Sharon sings for children

I dreamed of something like this a long time ago. Sharon Cuneta was then 18 years old and beautifully pregnant with the baby who would grow up to be the gorgeous KC Concepcion. I thought then, wouldn’t it be nice if the still to be Megastar would be able to record an album of lullabies?

But as we all know that did not happen. Instead we ended up working on the soundtrack of the motion picture Bituing Walang Ningning. Two months before KC was born, Sharon broke box-office records with the movie that also starred Cherie Gil and Christopher de Leon. Along with the blockbuster can a big hit album with cuts from the movie soundtrack. The songs have since turned into classics and continue to sell up to now.

Admittedly, what happened instead turned out to be an awesome replacement for the dreamed of lullaby album. Nobody thought much of it anyway. After all, there was so much going on in Sharon’s life, both private and public, at that time. But I guess there might have been times when she did feel she wanted to sing for the kids, like some years later when she composed and sang the dreamy Starlight with KC.

Now many years later Sharon’s CD for kids is finally in the stores. Titled Children’s Rhymes and Lullabies, it came about thanks to Sharon’s and her husband Sen. Kiko Pangilinan’s disappointing discovery. While all sorts of albums in English for kids may be found in the local stores, there is really no album of children’s songs in Filipino available.

The senator who is known for being makabayan through and through, makes it a point to speak either straight English or Tagalog to their little girls Kakie and Miel. The key word there is straight and never any Taglish. Of course he also wants them to learn and enjoy the likes of Sitsiritsit Alibangbang, Tong Tong Pakitong, Paru-Parong Bukid and other traditional favorites alongside One Two Buckle My Shoe, 10 Little Indians and I Have Two Hands.

Now can you think of any artist around who can do justice to those songs better than Sharon? She has this sweet voice that seems to have been made for lullabies and play rhymes. Besides can you think of a more heartwarming image then that which the Megastar doing these songs can conjure up? What else but that of Sharon in a quiet, blissful moment singing maybe Maliliit na Gagamba with her girls. Priceless. So Kiko suggested that Sharon record an album of songs for children. And she did.

Children’s Rhymes and Lullabies by Sharon Cuneta is a two-disc set with an audio CD and a music minus one CD that kids and even grown-ups can sing along to. Produced by Eloisa Matias, it is a mix of English and Tagalog favorites that millions of kids have loved for several generations. I am sure that many more will do the same in the future what with this album around that they can listen to all the time. I love best the Brahms Lullaby which is presented here with Tagalog lyrics as Tulog Na and You’re My #1 from that sweet TV ad where Sharon sings with Kakie and Miel and which probably sells a lot of milk after every airing.

The other cuts included are The Alphabet Song/ A You’re Adorable; Seven Days a Week/Pitong Araw Sa Isang Linggo; Sampung Mga Daliri/Paa, Tuhod, Balikat, Ulo/My Toes, My Knees, My Shoulders, My Head; If You’re Happy and You Know It/Wheels on the Bus/Jack and Jill; I’m a Little Teapot/Ako ay Maliit na Pitsel; Teensy Weensy Spider; Pure Imagination; Rainbow Connection; Magtanim ay di Biro/Bahay Kubo; Pen Pen de Sarapen/Leron Leron Sinta; Twinkle Twinkle Little Star; A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes; and When You Wish Upon a Star.

Still on sounds by Sharon. Fans might want to check out The All English Album from Vicor Music. Now there are a lot of Sharon recordings available in the market but this one is somewhat different from the rest. This is because it has songs that a lot of people have forgotten that Sharon ever recorded.

Among these are Total Eclipse of the Heart, Hello, Ocean Deep, It’s My Turn, I Don’t Want You to Go, Here Comes the Rain Again, I Just Called to Say I Love You, So Much In Love, Love Me Like the First Time and many others.