BRINGING JOY TO EVERYONE
Skinnamarink hitmakers Sharon and Bram soldier on
Quick, name a Canadian musical act with sales exceeding three million?
Children’s performers Sharon, Lois and Bram probably wasn’t the first to come to mind. For 38 yearsand-counting, the trio of singer Sharon Hampson, late singer/pianist Lois Lilienstein and singer/guitarist Bramwell (Bram) Morrison has been of this country’s most enduring groups. They have entertained generations of Canadian and American children.
At a time when many of their peers are slowing down, Sharon, 73, and Bram, 75, are criss-crossing the country with the Skinnamarink Band showcasing the varied backgrounds of the members.
“Bram and I came out of the folk scene,” said Sharon Hampson. “Lois did not.”
“Lois had a classical music background with a degree from the University of Michigan and was a Broadway babe; big on the showtunes and such,” said Bram. “Which was really perfect for us because it meant a wide range in repertoire.”
This variety was also key in keeping parents from completely losing it after hearing the group sing Peanut Butter or Three Goats for the zillionth time. Even Sharon and Bram admit that you can glaze over with one more version of Kumbaya.
“We are parents too and adults and used good musicians and good arrangers to make the best possible music that we could to make the best possible music that wasn’t dumbed down and could engage everybody,” said Hampson.
“This has been true for many of Canada’s leading children’s performers and people over the years have asked why this was so and I think much of the credit needs to go to CBC Radio giving us and others exposure across the country and establishing a consistent level of quality,” said Morrison. “This doesn’t happen in the U.S.”
Both admit that there is a lot more bad children’s music than good and what it really comes down to is working to a standard of quality that would put most chart-topping rock bands to shame and cause EDM-bynumbers types to roll up in a ball and cry. Yet for all the seriousness, you have to be able to keep it light.
“I think there have been quite a number of people who are so serious that they feel each one of their songs need to have an embedded lesson in it,” said Morrison. “We are most certainly not teachy and telling listeners how to tie their shoes or to love their mommies.”
If learning comes in an S&B show, it comes with the experience. Both musicians say that this was a conscious decision made because they really couldn’t stand the pedantic nature of “brush your teeth”type singalongs. This was critical in getting them onto TV. First with CBC and then down into the U.S. with Nickelodeon and the Learning Channel. Sharon, Lois & Bram’s Elephant Show (1984-88) and Skinnamarink TV (1997-99) were both big hits.
“In 1988, the Elephant Show went on Nickelodeon and the change was immediate,” said Hampson. “We were performing in small venues and suddenly it was the big state fairs. Plus, the different broadcasting times reached a whole new audience demographic from preschool to elementary.”
That meant more smiling faces peering up as the group sang the hits. The trio toured tirelessly and in 2000, Lilienstein decided she wanted to lead a less hectic life. In 2015, their dear friend died from complications due to cancer.
Sharon and Bram kept up the life.