Official opening of Sharon , Lois & Bram ’ s Music Garden
“ In large measure , we ’ re inspired by what we see happening in the hall ,” says Morrison . “ We see families coming together , the parents and the children and sometimes the grandparents , who enjoy sharing the music with us and with each other .”
The three got their start in 1978 , releasing what was supposed to be a one-off album called One Elephant , Deux Elephants . While children ’ s entertainers hadn ’ t really been a thing up until then , it was perfect timing . The late ‘ 70s would see the rise of musicians marketing themselves straight at a population that was growing remarkably quickly , including Canadian Fred Penner .
“ Raffi , Sharon , Lois & Bram , and myself were the first three artists who really zeroed in on the demographic , the post-war generation of boomers who were having one of the largest populations of children and they were demanding quality entertainment ,” says Penner .
The success of that first album led to two television shows , thousands of concerts , and numerous albums , all part of a career that continues to this day .
While the audiences stay young , the artists themselves are not immune to the passage of time . Sharon and Bram remain upbeat despite suffering their share of tragedy and loss in the last 10 years . Hampson ’ s husband Joe , himself a musician , passed away in 2006 while Morrison lost his wife in 2009 .
Then , in 2015 , Lois Lilienstein passed away at age 78 after a battle with cancer .
While she had been retired from live performing for 15 years , it was still a massive blow . Their musical partnership may have been over for many years , but the trio had always remained friends . Hampson and Lilienstein were part of knitting circles and dance troupes together , which are the kind of wholesome activities anyone who loved their act as a child would hope went on behind the scenes .
“ I said to someone at the time she died that we were like sisters . We fought like sisters , but we also loved each other like sisters ,” says Hampson . “ It ’ s very hard to lose someone who ’ s been part of your life for such a long time ; however , in a way , we lost Lois long before that . Lois ’ s husband died in 1998 and she stopped touring after that in ‘ 99 . She only did a very occasional performance with us if it was a benefit of some sort , but hardly ever .” Lilienstein ’ s passing is a reminder that while their music is timeless , the performers themselves are not . Luckily , measures are being taken in Toronto to guarantee their legacy will continue .
In May 2016 , the city inaugurated a musical garden in the trio ’ s honour – a place where children
can come to not only run around , but learn about music in the best way : by playing it .
The location itself has sentimental value to Hampson and Morrison . Like the garden , the playground it ’ s located in was also named after Sharon , Lois & Bram in 2014 . The ceremony to commemorate the moment was possibly Lilienstein ’ s last public appearance before her death .
The garden is comprised of six different percussive instruments arranged in a circle . Three xylophones , a set of tuned conga drums , hanging chimes , and an instrument called a tembo aerophone , which is comprised of a series of tubes of varying length that are struck by rubber paddles . Morrison , in an attempt to teach kids about cooperation , found the aerophone to be a perfect addition due to it being a pentatonic instrument . Two children engaged in their first-ever jam session will only be able to play in harmony , with no wrong notes . There ’ s also colour-coded sheet music that ’ s easy for kids to read .
“ It ’ s been a great hit , that people can actually come in and pick out the tunes to our songs ,” says Morrison .
While the music garden guarantees that their legacy will live on , Morrison is convinced that the music itself will last a long time . He compares their catalogue – which , it should be noted , the three didn ’ t write – to folk music traditions , where songs evolve over time , taking on a life of their own even
as the names of the artists who wrote them are forgotten .
Luckily , artifacts of their existence still exist . In April , their record label reissued their 1982 album 1,2,3,4 Live !, which up until now had been available only on vinyl .
The reissued album is a stunning reminder of why Sharon , Lois & Bram enjoyed the success they had : they never spoke down to kids . Dancing elephants aside , the concept is simple : fun , lively music that will keep a child ’ s attention . But like film company Pixar would discover years later , the key to entertaining little ones is to also engage the adults . Sure , “ Skinnamarink ” is a bit of lively nonsense , but let ’ s face it – it ’ s not like guys like Lil Jon , Sum 41 , or many other so-called “ adult ” stars are screaming profundities .
The album challenges on different levels , from a
Robert Frost poem set to music to a version of the standard “ Side by Side .” Ragtime tunes sit next to traditional folk , songs are sung in rounds , the audience engages in singalongs and , of course , it culminates in a rousing rendition of “ Skinnamarink .”
The music is surprisingly complex in its depth and range . It ’ s easy to forget when looking at the careers of children ’ s musicians ranging from Sharon , Lois & Bram to They Might Be Giants that it ’ s not just about children : these people make actual music .
“ It was four years into our career , we were in top voice , we worked with really , really good people , both vocal arrangers and a vocal coach ,” says Morrison . “ We had a terrific band , there was a big folk band plus horns , we had the audience miked really well . Everyone was in top form , us and everybody else . I think it ’ s a masterful piece .”
A bit of an edge creeps into Morrison ’ s voice when he talks about the group ’ s musical legacy . “ We ’ ve gotten a lot of publicity and all the media , newspapers both national and local , on radio and television , and in magazines and all the media , and everybody ’ s excited and fascinated that we got chosen to re-release a 34-year-old recording … Nobody has written a review of it ! I don ’ t understand that .”
It ’ s easy to see why that irritation can set in . It ’ s a somewhat bizarre situation in which everyone wants to celebrate Sharon , Lois & Bram but also almost ignores that which makes them worth celebrating : They made music that brought families together , purposefully avoiding the kind of cloying , patronizing , and simplistic tunes that other children ’ s entertainers have adopted . (“ We ’ re not Barney ,” Morrison points out with a hint of disdain .)
The music itself stands the test of time because it was never supposed to be about more than music that different generations could enjoy together .
“ It ’ s quite astonishing . It ’ s very , very gratifying that the decisions we made about the kind of music we wanted to do and share with the rest of the world were right decisions ,” says Morrison . “ Those decisions were made on choosing music that we liked and that excited us and not for some extra-musical purpose like teaching lessons … Some music that teaches lessons is ok but some of it is sucky , and we don ’ t do sucky .”
When Morrison talks about folk music , he points out that the good songs lived on , adopted by others and made their own . If that ’ s the case , the song most identified with the group is now a genuine folk classic .
Upon superficial examination , “ Skinnamarink ” is a pleasant piece of fluff . But like lullabies , its simplicity is the trick – a beautiful melody and lyrics that express in simple phrases the timeless love between a parent and a child .
The song has become so iconic that when Sharon and Bram issued a “ Skinnamarink Challenge ,” artists , celebrities , and everyday people from across Canada submitted videos of
40 • CANADIAN MUSICIAN