Kids’ music behemoth
Outranking Madonna and Bruce Springsteen, they’ve joined Barbra Streisand, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Bob Dylan in the Top 5 on Billboard Magazine’s compilation of the 200 Top 10 Albums of All Time. With 22 Top 10 debuts since their founding in 2001, in fact, the group holds the title for most Top 10 debuts of any artist this century. Altogether they’ve sold over 16 million albums. Bloomberg Business calls them “the most underrated force in American music.”
If you’re a kid under the age of 18 or a parent of a child under the age of 10, none of this likely comes as surprise. KIDZ BOP Kids — a changing lineup of tween performers who sing bowdlerized versions of pop songs — is not just the biggest children’s music juggernaut in the country but a marketing empire, with licensed products ranging from toothbrushes to toys and brand partnerships ranging from Macy’s and Burlington Coat Factory to Applebee’s and McDonald’s. There’s even a Sirius radio station dedicated to playing their music 24 hours a day.
This year celebrating its 15th anniversary, KIDZ BOP has launched a 50-city nationwide “Life Of The Party” tour, with a stop at Northampton’s Calvin Theatre set for Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $25, $35 or $50, the latter entitling you to a personal meet-and-greet with Ashlynn, Bredia, Grant and Matt. 586-8686, iheg.com
Retro rockabilly
Swooping into the hall of the Florence VFW for a blowout CD- release concert on Saturday, it’s — look out! — Li’l BeeDee & the Doo-Rites, a rhythm and blues combo starring Northampton’s own Betsy-Dawn Williams. Known for her more-than-active membership in the honky-tonk band Girl Howdy, Williams has long nursed an alternate identity as Li’l BeeDee, a rollicking rockabilly singer apparently cryogenically frozen back in 1956 and now burning her way back to life with great balls o’ musical fire. This girl doesn’t just do covers of “Be-Bop-A-Lula” or “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” she writes her own stuff — and it’s straight out of the age of twangy guitars, pounding pianos, peg-leg pants and shiny pompadours.
The new CD is titled “Betsy-Dawn Williams Presents…Li’l BeeDee & the Doo-Rites, On a Mission to Do Ya Right!” — “a mouthful, I know,” says BeeDee, “but I wanted to keep the continuity going with my name and also introduce and pair the new band’s name with mine. There are 15 tracks, and all original, by me.”
The band features hepcat keyboardist Jeff Potter (famous among Valley-ites from his early days with the band Clean Living); Frankie Blandino on lead guitar; and bassist Mark Neveu.
“Big Al Anderson is also a guest musician on one track,” notes BeeDee, “playing some fiery lead guitar, for which I was very, very pleased and honored by the gift of his contribution.”
7 p.m. $10. The VFW is at 18 Meadow St. in Florence.
— Dan DeNicola