Everybody sings when Raffi comes to play

Raffi, the popular children's singer, has always noticed that moms and dads sing as loud as their preschoolers at his concerts. Now, 24 years after the release of his first album, he's finding some parents remember the words from when they were kids.

"It's a real honor that the music is now reaching a second generation," said the Vancouver, B.C.-based singer who was born Raffi Cavoukian in Cairo.

At his concert here Sunday, families will hear Raffi classics such as "Baby Beluga" (1980) and "Down by the Bay" (1976) as well as songs from his newest album, "Let's Play," released last spring after a seven-year hiatus. The concert was rescheduled from November, when Raffi canceled due to illness.

"He's a perennial favorite," said Andrew Bartlett, merchandising manager at Amazon.com and former children's music editor. "If you look at our best-seller's list (of children's music), he's an ever-present feature there."

Raffi's 13 albums have sold more than 10 million copies, with gold and triple-platinum honors. His "Raffi's Christmas Album" got a 20th-anniversary reissue last fall with one new song, "A Child's Gift of Love." He's also released three concert home videos and published 13 picture books and seven songbooks based on his music, with 2 million copies in print.

"Raffi made children's music acceptable for everyone," said Chauni Haslet, owner of All for Kids Books & Music. "He pretty much started the industry of recording for the whole family."

Though almost any kid singer can grate on parents, Raffi is considered innocuous by many adults, especially when compared to, say, the Wiggles. "He's enough like Cat Stevens with his folksy melodies that parents can sit with it and enjoy it," said Bartlett, a father of two. "Kids just love it."

After a long break between 1995's "Raffi Radio" and last year's "Let's Play," Raffi promises an energetic, sing-along show to fit the new album's theme. "I'm going to be light on my feet, dancing more than ever before," he said.

His cover of the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" as well as the title track, one of 10 original songs on the album, are part of his concert-tour repertoire.

Other songs on the new record include traditional verses such as "Eensy Weensy Spider" and "If You're Happy and You Know It" with tweaked wording ("If you're bananas and you know it, let it ring.").

Raffi, a child advocate and environmentalist who says his songs "always have a connection to the natural world," includes odes to an arbutus (madrona tree) and to his friend Jane Goodall, who mimicked chimp calls for "Jane, Jane." Kids will recognize the catchy "Raining Like Magic" from the animated film "Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest."

Though he's mostly resisted the kid videos because he believes tots spend too much time in front of the TV, he's in talks with a production company about making a series of musical specials aimed at a family audience. The fact that parents could watch with their children makes it more acceptable to him, he said.

Given that Raffi is from the Northwest, why is his most famous song about belugas rather than our native orcas? "I visited the Vancouver Aquarium in 1979 and fell in love with the belugas," he explained. "They're beautiful creatures. I also found out sailors call them 'sea canaries' because they're the most vocal of whales. So they seemed fitting for a song."

Stephanie Dunnewind: sdunnewind@seattletimes.com.