Grammy Award winning singer of children’s music Barbara Bailey Hutchison performed at Fairlane Elementary School on Friday, February 22. The concert was sponsored by the Macon County Arts Council.
Hutchison has appeared at the White House three times and performed in nearly all 50 states, as well as countries like Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand.
She is originally from Detroit, Michigan, where she began her musical career as a college student at Michigan State University. According to the biography on her website, www.bbhsings.com, “she gained a loyal following performing in the local listening rooms and music clubs.” Soon she was touring the US on a college and university circuit, and a national magazine poll voted her “Best Solo Performer,” “Best Acoustic Performer,” and “Best Female Performer.”
Later, she became a recognized voice in the advertising world, heard in hundreds of commercials; among the brands she was associated with were Hallmark, Heinz, and McDonald’s.
She won her Grammy Award in 1996, after entering a new genre. She’d agreed to be the voice of a collection of original lullabies for friend and producer J. Aaron Brown. The category was “Best Musical Recording for Children,” and after she received this nationally recognized honor, calls started coming in for concerts geared towards family and children, according to her website.
Her songs, as performed at Fairlane, are indeed fresh and witty, as claimed in this biography, and she had students singing along to tunes such as “Potato” (set to the tune of the “Mexican Hat Dance”): “I imagine them under their acres/ Out in Idaho and up in Maine/ Maybe wondering if they’ll be bakers/ Or French fries or latkes or plain…”
Hutchison keeps a steady tour of appearances, mostly in elementary schools and libraries, and gives musical workshops as well. Full touring schedule is available on the website.
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