Walter Martin Names Top Five Favourite Kids Songs Ahead Of Vivid LIVE Show

The Walkmen bassist Walter Martin is heading to Sydney next week in support of VIVID Live's Dress Up Attack! where he will perform tracks off his debut kids album, We're All Young Together.

Ahead of the children's festival, we asked the renowned musician about the kids' songs that made an impression on his own childhood. 

Abba Dabba Honeymoon  — Debbi Reynolds and Carleton Carpenter 

Always loved this one. We still listen to it a lot around the house. It’s the first song on a compilation LP I have called Funnybone Favourites – a breakfast-time favourite at our house.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider 

Like most kids, I loved this song and the little hand dance you do along with it. For some reason there was a myth in our family that my mother's childhood piano teacher wrote the song. But as an adult, I have looked it up and, sadly, it was just a myth.

Car, Car  — Woody Guthrie

I always loved this song. I still do. In high school I always used to put it on mixtapes for people – usually to break up the Leonard Cohen songs.

Western Movies — the Olympics 

Not really a kids’ song, but I always loved this since I was little. The style and rhythm of this song and others like it very directly influence what I do these days.

It’s My Life —  Billy Joel

Not a kids’ song either, but I vividly remember hearing this song a lot on the radio when I was five or six and understanding the rebellious vibe of the lyrics. It made me feel like a little rebel myself. Funny to think of now.

For more details on the VIVID Live show, check out theGuide.