Follow Friday # 5 Joanie Leeds

I know I normally present blogs for my Follow Friday series. But this week I have something a little different in mind, though I can direct you to a her website. Joanie Leeds is an incredibly talented Children’s singer/musician/song writer. In the interest on full disclosure, Joanie is an acquaintances of mine, and her grandparents and my wife’s grandparents very close friends. She is based in NY but has done a few shows in the DC Metro and Baltimore areas. My boys just adore her and her music and unlike most other kids’s music, not only don’t I mind listening to her music, I actually like it. I don’t often listen to music in my car or running. But occasionally I will stick my iPhone on shuffle. When her music comes on, even if I don’t have my kids with me, I seriously keep it on. And at the last show I took the boys to, she totally called me out on singing and dancing along to her music. I really am a fan too; her songs are fun and funny and she has lovely voice.

As always here is her Bio/About page

“Her destiny became obvious to Joanie Leeds’ parents when, at the tender age of two, Joanie grabbed a band mic at a party and belted out the entire song “Tomorrow” from Annie. Jaws dropped! No one could remember ever hearing a big voice like that coming from one so tiny.

As a musical theatre major at Syracuse University, Joanie began composing her own songs. After graduation, she did the New York City thing, bartending at The Bitter End when not onstage performing. While making the rounds as a singer/songwriter in New York clubs (her favorites were The Bitter End, The Living Room, Arlene’s Grocery and CBGB’s), Joanie tried her hand at about ten different day gigs until a friend suggested that she get a job where she could sing with kids during the day and perhaps sleep at night. You could say that Joanie found (as in “discovered”) herself, managing one of the Manhattan Gymboree locations and singing with and for kids all day long. The nocturnal club scene was fun, but making music with children was real fun.

Life clicked into place when Joanie realized that when she was with children, they transformed themselves into amazing creatures of joy, forgetting how to hold back. Seeing the kids get in touch with their true selves gave Joanie a sense of fulfillment that far surpassed playing for adults on the club circuit.

The songs that Joanie Leeds began turning out reflected this sense that life is a joyful adventure. Entertaining at birthday parties and pre- schools soon progressed into concert performances nationwide and generated material for four full length CDs: City Kid, Challah, Challah, I’m a Rock Star, and Joanie’s new release, What a Zoo! Joanie’s has also released a full length DVD, City Kid Live. She is currently working on a children’s book, while maintaining a busy teaching and performance schedule.”

If you have kids and your kids (or you) aren’t listening to Joanie, you all should be!