Sat, Apr 17, 2027
Laurie Berkner has been a professional musician since 1992, but her success as a children’s recording artist was a surprise to her. “It was so unexpected,” says Laurie. “I’d been performing in rock bands and struggling to write original music. Writing music for kids has not been a struggle at all. The more I started working on material for children, the more I realized that it opened up creativity in me that I never knew I had.”
These days critics widely acknowledge Laurie’s major contribution toward launching what is now dubbed the progressive “kindie rock” movement – i.e. less saccharine, more rocking music that is not dumbed down for children. But it wasn’t simply an enormous amount of talent that helped create an entire genre and skyrocketed Laurie to her current position as “the queen of kids’ music” (People magazine). It was an ability to gain parents’ enthusiasm for the songs as well. According to Laurie, “When I’m writing a song, I’m thinking about whether the kids will like it and whether I’m going to connect to them through it. I’m also thinking about whether I want to sing it over and over again, so I guess that’s the part that connects with adults. ‘Old MacDonald Had a Farm’ is a great song for kids, but I couldn’t sing it 100 times!”
While Laurie never planned to be a children’s performer, looking back on her career it almost seems inevitable. While growing up in Princeton, New Jersey, Laurie was always involved in music, whether singing in choirs, playing in bands, or performing in musical theater. In high school and throughout college (at Rutgers University), she toured Europe with several choirs and orchestras as a soloist and guitarist. After graduation, Laurie spent ten years as a children’s music specialist at New York City area preschool and day care centers. Working with children became the perfect creative outlet for Laurie to express her talents and create something that, she says, “has turned out to be incredibly rewarding.”
The first recording artist ever to perform in music videos on Noggin and Nick, Jr., Laurie was featured in nearly all the episodes of those channels’ Jack’s Big Music Show. Laurie created two Laurie Berkner’s Song and Story Kitchen series with Audible Studios, who released them as 10-chapter audio books through the Audible Originals brand. Her music videos appear regularly on her YouTube channel, which has more than 650 million views. With more than 1.7 billion total streams, an average of more than 22 million monthly streams, and millions of CDs and DVDs sold, Laurie’s songs have become beloved classics for families worldwide, including household staples like “We Are The Dinosaurs,” “Victor Vito,” and “Pig On Her Head.” She maintains a busy touring schedule, both solo and with the Laurie Berkner Band, and has performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the White House, among many other prestigious venues.
Laurie has made multiple appearances on national TV shows such as Today, Good Morning America, Live with Kelly and Ryan, The Tamron Hall Show, and more. She is prominently featured in the children’s music documentary, Happy and You Know It, available for streaming on HBO Max.