A Mother’s Love Launches a Musical Journey

ln a shady outdoor nook of her West Hollywood art consulting studio, Parasone Gallery, Francie Kelley talks about her passion for nature, for color and art, for the music of Judy Collins and Pete Seeger, and the path that led her to writing award winning songs for children. That path included musical theater, acting, and her most profound inspiration – motherhood.

Through the bold colors of a painting or the toe-tapping rhythm of a song, children connect more deeply with their own feelings, she says. For Kelley, the richness of life is not about rushing from one activity to another. lt’s about community. It’s about going for a long hike with her husband and daughter. lt’s about getting “ice cream with sprinkles,” after school, as she sings in one of her songs. Kelley’s CD Wake Up & Go To S/eepl, produced in collaboration with her husband, Pat, a top Los Angeles jazz guitarist, studio musician, and compose4 is a joyful celebration of childhood with whimsical lyrics about “counting clouds,” “finding daffodils” and “running backward in the summer grass.” Kelley was managing her own successful art consulting business when her daughter. Katie, was born. One afternoon as Kelley glided in the rocking chair trying to sooth her crying baby, she became acutely aware of the running to-do list in her head. “As moms, we always have so many things we need to do,” says Kelley. “But on that afternoon I realized I needed to be right here, in this moment.” That epiphany led Kelley into the recording studio, where she wrote her first song, “Babies Won’t Keep.” Each of the other 1l songs on her CD is also a reflection of a mother’s love, capturing the tender moments of kids dancing in their jammies and “kissing the moon and stars loodnight.” Kelley recently released her second CD, Where Do You Want to Go Today?, a musical safari celebrating a variety of cultures. Again, many of the lyrics come from her personal family experiences, including her daughter’s discovery of a tarantula in the backyard that became an Argentinian Tango, and a ukulele found at a garage sale that led to a Hawaiian melody.

Her advice to other mom entrepreneurs:

• I Don’t give in to perfectionism.
• I ldentify what’s really important. “The most meaningful moments
• are the most simple,” says Kelley. “Go for a walk with your family.
• Let your kids create percussion instruments with kitchen utensils.”
• I Learn to forgive yourself’

“Francie Kelley’s Wake Up & Go To Sleep Captures Musically the Poignant Moments in Our Children’s Lives”

Jazz Greats Join Kelley Family CD Collaboration

Reviewed by Chuck Pendergast

We celebrate and chronicle the lives of our children growing up in many ways: by collecting pictures in albums, taking home movies and telling and retelling our favorite coming-of-age stories.

Pat and Francie Kelley, who are both professional musicians, have created a collection of original songs in Wake Up & Go To Sleep that focus on the joys as well as the bittersweet moments of watching children grow, play, tire and sleep. Inspired by their 9-year-old daughter Katie, who sings and performs with them, this is not just a delightful songbook meant to amuse and entertain youngsters. It’s also a thoughtful look into the heart of what it means to be a parent, and has been produced with the exquisite and professional musical detail and collaboration of friends like David Benoit and Greg Karukas. The award-winning CD (2004 Parents’ Choice Award) moves us through a child’s day, harnessing the pure fun of kite flying, and the delight of remaining (and singing) in our jammies after improvising an orchestra with utensils from the kitchen drawers. And after all the noise and chaos subside, the stars come out and we hear the wistful voice of a mother sing a protective lullaby over the warm blankets of (finally) sleeping children.

Pat Kelley is a popular and successful jazz guitarist with a career that takes him around the world playing with luminaries such as George Benson, Natalie Cole, David Benoit, Dave Brubeck and Dave Koz. He has released (connect with rest of the sentence) over a half-dozen albums of his own and plays regularly at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles. Francie Kelley has been singing all her life and has her own business as an art consultant. When Katie was born, Francie and Pat redesigned their lives to give the biggest share of their hearts to her while still remaining true to the rigors of their creative lives. This collection of their songs bears witness to the success of both.

The song “Babies Won’t Keep” is a beautifully executed lament on the relentless passage of time during infancy when after months of careful watching we suddenly realize that our baby is fast becoming a youngster, and there’s nothing we can do to hold it back. And the simplicity and grace that Francie brings to “Happiness” from You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown is a heartbreaking tribute to those years in our childhood when we were still mostly free of the burdens of life. David Benoit’s superb accompaniment make this rendition among the best I’ve ever heard.

If you listen very closely to these wonderful twelve songs, you’ll be taken back to those incredibly poignant moments when playing was all you had to do, and when every little thing you came upon was a wonderment. You’ll remember again how easy it is to have fun, and how quickly your companions would share your fantasies. And better yet, you’ll shut your eyes and feel the warmth and absolute security of someone you love very much, carefully tucking you into bed, and the sweetest most perfect sleep that follows.

Chuck Pendergast is a Los Angeles-based author and free-lance writer.

“Jammin’ in our Jammies” (space) is a FREE fun songfest, a concert and a celebration of Francie Kelley’s CD, Wake Up & Go To Sleep, Saturday, May 21 at 2 p.m. at the Goleta Border’s, 7000 Marketplace Ave. Francie, her guitarist husband Pat Kelley, and their daughter Katie will all sing songs from this award-winning CD and family collaboration that celebrates the days and nights of children. Everyone is invited to come in their “jammies”, so get out your best pair.”

www. FrancieKelley.com

Kid-tested, mother-approved

Singer Francie Kelley to perform at mom Lois Crozier Hogle’s 90th-birthday party

by Jaime Marconette

O One evening, in the quiet hours shortly after midnight, Francie Kelley sat down at the piano. Her husband, Pat, joined her, and within 20 minutes a lullaby to their unborn child was written.

Kelley never planned to make a children’s album. But as she prepared to have her first child and then experienced the joys of watching Katie grow up, her songwriting reflected these wonders.

In 2002 she released “Wake Up & Go To Sleep!,” a loving lullaby to her 8-year-old daughter. A sophisticated collection that fuses country and jazz, the album features mostly original compositions by Kelley, with such titles as “Precious One,” “Babies Won’t Keep,” and “Jammin in My Jammies.”

The latter song will be the theme of Kelley’s next concert, “Jammin’ in My Jammies,” which will take place on Saturday at Linden Tree in Los Altos. The show will feature Kelley, her husband Pat on guitar, and daughter Katie singing back-up vocals. Kids and parents are invited to come and listen and jam in their jammies.

“The shows are a lot of fun. We try to get people participating,” said Kelley, 48, who was raised in Palo Alto but currently resides in Los Angeles.

Kelley will also perform on Sunday at a benefit at Hidden Villa. That event will celebrate the 90th birthday of her mother, environmentalist and activist Lois Crozier Hogle. Proceeds will be split equally among Acterra, the Committee for Green Foothills and Hidden Villa.

An award-winning environmental leader, Crozier Hogle helped found, guide and inspire a host of organizations, including Committee for Green Foothills, the Peninsula Conservation Center (Acterra’s predecessor), Hidden Villa, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Peninsula Open Space Trust and the YWCA, among others.

Though Kelley has not followed in her mother’s footsteps, she nevertheless credits her for pursuing a career in music.

“It is my mother’s example of dreaming big that inspires me,” Kelley said. “And I want to inspire children to dream big, too!”

For this special occasion, Kelley will debut a new poem she has written in her mother’s honor, and in the spirit of the environment. Entitled “Common Purpose” (“The Acorn Song”), the work is a metaphor for what her mother has accomplished, Kelley said.

“A dream of protecting the foothills for future generations, was like an acorn that she, Wally Stegner and Ruth Spangenberg ‘planted’ in the living room,” Kelley said. “The poem mentions things that Mom loves, that she wants to share with everyone……’Listen to the meadowlark,’ she often says. ‘Oh look at the oaks and the poppies.’ She loves to share beauty with others. And natural beauty enriches our spirit.”

Rounding out the family celebration will be son Allan Hogle, who will also honor his mother, but in spoken word, instead of song.

Though Kelley started playing piano when she was 8 and took voice lessons beginning at 15, it wasn’t until she was pregnant with Katie that she began writing children’s music. The lyrics and music on “Wake Up & Go To Sleep!” were written over a number of years.

“It was totally inspired by having a child,” Kelley said. “I just found myself moseying over to the piano.”

As Katie grew up, the music grew along with her, Kelley said, adding that as her daughter’s life became more active, the songs did, as well. The beginning of the album features upbeat songs, which slowly transform into mid-tempo pieces, and finally end in lullabies. The title, “Wake Up & Go To Sleep,” mirrors this progression.

Pat, a jazz musician with eight albums to his credit, co-wrote many of the album’s songs. He was also recently featured on the cover of Guitar Magazine and will tour with Natalie Cole this spring.

“Such a cool byproduct was I got to collaborate with my husband,” said Kelley, who cites the Beatles and Peter, Paul and Mary as influences.

The couple’s musical styles are easily noticeable on the CD. Alongside Pat’s jazz guitar, Kelley weaves folk and rock melodies. Their combined musical expertise has resulted in a sophisticated styling and arrangement rarely found in children’s recordings.

When it came to lyrics, however, daughter Katie provided more than enough inspiration.

“The lyrics are a response to being a mother,” Kelley said. “It’s something tangible that she’ll always have that says ‘I love you.'”

With this album, Kelley aims to bring parents and children closer together, helping moms and dads reconnect with the joys of innocence and wonder. On “Song of Life,” Kelley sings, “Children are the song of life/The lullaby for my soul/The peace of mind I searched the world for/Lives quietly just inside your door.”

When not writing music, Kelley is an art consultant, helping interior designers select art for hotels. She also oversees a children’s choir.

Kelley hopes to keep bringing the joy of music to children and parents alike, and intends to release more CDs in the future.

“I feel like my authentic voice is in children’s music,” Kelley said. “I feel so at home.”

Editorial intern Jaime Marconette can be reached at jmarconette@paweekly.com.

Who: Francie Kelley and Pat Kelley in concert. The event will honor the 90th birthday of Kelley’s mother, Lois Crozier Hogle.

Where: Hidden Villa’s Duveneck House, 26870 Moody Road in Los Altos Hills

When: Sunday at 5:30 p.m. The reception will begin at 4 p.m.

Cost: Tickets are $90 ($1 per year of Crozier Hogle’s life so far). Proceeds will be split equally among Acterra, Committee for Green Foothills and Hidden Villa. The total amount of the contribution, minus $15 per attendee, is tax-deductible. Discounts will be made available for seniors and students.

Info: Please call Committee for Green Foothills at (650) 968-7243.
Francie, Pat and Katie Kelley will also perform on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Linden Tree Children’s Recordings and Books, 170 State St. in Los Altos. Admission is free. For more information please call (650) 949-3390 or visit www.lindentreebooks.com.