Parachute Express was an American band of three

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

-based entertainers who performed, wrote, and produced music for children. Members were Stephen Michael Schwartz, Janice Hubbard, and Donny Becker. Parachute Express gained national prominence as recording artists for

Gymboree Play & Music Gymboree is a sub brand of The Children's Place. Gymboree began with operating retail stores between the early 1970s and the later 2010s. It was founded by Joan Barnes. History Early years In 1986, the company opened a chain of clothing stores ...

Walt Disney Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from the Walt Disney Company's Walt Disney Studios (division), motion picture studios, television shows, Disney Experiences, them ...

, and Trio Lane Records. They sang the theme song to the popular television series ''

Jay Jay the Jet Plane ''Jay Jay the Jet Plane'' is an American live-action/CGI-animated musical children's television series created by David and Deborah Michel and first aired on TLC and later moved to PBS Kids, with reruns on Qubo and TBN's Smile, which were both s ...

'' and have been seen on TV shows

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

's '' Nick Jr. Rocks'' and Disney's ''Kaleidoscope Concerts''. Their music was featured in over 550 Gymboree franchises throughout the world, as well as in preschools, daycare centers, and diverse informal education programs. Parachute Express created a total of twelve albums.

History

In the early 1990s, Parachute Express released six albums as part of Walt Disney Records’ Music Box Artist Series. In 1995, the trio formed its own label, Trio Lane Records.McCormick M: "Parachute Express Is Back." ''Billboard'' 110 (39). Many of their albums have won national awards including NAPPA awards, the Film Advisory Board Award, an Indie Award, a Toy of The Year Award, and several times the Parents' Choice Gold Award. Their long list of honors further included featured performers at the 42nd and 43rd Presidential Inaugural Festivities, performing their "poetic anthem"Heffly L
"Parachute Express Drops In With ‘Looney’s’ Tunes Kids Will Love."
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' 1998-07-23: F49. Accessed 2008-09-24. ''We The Children''. This song was included in the Presidential library by then First Lady

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

. They performed half a dozen times at the Annual Easter Egg Hunt on the lawn of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. Their video ''Come Sing With Us!'' won the Parents Choice Video Award and an International Monitor Award. They have been voted "Best Group" by the American Academy of Children's Entertainment. In 2010 and 2011, Parachute Express toured

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, performing in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, and

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

. The group disbanded in late 2011.

Discography

Albums

* ''Feel the Music'' (1991) * ''Circle of Friends'' (1991) * ''Happy to Be Here ''(1991) * ''Shakin' It!'' (1992) * ''Over Easy'' (1992) * ''Sunny Side Up'' (1992) * ''Friends, Forever Friends'' (1996) * ''Who's Got A Hug?'' (1997) * ''Dr. Looney's Remedy'' (1998) * ''Don't Blink'' (2005)

Song collections

* ''Gymbo's Play and Pretend Favorites'' (2007) * ''It's a Gymboree Party!'' (2007)

Singles

* ''Dr. Looney's Remedy'' (1995) * ''The Coming of December'' (2005)

Tracks in compilations

* ''Disney's Music Box: Disney's Spotlight'' (1992): Smooth Movin' Boogie Express * ''The Man Who Ran Away with the Moon'' (1992): Smooth Movin' Boogie Express * ''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

: The Enchanted Songs'' (1995) * ''Exercise Party: Stretchin' and Jumpin' Songs for Young Children'' (2003): Can You Show Us; Reach Up High * ''Hear and Gone in 60 Seconds: One Minute Songs by an Awesome Array of Award Winning Artists'' (2003): Alphabet Soup * ''

: 24 Fun and Inspirational Stories for Kids'' (2003): Jay Jay the Jet Plane theme song * ''Jay Jay the Jet Plane: 12 Fun and Inspirational Stories for Kids'' (2004): Jay Jay the Jet Plane theme song * ''Songs for Little Boys: Trains, Cowboys, Pirates and More!'' (2004): I Like Trucks * ''Songs for Little Princesses: Ballerinas, Best Friends, Dressing Up and More!'' (2004): Polka Dots, Checks and Stripes; Dress Up Queen * ''Dance Party: Movin' and Groovin' Songs for Young Children'' (2006): Don't Blink; Dance, Puppet, Dance * ''Favorite Lullabies: 15 Gentle Songs to Ease Your Baby to Sleep'' (2006): Good Night Moon * ''Classic Animal Songs'' (2007): Me and My Dog * ''Kindergarten Prep: Songs to Get Your Child Ready to Learn'' (2008): Tie a Bow; Red Means Stop

Videos

* 1989 - Live In Concert (Gymboree) * 1995 - Come Sing With Us! (Disney)

Awards

* 1991 - Parents' Choice for Feel the Music * 1995 - Parents' Choice Video Award for ''Come Sing With Us!'' * 1995 - International Monitor Award in the category Best Electronic Effects for ''Come Sing With Us!'' * 1998 - National Association of Parenting Publications of America (NAPPA) Gold Award for ''Doctor Looney's Remedy'' * 1999 - Best Group Award by the American Academy of Children's Entertainment * 1999 - Indie Award in the category Best Children's Album for ''Doctor Looney's Remedy'' * 2005 - Creative Child Magazine's Toy of the Year Award for ''Don't Blink'' * 2005 - NAPPA Gold Award for ''Don't Blink'' * 2005 - Parents Choice Gold Award for ''Don't Blink'' * 2008 - NAPPA Gold Award for ''It's a Gymboree Party''

In popular culture

Emma Stone Emily Jean "Emma" Stone (born November 6, 1988) is an American actress and film producer. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2017, she was the world's highest-paid actr ...

mentioned the Parachute Express song "Polka Dots, Checks, and Stripes" as the inspiration to her outfit at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominee Luncheon. *The documentary '' Not Just a Goof'' begins with the filmmakers watching "Doctor Looney's Remedy", since the video was shown before the VHS copy of ''

A Goofy Movie ''A Goofy Movie'' is a 1995 American animated musical comedy-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Directed by Kevin Lima, it is based on The Disney Afternoon television series ''Goof Troop'' (1992) created by Robert T ...

''.

References

External links

* Parachute Express Bioat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parachute Express Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 1984 American comedy musical groups American children's musical groups Comedians from California Musical groups disestablished in 2011