by fifteen thousand people.

Mueller, who is married to Berkner, left the band in 2006 "to keep the couple's personal and professional lives separate", and was replaced by Adam Bernstein. In 2009, Bob Golden became the band's drummer after producing "Rocketship Run," as well as "We Are The Laurie Berkner Band" and all of her songs for Jack's Big Music Show. Adam Bernstein left the band in 2013 and was replaced by Grammy Award nominee Brady Rymer.

Her music is generally in a major key and in what Berkner calls the "human tempo" of 100–120 beats per minute, approximately the speed of walking or marching. Her lyrics have been called "self-effacing and occasionally confessional."

Berkner was also a judge for the 10th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

Other media

Berkner regularly appeared on Nick Jr. (with Lampert and Mueller), a television network aimed at children, in music videos played between programs and on the program Jack's Big Music Show. Berkner has also appeared in Jamarama Live!, a touring music festival for children sponsored by Noggin, and in the 2006 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In 2009, she was featured on Ziggy Marley's children's album Family Time in a song called "Future Man, Future Lady".

Berkner has written two children's books: Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco, based on her song Victor Vito, and Story of My Feelings. She has also release two DVDs called We Are...The Laurie Berkner Band and Party Day!. We Are...The Laurie Berkner Band has sold more than 400,000 copies since its 2006 release. Laurie has also authored two e-books, Party Day and Candy Cane Jane.

In March 2013, a new short-form animated musical preschool series, Sing It, Laurie!, debuted on 24-hour preschool television channel Sprout. The series features Laurie’s voice, along with original music written for the series. Later that spring, "Wanda’s Monster The Musical" debuted Off-Broadway. Laurie wrote both music and lyrics for the musical, produced by Making Books Sing and based on the children’s book by Eileen Spinelli. The music was released on the original cast recording in the summer of 2013.

Personal life

Berkner is married to Brian Mueller, who was formerly a bassist in the Laurie Berkner Band. The couple has one daughter named Lucy Mueller (b. September 2004).

Albums

1. We Are the Dinosaurs
2. Doodlebugs
3. Down Down Baby
4. She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain
5. Bring Your Clothes
6. I'm a Little Snowflake
7. The Animal Fair
8. What Falls in the Fall
9. These Are My Glasses
10. ABCD Medley
11. I Know a Chicken
12. Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)
13. I Love My Rooster
14. The Cat Came Back
15. Can You Imagine
16. (I'm Gonna Eat) On Thanksgiving Day
17. All the Pretty Little Horses
18. The Airplane Song
19. 123
20. Last Night I Had a Dream
21. The Great Big Dog

1. I Really Love to Dance
2. The Pretzel Store
3. Pig on Her Head
4. I've Been Working on the Railroad
5. Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz)
6. Telephone
7. There's a Little Wheel A-Turnin' In My Heart
8. Monster Boogie
9. In the Clouds
10. The Cookie Bakers of the Night
11. The More We Get Together
12. I'm a Mess
13. Ice Cream Cone
14. Clean It Up
15. Little Red Caboose
16. Rum Sum Sum
17. Magic Box
18. The Valley of Vegetables
19. Popcorn Calling Me
20. Lots of Little Pigs
21. The Erie Canal
22. I Had a Friend

1. Victor Vito
2. Bottle Caps
3. Moon Moon Moon
4. Froggie Went A-Courtin'
5. I'm Not Perfect
6. The Toy Museum
7. O Susannah
8. BOOTS
9. Oleanna
10. The Crabs
11. Sneaks
12. The Goldfish
13. Zodiac
14. Trucks
15. Fruit Salad Salsa
16. The Story of My Feelings
17. I Feel Crazy So I Jump in the Soup
18. Shakin' Down the Sugar
19. Googleheads
20. Tingolayo
21. White Coral Bells
22. Goodnight

1. Under a Shady Tree
2. Rhubarb Pie (Hot Commodity)
3. Mister
4. Drive My Car
5. I'm Gonna Catch You
6. Just Like the Sun
7. Mahalo
8. I'm Me and You're You
9. Choc-o-lot in My Pock-o-lot
10. Shortnin' Bread
11. Running Down the Hill
12. My Energy
13. After it Rains
14. Do the Dragon
15. Song in My Tummy
16. This Hat
17. Who's That?
18. Smile
19. Boody Boody Ya Ya Ya
20. Blow a Kiss
21. Blow a Kiss Outtake

1. Rocketship Run
2. Going on a Hunt (ska)
3. Mouse in My Toolbox
4. Candy Cane Jane
5. All Around My Room
6. One More Stop on the Train
7. Going on a Hunt
8. Jump and Fly
9. Pigbasket
10. Five Days Old
11. Mr. Bassman (and Piano Girl)
12. Winter Lullaby
13. Let's Samba
14. Going on a Hunt (conga)
15. My Blue Sailboat
16. Balance Beam
17. Thunderstorm
18. Fast and Slow (The Rabbit and the Turtle)
19. Going on a Hunt (jig)
20. Farm Song (That's What I Did on the Farm)
21. Nona
22. Walk Along the River
23. Going on a Hunt (hand jive)
24. Fly Me to the Moon

1. Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz)
2. Rocketship Run
3. Victor Vito
4. We Are the Dinosaurs
5. I'm Gonna Catch You
6. Moon Moon Moon
7. Pig on her Head
8. Fast and Slow (The Rabbit and the Turtle)
9. I'm Not Perfect
10. I Really Love to Dance
11. BOOTS
12. Five Days Old
13. The Goldfish
14. Monster Boogie
15. Song in My Tummy
16. I Know a Chicken
17. Under a Shady Tree
18. Pig on Her Head (alternate version)
19. Moon Moon Moon (alternate version)
20. Open Your Heart
21. Over In The Meadow

1. Jingle Bells
2. Santa's Coming to My House Tonight
3. The Little Drummer Boy
4. I Saw Three Ships
5. Candy Cane Jane
6. Do You Hear What I Hear?
7. Children Go Where I Send Thee
8. Silent Night
9. Christmas Lights
10. Christmas Is Coming
11. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
12. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
13. Frosty The Snowman
14. White Christmas
15. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Videos

Books

EBooks

Television

1. LazyTown – herself – Fix a Popstar (Season 3, Episode 14)