We were lucky to catch up with Susie Tallman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Susie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Every project I have worked on has been meaningful in different ways. Music has been an opportunity for me to do something I love and hopefully something that can bring people together.

However, if I had to name one project it would be my album called “Let’s Go! Travel, Camp & Car Songs” because I sang almost all of these songs on a regular basis with my grandparents and parents in my childhood. I wanted the album to reflect the experiences I had as a child singing on camping trips. When I was putting together the song list, my mom got my grandfather’s old music books from Yosemite National Park out (he led campfires there as he was a park ranger) and we went through them and read his notes and decided which songs to include by sitting around, mom on guitar and me on the piano. Naturally, having a wonderful time singing and reminiscing will be forever treasured.

My latest album, “Let’s All Sing” has just been completed and it was also an absolute joy to create. This time I was able to collaborate with some of my favorite children’s musicians including Scott K Durbin from The Imagination Movers, Suzi Shelton and Vivian Fang Liu along with my very good friend Greg O’Connor who co-wrote, performed and produced with me. This album consists of 16 tracks of original and traditional songs, many of which I sang with my family as a child.

Singing with friends and being in the studio with other musicians is always special so having the opportunity to create music and make memories is always going to be very meaningful.

Susie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I had been singing and performing professionally for many years when I discovered my business calling while at a friend’s baby shower. I was holding two babies for a picture opportunity and the babies were growing fussy. When their fussiness escalated to all-out crying, I began to sing to them and as if on cue, both babies quietly turned to watch and listen. The other party attendants (particularly the babies’ mothers) were surprised. “You should record a CD for babies,” they all agreed. I did exactly that and Rock Me Baby Records was born.

Prior to starting Rock Me Baby Records I graduated from UCLA with a vocal performance degree and was given many wonderful singing opportunities through the university including soloing the National Anthem at UCLA football games and traveling to Australia with the UCLA chamber singers to sing at the Sydney Opera House. I graduated university wanting to continue be around musicians, so I got a job at A&M Records where I had the opportunity to work with artists like Cheap Trick, Tracy Chapman, A Very Special Christmas albums and so many more. I left A&M Records with Jimmy Iovine and a few others to help start Interscope Records. In the process, I learned the business side of music. Being at the front end of Interscope Records provided me with the background I needed to later start my own record label, Rock Me Baby Records.

I now have recorded 11 studio albums and a DVD of many of my music videos. My music ranges from traditional lullabies, nursery rhymes and children’s songs to original songs that I’m hoping become part of the family collection.

I try my very best to make joyful music that makes kids and their parents want to sing together. Music is a creative process, and its development depends on the willingness of artists to tap into their creativity, believe in themselves, and try something new and maybe unconventional. As far as what I am most proud of in my music, the answer is seeing the smile on a child’s face singing along to my music. When they look at their parents or grandparents singing or proudly holding up a puppet, that is motivation enough.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Without creators and innovators, society stays stuck. Art, in any form, gives us the opportunity to take pause and reflect, whether it be a sculpture or piece of music. If we don’t want to stay frozen in time, we need to ensure that the creative minds of our time are given an open platform to express themselves. I think it is paramount for people who have been in the music business for a long time, to inspire and help support the younger generation of creators in any way we can. What I can teach them comes from years of experience. What they can teach me is a fresh new outlook on the world today.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The joy of making music, of being in the studio recording, will never get old for me. This is the part of the process where I am the happiest. However, the most rewarding part of being a children’s music artist, is knowing that I am bringing much of the same music that I enjoyed as a child, and the same music I shared with my own children when they were little, into other young children’s lives as well. Whether its one of my music videos on YouTube or a live concert, it just makes me delighted to know that there is a kid, somewhere in the world, singing to one of my songs with me!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.susietallman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susietallmanmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susietallmanandfriends/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=susie+tallman

Image Credits
Keisha Wixom, Stephanie Dingreville