My 'Magination by Pobba

What took so long?

Pobba: I started writing rhyming stories for my own children in 1975. My brother Doug, a Grammy Award-winning composer, put music to some of them, but we were just too busy on other projects. The children's songs stayed within my family...in a file drawer. Years passed. I continued to write songs. Then I became a grandfather...that should explain it.

SC: Where did the name "Pobba" come from?

Pobba: My kids call me Dad, Pop, and Poppa. Then the last name morphed into "Pobba"...and I liked it. I hope the name "Pobba" connotes warmth and a good sense of humor, because that's who I am.

SC: Whom do you admire?

Pobba: Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss for their writing and art, Frank Loesser for his words and music (is there a better Broadway show than "Guys and Dolls"?), Danny Kaye for his antic performance, Maury Wills for base stealing excellence, and my five children for letting me express myself as a parent.

SC: How do you say your name?

Pobba: "Pobba" should be pronounced to rhyme with Jabba the Hutt. Say PA-Bah, not POOH-Bah or POE-Bah. If you're from Boston, however, I guess it's okay to say Pa-Ber.

SC: Tell us about your music.

Pobba: I consider it a privilege and an obligation when parents invite my music into their children's lives. For that reason (and because I remember how much fun being a kid can be), these songs do not talk down to kids. All the songs on "My 'Magination" were originally written to be picture books or videos. Every song tells a story from a child's point of view. Funny, stimulating, and different, these tunes, as the CD title announces, encourage imagination, visualization, and participation.

--The title song, "My 'Magination," sets the tone. It encourages listeners to explore imaginary possibilities.

--"Making Dinner" is a child's desire for culinary self-actualization...and a parent's worst nightmare.

--"The Worst Day of My Life" lets kids see that even if "every single thing went wrong, wrong, wrong," the day can still turn out great if a little love is added.

--"Marshmallows" is a participatory counting song, with an irresistible opportunity to yell "yuk!"

--"I See What I See at the Sea" is a trip to the beach...interpreted as only a child could.

--"PB&J" makes the inevitability of stickiness synonymous with being a kid. Mothers know all about this.

--"I'm Proud to Be Me" was a song I first heard when I was four. It was on an album entitled "Little Songs on Big Subjects" (out-of-print for decades). Its title says it all.

--"Buttering Bread" celebrates all those kids who like what they do even if it doesn't look like what everyone else expects.

--"If I Had a Pet" tests parents with a child's request for a primate, an insect, a marsupial, and a fish.

--"Wonderful World" is a medley of two tunes that celebrate how great life can be. Snippets from the song Louis Armstrong made famous are wrapped around another song from "Little Songs on Big Subjects."

--Every parent has heard why kids don't want to go to bed. "I Don't Sleep Anymore" takes the explanations to imaginative heights...and ends the CD on a restful note.

SC: One last question--Has anyone actually prepared the meals described in "I'm Making Dinner"?

Pobba: I hope not!

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