‘FEATURE Diamond: promoting peace, understanding in children’s music By ANGELA KENYON The announcement last month that Charlotte Diamond had won the Juno award for best children’s album of the year prompted one seven year old to ask, “Is that our Charlotte?” Similar comments must have been heard in homes throughout British Columbia as Diamond’s music, heard in sell-out concerts over the last few years and recently on her award-winning record “10 Carrot Diamond,” has won her a place in the the hearts of many children and parents alike. To win the recognition of Canada’s recording industry for a first album, pro- duced, recorded and distributed inde- pendently without the backing of any Major recording company, was no easy task. But Diamond’s commitment to pro- duce a quality children’s album combined with her confidence and energy’ have ensured that now her music and her mes- Sage will be heard for the first time east of the Rockies. ~~ Diamond’s message of caring for oth- ers, for the environment, for all life, comes through loud and clear in her music. It isa message which children and their parents ‘can respond to. It is a message which has its roots in “my own family background and in the folk music of the sixties,” says iamond. the University of B.C. I was moved by the music of Pete Seeger and Woody and Arlo Guthrie, it really reflected what I was thinking at the time,” she recalls. es - Her connections to progressive music grew when she was introduced to another Lower Mainland musician, Steve Gidora in 1977. He invited her to participate in the progressive choral group, Bargain at Half the Price. As part of Bargain, and later as Part of the group Ash Street, Diamond had the opportunity to perform with Many excellent musicians and refine her Obvious talent. One of the musicians Diamond per- formed with at that time was Earl Robin- Son. From Robinson she learned his song “Four Hugs A Day” which she revised in Collaboration with him to make the song More accessible to younger children. “Four Hugs a Day” is now one of her Most requested and popular songs: ~ Many of Bargain’s and Ash Street’s per- ‘Ormances were for school children, that €Xperience combined with entertaining her Own young children convinced Diamond that children’s music was where she would Concentrate her talents. - “T started playing guitar while I was at ~ “Performing for children is not only music, it’s drama, storytelling, comedy and most important for me at the time, it’s daytime work,” says Diamond, explaining how she learned to balance family life with her music career. “T also found that through the children I can reach a whole group of people who normally wouldn’t go to concerts. It’s a really broad group from babies to grand- mothers,” she says. Although Diamond focuses on the children’s entertainment field she does occasionally perform at adult events espe- cially if they are supportive of peace and disarmament. In 1984, she entertained the crowd of 100,000 at the rally following Vancouver’s Walk for Peace. And when Helen Caldicott spoke in Vancouver, Diamond performed her own song “If You Love This Planet”. That peace theme is always present in Diamond’s music. On 10 Carrot Dia- mond she sings the internationally-known Soviet peace song “May There Always Be Sunshine” in five different: languages. She is fluent in: French and includes*many _ French songs in her repertoire. Spanish.and sign language are also part of her concerts. “We are a multilingual, ‘multicultural - world and I think:it we can communicate ¢ -with- each other, we-can care -for -each - other,” she says. “I want my own two kids to be able to grow in a world that is safe. In my own way, in whatever way I can, I want to work towards world peace and understanding.” i Teaching. children to communicate, to express their feelings, good or bad, is another goal of Diamond’s. She notes that “Four Hugs a Day” is her most popular song with children because “they want to know it’s acceptable to ask for the hugs, to need the hugs.” But they also need to understand that talking about bad feelings is important because “unless they’re dis- cussed they can never-be resolved.” Dia- mond’s songs “Love Me For Who I Am” and “Why Did I Have To Have A Sister,” always generate a loud and enthusiastic response from her young audiences. With songs like ““What Kind of Tree Am I” and “Metamorphosis” Diamond hopes to teach children to “identify with other living things and I think then a feel- ing of caring for the environment can begin,” she explains. “Perhaps then they will not contribute to and will work to end tion and acid rain.” ee themes combined with bright, interesting melodies and rhythms make Diamond’s music not only appealing to children but interests parents as well and Diamond keeps that in mind in all her performances. “Bridging the gap between Charlotte Diamond during a recent radio broadcast. At right, with her Juno award for best children’s record. children’s music and adults is crucial,” she says. “You want parents to be able to listen to a record over and over again and still encourage their children to listen to it Judging by the sales of 10 Carrot Diamond — 10,000 since the record was first released just over a year ago — Diamond has succeeded resoundingly in bridging that gap. But achieving that success required a lot of courage and commitment. When Diamond left her job as a teacher at Relevant High School three years ago ‘and dedicated herself full-time to her per- forming career, she knew that production of a “quality: children’s album that reflected: my believes both musically and ideally” was one-of her main goals. But Canada’s recording establishment is diffi- cult to break into with it’s closed system of production and distribution. Diamond contacted a number of major record com- panies but “they just weren’t interested in - either the demo tape or the finished pro- duct.” So Diamond invested $20,000, the sum total of her savings, to finance the record- > ing and first pressing of 10,000 copies of 10 Carrot Diamond. It is only now, after the , Juno award that the recording establish- ment has shown any response. “It’s just a/ question of dollars and cents. Now that I’m a money-making proposition those people are interested. They were never interested in the artistic merit of the album,” she says. Determinedly, Diamond has now rein- vested that $20,000, which she made back in three short months of sales of 10 Carrot Diamond, in production of her second’ album Diamond In The Rough (reviewed elsewhere in this issue). Once again, she undertook to produce, record and distrib- ute the record without the assistance of any of the major record companies. “I knew that if I was to be taken seriously I would have to produce two albums in quick succession,” she says, not- ing that the second album includes 75 per cent of her own writing compared to the 60 per cent on 10 Carrot Diamond. “T had to stick my neck out a long way to make both of these albums,” she says. x “But I thought these songs were worth singing and many people seemed to think they. were -worth coming to concerts to listen to. Sometimes you just have to jump in and do things.” Diamond’s music fits well into the tradi- tion of quality children’s music that has been developed in Canada over the years. Unlike in the United States where child- ren’s‘music retains much of the commer- cialism of Disney, Cabbage Patch and Barbie, in this country, children’s artists such as Sharon, Lois and Bram, Raffi and “Fred Penner have opened the way for new talented committed artists such as Dia- mond to be part of the children’s enter- tainment,market. And «because of her integrity, her determination and most assuredly her tal- ents,/Diamond is now well on her way to amine an established star in her chosen ield. / Both of Diamond’s records are now available in the East where they are dis- tributed through Kids’ Records and in British Columbia through many focal book and record stores. When Diamond collected her Juno award in Toronto in November she went alone, but in her view the award wasn’t just for her individual achievement. “I’m just the edge of the sword. The Juno was for everybody here that has helped me over the years. It’s for all of us, for the musicians that I have worked with, for the parents that came to my work- shops, for the people in Bargain, and Ash Street, for my family and most especially for all-the children.” ee Season's Breefings and wishes for peace in the New Year. Finnish Organization of Canada Local 55 «AF CClings Congress of Canadian Women for a peaceful and joyful New Year Join us at the World Congress of Women, Moscow, June 1987. “Toward the Year 2000 — Without nuclear weapons, for Peace, Equality and Development” For info: 294-6775 (Anna) or 254-9797 (Sue) » from the PACIFIC TRIBUNE, DECEMBER 17, 1986 e 25 ee ee ene ea ee +>