Tom Chapin Branches Out in ‘Family Tree’

Snore-whistle, Ee-Yuck, Glubble-glub, Squish squish, Plip-plop, Left right .

--A parade passes by on Tom

Chapin’s children’s album, “Family Tree.’

Tom Chapin may be familiar to many only as the handsome, button-down host of TBS’ weekly “National Geographic Explorer” series. But some may know him as the ‘60s folk singer who kept the faith and never stopped singing the kind of music he loved best.

Today at Pepperdine, Chapin will perform songs for all ages in concert with singer Tom Paxton.

Chapin’s “Family Tree” album, recently released by A&M; Records, is a tuneful blend of heart and whimsy that joins a blossoming renaissance in children’s recordings. The lowly status of this neglected field is changing as Chapin and other high-caliber artists, such as Canada’s platinum phenomenon Raffi, take advantage of the marketing doors opened by child-conscious baby boomers.

From a Taos, N.M., rest stop during a recent family vacation trip, Chapin explained why he decided the time was right for a children’s album.

“I have kids now (two young daughters),” he laughed, “and I want to sing about the whole human experience. Folk music talks about people. It has that sense of groundedness that says, ‘I know where I came from, where I am, where I’m going.’ ”

Critical attention for Chapin’s mellow musical fare for adults about life and love has been favorable, but modest, over the years. As a musician, he never attained the high-profile standing of his late brother, pop legend Harry Chapin.

His eclecticism may be partly responsible. Chapin was a college basketball all-star. Just out of college, he worked as both deep-sea diver and score composer for the award-winning “Blue Water, White Death” shark documentary in 1969. In the ‘70s, he was the Emmy-winning host of ABC’s “Make a Wish” children’s program and, in 1982, starred in the Broadway musical “Pump Boys and Dinettes.”

Keeping his brother’s memory alive, Chapin served as musical director and arranger for Harry’s Broadway musical “Cotton Patch Gospel,” then shared the musical direction with brother Steve on the recent “Lies and Legends: The Musical Stories of Harry Chapin.”

As an activist, he continues to support Harry’s informational World Hunger Year project.

We’re a family and we’re a tree.

Our roots go deep down in history .

The children’s album reflects Chapin’s own close-knit, extraordinary family background.

Grandfather Kenneth Burke was a lauded writer, critic and philosopher. Grandfather James, a painter; Aunt Rose a playwright and father Jim a noted jazz drummer who played with Woody Herman and Tommy Dorsey.

“I was lucky being born into the family I was,” Chapin said. “My dad and mom were divorced, but my grandparents and great-grandparents were always around.”

It was Grandmother Chapin, “the seminal figure in our lives,” who prized “the language of music.”

So Chapin was a choirboy and reluctantly studied the clarinet. Then, at 12, he and his brothers heard the Weavers and Pete Seeger. It was a pivotal experience; folk music shaped their lives.

“It was that romance of real people in blue jeans making such beautiful, committed music.”

Golden sun going down,

Gentle blue giant spin us around.

On “Family Tree,” Chapin’s gentle themes of family and surroundings remain pretty much the same, leavened with contagious silliness and executed with excellent instrumentals and vocals. (Judy Collins joins him for some songs.)

“I like music that can open doors, that provides a generational connection. My hope is that adults and kids will listen to my music together,” Chapin said. “I want them to recognize themselves and their world--and I want ‘em to laugh.”