In Germany there are a few bands who make music which is oriented at the real life experiences and topics of children, like: having to cleaning up, lame dad jokes, granny giving you the chocolate your health conscious parents are stingy with, having backpacks in your face at the so called “nice view”-places your parents drag you to, “ouch”, bedtime, homework, The “You got *so* big since we last met!” topic, “I count to 3!” etc.
The most popular band of that kind is “Deine Freunde” (your friends): https://open.spotify.com/artist/5e7w4jeuld5367jaczHkng?si=2eF-VvoDTjuf5lA1b4EFfA
I wonder if there are similar bands in the US. My son started English lessons this school year and his best access to language is through music. If there were similar bands I think it could help him getting into it a bit better.
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Yeah, we have those.
People’s knowledge of those artists is going to depend on when they were kids/had kids, but the one who sticks out to me is Raffi (who is actually Canadian). His big “hit” was about a baby beluga (it was called “Baby Beluga”).
Led by lead vocalist from the punk band Bouncing Souls is a band called Play Date. Their album Imagination covers numbers, letters, and other subjects for children.
My youngest, soon to be 3, loves The Laurie Berkner Band.
There’s an Australian group called The Wiggles that makes music for kids.
They Might Be Giants also has some kids releases. They’re listed on Spotify and Apple Music as They Might Be Giants (For Kids).
My kids love Koo Koo Kangaroo. Look them up on YouTube! They have really fun concerts for kids too.
There are a lot of English-language kids singers and groups. (Not all American. And many are groups that are/were featured on TV shows)
Raffi
Perry Gripp (probably for older kids, but my daughter loves his songs. They’re annoying, and many of them are kinda gross.)
Sharon, Lois, and Brahm (some members no longer alive, but they’re music is still around)
Pinkfong
Bounce Patrol
The Wiggles
Blippi
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There are also rock groups that put out children’s albums, like, as others have said, They Might Be Giants.
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There are also musicians who redo popular music with kid-friendly lyrics and kids singing. They’re called Kidz Bop.
Your son might enjoy The Aquabats – they’re a kid-friendly pop punk band (with elements of ska/new wave/synth pop – it’s hard to categorize them into one genre). Their music is enjoyed by a lot of adults, as well, and they are way less annoying than a lot of other bands whose music is geared toward kids.
Casper Babypants is pretty good
My favorite of these is Caspar Babypants, aka Chris Ballew of the Presidents of the United States of America.
Songs largely about cute forest animal scenes etc. and my kids love it. But as a dad I love it because the music is actually really good, not just fun for kids. Like I’ve queued up a couple of his songs just to listen to on my own. Also he has a massive discography.
They’re Canadian, but the Bare Naked Ladies did a children’s album.
Maybe not quite the same thing, but [Kidz Bop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidz_Bop) is a children’s group that does (mostly) family-friendly versions of pop songs.
When my daughter was young she liked the VeggieTales songs. Some are religious but a lot are not. There is a youtube channel and are on Spotify.
How old is your son? I have suggestions for what my toddlers listen to if he’s that young.
It’s not a children band but I feel like these two acts need to be mentioned. Yo Gabba Gabba and Choo Choo Soul where really big when they where around.
I haven’t been a kid for a decade and a half, but I don’t really remember being given to or listening to lots of ‘kids music’, I just listened to whatever my parents were listening to or censored ‘adult music’…same with most of the kids I know now. There’s Kidz Bop but they just badly cover normal songs, they aren’t specially written ‘for children’. Are the Wiggles still around? Only one I really experieced
The Wiggles (out of Australia) and Raffi (out of Canada) were my childhood but now it seems like YouTube creators serve that purpose, Ms. Rachel and Blippi primarily.
The Imagination Movers! Had a tv show on Disney for a while, but they have been a touring kid’s band for many years. They are recording their latest album right now.
Wu-Tang is for the children
Yo Gabba Gabba has been off the air for years but they made some great kids songs and can be found on YouTube. My favorites include:
There’s a party in my tummy, so yummy.
Don’t bite your friends
Dancey Dance
They also had tons of really edgy indie groups on the show performing songs for kids and some A list stars like Jack Black. It’s mostly geared towards young kids, but would be great for learning English since the songs are catchy and the words are clear, repetitive, and always have illustrations or physically acting out the words. It’s also weird enough to keep your attention. I always liked it more than my kids did.