Come one, come all! Don't miss Marla in a rare concert appearance at the Great South Bay Music Festival, in Patchogue, NY, THIS Saturday, July 12, at 5:00 PM under the Kidzone Tent. A good time is guaranteed! Marla will be giving away beautiful autographed posters. Go here for all info and directions:
http://www.greatsouthbaymusicfestival.com/
Marla's latest CD, "I Love to Talk to Plants," was just awarded GOLD from the Parent's Choice Foundation! To celebrate, we are offering Plants CD's for only $10 each! This is a limited time offer -- click here to get yours now :http://cdbaby.com/cd/marlalewis2
Lynne Heffley of the LA Times has this to say about I Love to Talk to Plants:
A delight from singer/songwriter Marla Lewis, who brings enormous warmth and creativity to memorable songs that are as varied as the story of real-life 1931 baseball "strike-out queen" Jackie Mitchell and a life-celebrating, affectionate conversation with dandelions and morning glories. By turns humorous and soulful, Lewis sings about messy rooms, weird dreams and making a difference in the world. Her tribute to late Cuban salsa legend Celia Cruz ("Whenever Celia Sings") and "Sambas Swaying in the Trees," are, quite simply, musical gold.http://cdbaby.com/cd/marlalewis2
Marla Lewis and Les Julian are the Grand Prize winners of the 9th Annual Great American Song Contest with their winning song, "Mighty Jackie (The Strikeout Queen)." The song, which tells the TRUE story of a 17-year-old girl who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the same exhibition baseball game, is featured in the Great American Song Hall of Fame.
In addition, Marla scored TOP FIVE Honors with two more songs, "Whenever Celia Sings," a tribute to the late salsa legend, Celia Cruz, and "Sambas Swaying in the Trees," a Brazilian ode to the rain forest.
To hear these and more winning songs, visit the Great American Song Hall Of Fame website link at: http://www.greatamericansong.com/winners.html
For the fifth year in a row, Marla presented a musical workshop for her fellow ESL teachers (English as a Second Language) at the Long Island ESL Conference in April. Its Title: "Music for a Visual Generation: How to Use Music, Movement and Visuals to Inspire ELL's (English Language Learners)".
Marla used slides, videos, and activity pages from her website to share her multisensory teaching approach to a full house. Here are some comments by workshop participants:
Marla and the incomparable Les Julian were honored guests and performers at the Rhyme Celebration at Marlborough Elementary School in CT on St. Patrick's Day! First, Marla and Les conducted two songwriting workshops with the 5th and 6th graders, and created a song about Respect. Then they were serenaded by a chorus of 100 children singing Marla's song, "We All Laugh in the Same Language!" What an honor! Next, the 5th and 6th grade songwriters performed their Respect song for the school. Finally, Les and Marla sang, clapped, and danced with 300 children. A wonderful time was had by all!
My new song, "Lend a Hand," will be featured as the soundtrack for a video by Matt Ahl about the International Breast Milk Project, an organization that has saved hundreds of hungry babies in Africa. You can read about their accomplishments and goals here: www.breastmilkproject.org. Its founder, Jill Youse, was Person of the week on ABC's World News Tonight, and featured on Oprah Winfrey's show. All proceeds from the sale of "Lend a Hand" on my website will go to IBMP. Listen and check out the lyrics here: Lend a Hand
Here is the news I just received in my inbox a few days ago:
Your song "We All Laugh in the Same Language" has been selected to be included on the 2008 Indie Music For Life children's music compilation CD. This is the first children's themed CD we have produced and are very excited about it. This CD is also slated to go into the packets that we are putting together to go out to pediatric cancer patients for free.
....I am honored. To further the cause, I will send proceeds from all mp3 sales of my song, "We All Laugh in the Same Language" to Indie Music for Life, as well.
This pun-ny song about homophones -- those pesky pairs of words that sound alike but are spelled differently and mean something entirely different from each other -- was written by 15 people! I was down in Arkansas a short while ago, giving a workshop to music teachers at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, AK (what a great name!). In the morning, we explored Music through the Curriculum, and in the afternoon, I hosted a Songwriting Workshop. The synapses were firing and we had a lot of laughs! I am still sorting out the copyright info, so only my name is on the credits, but soon everyone who contributed to the song will be on it. Check it out here: homophones
It's amazing what you can come up with in the right atmosphere. Many of these folks had never written a song before. What a blast!
Is it Dental Health Month? I don't know, I'm confused! Anyway, my new (and only) Reggae Brush-Your-Teeth song is available HERE: Wash Away All That Sugar
This lovely song, which 8-year-old Denise calls, "Chocolate to my ears," (thanks, Dee!), is also featured on a CD compilation for kids called, "Brush Your Teeth!" that will be available at pediatric dentists' offices nationwide.
Just in time for Women's History Month, Les Julian and I have recorded an anthem to Rosa Parks entitled, "Rosa, Rosa, Roll On." You can listen to it and check out the lyrics here:Rosa, Rosa Roll On
Free with purchase of song:
Lots of folks wrote to me saying they went to vote for Mighty Jackie and accidentally clicked on the first star! That gave the song a rating of Poor! If you made that mistake, now you can EDIT YOUR VOTE! As you recall, Marla's song, "Jackie Mitchell, the Strikeout Queen," is one of five Finalists for the Children's Category of the Independent Music Awards. With your help, it will WIN! Cast your vote or edit it Here: http://www.musiciansatlas.com/pages/IMAFinalist/Default.aspx?yr=2008
Thanks so much for your support!
Marla Lewis will be performing at the Kid's World Tent at the Port Jefferson Music Festival, Long Island, on Sunday, September 9, at 3:30 PM. Bring the family for a great show full of clappin' snappin', singin', and dancin!
This is an exciting follow-up to Marla's entertaining show at the Great South Bay Music Festival that took place on July 15. For the very first time, Marla sang songs from her new CD, I LOVE TO TALK TO PLANTS! As you can see from the photos above, a great time was had by all!
Seal of Approval Winner, Holiday '07
"This audio CD sneaked up on our testers. Plum Juice Records is not exactly a well-known, music publishing powerhouse, but don't let that fool you. This is a very well produced children's CD featuring truly good vocals to go along with a really nice assortment of tunes and styles. This is not your standard musical kids fare, the influences and rhythms span the cultural globe from Brazilian, African and Cuban sounds, to big band, classical and country music. The song "Mighty Jackie (The Strikeout Queen)" is sure to be a breakout hit in your car!"
Listen to Mighty Jackie here:Mighty Jackie, the Strikeout Queen
Mighty Jackie, the Strikeout Queen was awarded Third Place in the children's category at the Unisong National Songwriting Contest. Jackie also placed as Finalist in the UK Songwriting Competition! The tune, co-written by Marla with Children's Artist Extraordinaire Les Julian, tells the TRUE story of a 17-year-old girl who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! Click on mp3 button at the very top of this page and scroll down to "Mighty Jackie, the Strikeout Queen" to hear a song clip.
Marla's Halloween tune, "The Boogey Woogey Man" was awarded Finalist in the Children's Category of the John Lennon Song contest! Click on the MP3 button at the top of this page and scroll down to The Boogey Woogey Man to hear a song clip!
Whether you are celebrating
Christmas, Hanukah,
Kwanzaa, or Three Kings Day --
May you and your family be joyful throughout the New Year!
Check out Marla's Holiday songs:Magical Time of YearCelebrating Kwanzaa
PlumJuice Records, founded by Marla Lewis upon the release of her first multi award-winning CD, "We All Laugh in the Same Language" on October 1, 2004, has just celebrated its third birthday! Her second release, "I Love to Talk to Plants" has just hit the stands!
Hi, everyone, and welcome to the new look here at MarlaLewis.com! We decided it was time for a website overhaul, and thanks to the genius of Scott Berks, and the programming brilliance of Kimberly Robasky, we did it!
Besides looking more spiffy, this new site should be easier to navigate to to your favorite songs and lyrics for download.
When you're out for Trick Or Treat
Many monsters you will meet
But more than any ghoul or ghost, kids
The Boogie Woogie Man's gonna scare you the most!
Marla Lewis began singing as soon as she learned to talk, and writing songs since she was 12! Marla has performed her original programs in schools, libraries, and parks in all five boroughs of New York City, as well as in Long Island and Westchester County for the past 20 years.
