Baby Songs is a Direct to Video series of Music Videos aimed at young children, especially toddlers and babies. Created in 1985 by Amy Weintraub and Brooks McEwan, together with music by famed children's musician Hap Palmer, and inspired by the music videos on MTV, Baby Songs features songs and videos that focus on subjects relatable to its target audience, including walking for the first time, taking a bath, and potty training. Each video begins with a short animated segment of a baby boy (often with his Canine Companion) doing something related to the song.
There are 12 videos in total, not including Hap Palmer's other works.
- Baby Songs
- More Baby Songs
- Even More Baby Songs
- Baby Songs: Baby's Busy Day
- Baby Songs: ABC, 123 Colors and Shapes
- Baby Songs: Good Night
- Baby Songs: Animals
- Baby Songs: Sing Together
- Baby Songs: Silly Songs
- Baby Songs: Rock & Roll
- Baby Songs: Christmas
- Baby Songs: John Lithgow's Kid Size Concert
Turn On the Music is a spin-off aimed more at grade school-level kids with subject matter more appropriate for that age group, such as dealing with anger or rushing to school after oversleeping.
Much of the songs from the videos and albums can be seen on the official Hap Palmer
YouTube page.
The Baby Songs series contains examples of:
- All There in the Manual: According to the puppet studio’s website that filmed the marionette segment of “I Sleep ‘Til Morning”, the marionette’s name is Tommy
- Big Friendly Dog: "Baby's Little Doggie" from Baby Songs (a fur-suited actor much like Barkley from Sesame Street, to be exact). The animated boy's dog also counts.
- Innocent Aliens: "Rub-a-Dub" from Baby Songs has an alien crash-landing and taking a bath with a boy (in a separate tub, mind you).
- Living Toys:
- "Raggedy Rag Doll Friend" from Even More Baby Songs has a girl dream about shrinking down to the size of her Captain Ersatz Raggedy Ann, which then comes to life and begins playing with her.
- In the Baby Songs: Goodnight version of “I Sleep ‘Till Morning”, the marionette is now a little girls doll, who plays with it before she goes to bed. The marionette then comes to life after she falls asleep using the original footage from Baby Songs mixed in.
- The song “Lovey and Me” is about stuffed animals coming to life for their child owners when no one else is around.
- Nobody Poops: Averted, since most of the target audience still needs to learn about toilet training.
- Non-Appearing Title: "Security", which may be better known as "Don't Wash My Blanket" as the title doesn't appear anywhere in the song itself.
- Security Blanket: The aptly-named "Security".
Turn On the Music consists of:
- All Girls Like Ponies: "Amanda Schlupp", about a girl with a horrendously messy room, shows that she owns a porcelain Winged Unicorn that becomes chipped up from her carelessly dropping her roller skates on it. It sheds a single tear from its constant abuse.
- Late for School: "Hurry Up Blues" shows a chaotic one involving a father trying to get his kids ready for school, who are clearly not morning people.
- Living Toys: Amanda Schlupp has a dream where her toys come to life and run away from her because she's such a slob.
- Spinning Clock Hands: Used during "Hurry Up Blues".
- You Go, Girl!: "Francie Had a Football", which is about challenging gender norms. It even contains a stanza where a boy desires to play with dolls and defends his decision to do so.
