“Waking Up Is Hard to Do”

Awhile back I wrote about my beloved grandfather, “Papa Lee”, and the fun we had together. The year was 1940 and I was just 7 years old but I remember clearly how he and I danced and sang all the way home after seeing the movie “The Strawberry Blond”.

I was reminded of that magical time lately when I heard Neil Sadaka being interviewed. He spoke of the joy he has found with his five year old twin granddaughters Charlotte and Amanda. They accompany their renowned granddad on his new album for children entitled “Waking Up Is Hard to Do”.

Can you imagine how much fun it would be to have a legendary pop singer and song writer as a grandfather? He has taken eleven of his hits from decades past and revised them. The tunes are the same but the words are changed to tickle a child’s fancy.

“Breaking Up is Hard to Do” (his 1962 hit), wouldn’t mean a thing to a toddler but they could certainly relate to “Waking up” being hard to do and that’s the song that Neil performed during the interview. I couldn’t help but sing along as he played and sang the words: They say that wakin’ up is hard to do
Wear a smile and don’t you be blue
Just wipe the sleep from your eyes
Instead of going back to bed
You’ve gotta stretch and face the day

Just listen to the Birdies sing
And the flowers that await the Spring
Rise and shine, your dreaming’s through.
Wakin’ up is hard to do.

Some of the other parodies on the album are “Lunch Will Keep Us Together”, echoing “Love Will Keep Us Together”, “Where the Toys Are”, a takeoff of “Where the Boys Are”, and “Dinosaur Pet”, a variation on “Calendar Girl”...(“I love, I love, I love my dinosaur pet”).

I guess it will depend on your age if you remember these tunes as well as I do, but one thing is sure. If you have small children and you play this album for them you will find yourself captivated too. Just remember that singing and dancing is definitely permitted. Who knows? Maybe your children will write a blog entry about it 70 years from now!