Raffi Cavoukian, ( hy, Րաֆֆի, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

Raffi, is a Canadian singer-lyricist and author of Armenian descent born in Egypt, best known for his

children's music Children's music or kids' music is music composed and performed for children. In European-influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has hi ...

. He developed his career as a " global troubadour" to become a

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, author,

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

, and founder of the Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring, a vision for global restoration.

Early life

Raffi was born in

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

, to Armenian parents who fled Turkey during the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

. In 1958, his family immigrated to Canada, eventually settling in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. His mother named him after the Armenian novelist

Raffi Raffi Cavoukian, ( hy, Րաֆֆի, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is a Canadian singer-lyricist and author of Armenian descent born in Egypt, best known for his children's music. He developed his career as a " ...

. His father, Arto Cavoukian, was a well-known portrait photographer with a studio on Bloor Street in Toronto. His older brother,

Onnig Cavoukian Onnig J. "Cavouk" Cavoukian (born 1945) is a Canadian-Armenian photographer. Life and career Born in Cairo in 1945 to ethnic Armenian parents Artin and Lucie Cavoukian, Onnig Cavoukian moved with his family from Cairo to Canada in 1958. He ...

, known as Cavouk, is also a famous portrait photographer. His younger sister is Ann Cavoukian, Ontario's former Information and Privacy Commissioner. His parents died within twelve hours of each other, his mother dying first of abdominal cancer.Pogrebin, Robin, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'',
Not All Sunshine for Teensy Set's Troubadour."
September 18, 2002. Retrieved on May 23, 2019. He visited

Soviet Armenia The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

once in 1972. In the early 1970s, Raffi frequented a Toronto guitar store near Yonge and Wellesley called Millwheel, where he met other developing Canadian musicians such as David Wilcox and John Lacey. He befriended Lacey, a folk guitarist from

Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton. At its 2021 census population of 213,759, it is Ontario's largest town. Oakville is part of the Greater Toronto Area, one of the ...

, who helped Raffi improve his

finger picking Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with a single plect ...

. Raffi continued playing folk guitar in coffee houses in Toronto and Montréal before hitchhiking to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

in 1972 to find "fame and fortune". He returned to Toronto a few years later and was invited to sing for a Toronto public school. Despite his hesitations about singing for kids, he was an immediate success, and thus began his career entertaining children.

Career

Children's entertainer

Once called "the most popular children's singer in the English-speaking world", he is well loved by many children born in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s for his popular children's songs. His autobiography, '' The Life of a Children's Troubadour'', documents the first part of his award-winning career. Some of Raffi's best-known children's songs are "

Baby Beluga ''Baby Beluga'' is a children's music album by Canadian children's entertainer Raffi, released in 1980. The lead song is about a young beluga whale that swims freely. The album begins with the sounds of beluga whales communicating and includes com ...

", "

Bananaphone __NOTOC__ ''Bananaphone'' is a children's album released by Raffi and Michael Creber in 1994. The album is best known for its title track, which uses puns such as "It's a phone with appeal!" (a peel) and nonce words like "bananular" and "inte ...

", "All I Really Need", and " Down by the Bay". Most of Raffi's children's albums include small, simple, folk instrumentations featuring Raffi's

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production ...

and guitar work. Early works included contributions from Toronto-area folk musicians, including Ken Whiteley, The Honolulu Heartbreakers, and

Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to jazz-influenced rock and his lyrics cover a broad range of topics including human rights, environmental issues, p ...

. Raffi also incorporated many world music sounds into his records, including "Sambalele" (More Singable Songs, 1977) and "Anansi" (The Corner Grocery Store, 1979). In 1989, his album ''Raffi In Concert With The Rise And Shine Band'' was listed on the RPM Top 100 Albums chart. After a seven-year gap in publishing, Raffi released an album, ''Let's Play'', in 2002. He moved to

Saltspring Island Salt Spring Island or Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada, and Vancouver Island. The island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled b ...

near

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, in 2008. Raffi is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism. He is currently the president of Troubadour Music Inc., a triple-bottom-line company he founded to produce and promote his work. He released recording for a number of other artists, including Caitlin Hanford and Chris Whiteley. As of 2017, Raffi continues to perform and appears occasionally across Canada and the United States. His most recent album is "Nursery Rhymes For Kinder Times", a collaboration album with Lindsay Munroe which was released in 2022.

Advocacy

Raffi's recent musical work focuses on social and environmental causes and appeals to the generation who grew up with his children's music ("Beluga Grads") to effect change in the world. He also promotes those causes through his books, academic lectures and as a speaker. In 2007, Raffi wrote, recorded and produced the single "Cool It", a

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and b ...

"call to action" on

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

with Dr.

David Suzuki David Takayoshi Suzuki (born March 24, 1936) is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster, and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a PhD in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department at the ...

in the chorus. "Cool It" was the theme song for Dr. Suzuki's recent Canadian tour to promote action on climate change. In February 2016, Raffi released the song "Wave of Democracy" in support of American Senator

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 20 ...

run to be the Democratic nominee for US Presidency. In September 2019 he released song "Young People Marching", which was written for

Greta Thunberg Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation. Thunberg's activism began when she persuaded ...

Child Honouring

In the 21st century, Raffi has devoted himself to "Child Honouring," his vision for creating a humane and sustainable world by addressing the universal needs of children. The Child Honouring ethic is described as a "vision, an organizing principle, and a way of life—a revolution in values that calls for a profound redesign of every sphere of society." His "Covenant for Honouring Children" outlines the principles of this philosophy. In 2006, with Dr. Sharna Olfman, he co-edited an anthology, ''Child Honouring: How to Turn This World Around'', which introduces Child Honouring as a philosophy for restoring communities and ecosystems. It contains chapters by

Penelope Leach Penelope Jane Leach (née Balchin; born 19 November 1937) is a British psychologist who researches and writes extensively on parenting issues from a child development perspective. Leach is best known for her book ''Your Baby and Child: From B ...

Fritjof Capra Fritjof Capra (born February 1, 1939) is an Austrian-born American physicist, systems theorist and deep ecologist. In 1995, he became a founding director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California. He is on the faculty of Schumacher ...

David Korten David C. Korten (born 1937) is an American author, former professor of the Harvard Business School, political activist, prominent critic of corporate globalization, and "by training and inclination a student of psychology and behavioral systems". ...

, Riane Eisler, Mary Gordon,

Graça Machel Graça Machel (; née Simbine; , born 17 October 1945) is a Mozambican politician and humanitarian. She is the widow of former President of Mozambique Samora Machel (1975–1986) and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela (1998–20 ...

Joel Bakan Joel Conrad Bakan (born 1959) is an American-Canadian writer, jazz musician, filmmaker, and professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. Born in Lansing, Michigan, and raised for most of his childhood in ...

Matthew Fox Matthew Chandler Fox (born July 14, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Charlie Salinger on '' Party of Five'' (1994–2000) and Jack Shephard on the drama series ''Lost'' (2004–2010), the latter of which earned h ...

Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver (born April 8, 1955) is an American novelist, essayist and poet. She was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in the Congo in her early childhood. Kingsolver earned degrees in biology at DePauw University and the Univers ...

, Jean-Daniel Ó Donncada, and others. The book's foreword is by the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

. The musical album ''Resisto Dancing: Songs of Compassionate Revolution'' was released as a tie-in for the book. In a 2006 speech,

Iona Campagnolo Iona Victoria Campagnolo, (née Hardy, born October 18, 1932) is a Canadian politician who served as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia from 2001 to 2007; Campagnolo was the first woman to hold that office. Prior to becoming Lieu ...

, Lieutenant Governor of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, referred to Child Honouring as a "vast change in the human paradigm." Raffi advocates for a child's right to live free of commercial exploitation and he has consistently refused all commercial endorsement offers. Raffi's company has never directly advertised nor marketed to children. In 2005, he sent an open letter to Ted Rogers of

Rogers Wireless Rogers Wireless Inc. is a Canadian wireless telephone company headquartered in Toronto, providing service nationally throughout Canada. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The company had revenues of just under $15.1 billi ...

, urging them to stop marketing cell phones to children. He also turned down a film proposal for "Baby Beluga" because of the nature of the funding, which was based on exploitative advertising and marketing. Raffi has been hailed for his work as "Canada's all time children's champion". In October 2006, Raffi was presented with the

Fred Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), commonly known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television se ...

Integrity Award by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood at the Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston, for his consistent refusal to use his music in endorsements that market products directly to children. In 2012, after learning details surrounding the online bullying, exploitation and ultimate suicide of teenager

Amanda Todd Amanda Michelle Todd (November 27, 1996 – October 10, 2012) was a 15-year-old Canadian student and victim of cyberbullying who hanged herself at her home in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. Before her death, Todd posted a video on YouTube ...

, Raffi and his Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring co-founded the Red Hood Project with business owner, former Crown prosecutor, community and arts philanthropist and advocate Sandy Garossino and design professional, writer, educator and community activist Mark Busse. Red Hood Project is a movement for consumer protection for children online that launched in November 2012. In June 2013, Raffi published the book, ''Lightweb Darkweb: Three Reasons to Reform Social Media Before it Re-forms Us'', which examines both the benefits and the dangers present on the internet and in social media.

Awards and memberships

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

(1983) * Order of British Columbia (2001) *

Doctor of Music The Doctor of Music degree (D.Mus., D.M., Mus.D. or occasionally Mus.Doc.) is a higher doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions and/or scholarly publications on music. Like other higher doctorates, it is granted b ...

, from the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

(honorary degree) *

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

, from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thr ...

(honorary degree) * Doctor of Letters, from

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

(honorary degree) *

Integrity Award (2006) * Special Achievement Award at the SOCAN Awards in Toronto in 2000. *2010 Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award Winner. * Honorary Doctorate of Letters,

Vancouver Island University Vancouver Island University (abbreviated as VIU, formerly known as Malaspina University-College and earlier as Malaspina College) is a Canadian public university serving Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia. Malaspina College began in 1 ...

(2014)

Works

Discography

Studio Albums

* ''Good Luck Boy'' (1975) * ''Singable Songs for the Very Young'' (1976) * ''

Adult Entertainment The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related ...

'' (1977) * ''More Singable Songs'' (1977) * ''The Corner Grocery Store'' (1979) * ''

'' (1980) * ''Rise and Shine'' (1982) * ''Raffi's Christmas Album'' (1983) * ''One Light, One Sun'' (1985) * ''Everything Grows'' (1987) * ''Raffi in Concert with the Rise and Shine Band'' (1989) * ''

Evergreen Everblue ''Evergreen Everblue'' is a music album by popular children's entertainer Raffi, released in 1990. The album was aimed at an older audience than most of Raffi's children's albums. The songs on this album are ecology Ecology () is the study ...

'' (1990) * ''Raffi on Broadway'' (1993) * ''

'' (1994) * ''

Raffi Radio __NOTOC__ ''Raffi Radio'' is a children's music concept album released by Raffi and Michael Creber in 1995. The album is dedicated to Buckminster Fuller. Concept Raffi Radio "mimics an old-time radio show", with children's songs intersperse ...

'' (1995) * ''Country Goes Raffi'' (2001) (tribute album) * ''Let's Play'' (2002) * ''Where We All Belong'' (2003) * ''Song for the Dalai Lama'' (2004) (commemorative CD) * ''Resisto Dancing – Songs of Compassionate Revolution'' (2006) * ''Communion'' (2009) * ''Love Bug'' (2014) * ''Owl Singalong'' (2016) * ''Dog on the Floor'' (2018) * ''Nursery Rhymes For Kinder Times'' (with Lindsay Munroe) (2022)

Compilations

* ''Raffi in Concert'' (1996) * ''The Singable Songs Collection'' (1996) * ''Raffi's Box of Sunshine'' (2000) * ''Quiet Time'' (2006) * ''Animal Songs'' (2008) * ''Songs of Our World'' (2008) * ''Fun Food Songs'' (2013) * ''Best Of Raffi'' (2017) * ''Motivational Songs'' (2019)

Singles

=''Singable Songs for the Very Young'' (1976)

= *"The More We Get Together" *"Down By the Bay" *"Brush Your Teeth" *"Robin in the Rain" *"I Wonder If I'm Growing" *"Bumping Up and Down" *"Willoughby Wallaby Woo" *"Spider on the Floor" *"Baa Baa Black Sheep" *"Peanut Butter Sandwich" *"The Sharing Song" *"Mr. Sun"

=''More Singable Songs'' (1977)

= *"Six Little Ducks" *"You Gotta Sing" *"Oh Me, Oh My!" *"He'll Be Coming Down the Chimney" *"Shake My Sillies Out" *"If I Had a Dinosaur" *"I've Been Working on the Railroad"

=''The Corner Grocery Store'' (1979)

= *"Knees Up Mother Brown" *"Cluck, Cluck, Red Hen" *"My Way Home" *"Anansi" *"The Corner Grocery Store" *"Y A Un Rat"/"Sur le Pont d'Avignon" *"Going on a Picnic" *"Goodnight Irene"

=''Baby Beluga'' (1980)

= *"Baby Beluga" *"Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" *"Thanks a Lot" *"All I Really Need" *"Morningtown Ride"

=''Rise and Shine'' (1982)

= *"Rise and Shine" *"Walk, Walk, Walk" *"

The Wheels on the Bus "The Wheels on the Bus" is an American folk song written by Verna Hills (1898–1990). The earliest known publishing of the lyrics is the December 1937 issue of '' American Childhood'', originally called "The Bus", with the lyrics being "The whe ...

" *"Daniel" *"

Five Little Ducks Five Little Ducks is a traditional children's song. The rhyme also has an associated finger play. Canadian children's folk singer Raffi released it as a single from the '' Rise and Shine'' album. Denise Fleming's 2016 picture book '' 5 Little D ...

" *"He's Got the Whole World" *"Big Beautiful Planet" *"I'm in the Mood" *"Something In My Shoe" *"

This Little Light of Mine "This Little Light of Mine" is a popular gospel song of unknown origin. It was often reported to be written for children in the 1920s by Harry Dixon Loes, but he never claimed credit for the original version of the song, and the Moody Bible Inst ...

=''Raffi's Christmas Album'' (1983)

= *"Must Be Santa" *"Douglas Mountain" *"Every Little Wish"

=''One Light, One Sun'' (1985)

= *"Time to Sing" *"Apples and Bananas" *"Fais Dodo" *"Riding in an Airplane" *"Like Me and You" *"The Bowling Song" *"Tingalayo" *"De Colores" *"One Light, One Sun" *"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"

=''Everything Grows'' (1987)

= *"Everything Grows" *"Bathtime" *"Just Like the Sun" *"Haru Ga Kita" *"Teddy Bear Hug" *"Eight Piggies in a Row" *"Let's Make Some Noise"

=''Evergreen Everblue'' (1990)

= *"Evergreen Everblue" *"Big Beautiful Planet" *"Clean Rain"

Non-Album Singles

* ''On Hockey Days'' * ''Wave of Democracy'' * ''Song For Healing'' (featuring Lindsay Munroe) * ''For All You Do'' (featuring Lindsay Munroe and

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

) * ''Young People Marching'' (for Greta Thunberg)

Filmography

* ''A Young Children's Concert with Raffi'' (1984) * ''Raffi in Concert with the Rise and Shine Band'' (1988) * ''Raffi on Broadway'' (1993) * ''Raffi Renaissance'' (2007)

Bibliography

Adult

* ''The Life of a Children's Troubadour'' (2000) * ''Child Honouring: How to Turn this World Around'' (2006) * ''Lightweb Darkweb'' (2013)

Children

* ''Raffi Christmas Treasury'' (1988) * ''Shake My Sillies Out'' (1988) * ''Tingalayo'' (1988) * ''Rise and Shine'' (1995) * ''One Light, One Sun'' (1995) * ''Like Me and You'' (1996) * ''Spider on the Floor'' (1996) * ''Baby Beluga'' (1997) * ''This Little Light of Mine'' (1997) * ''Wheels on the Bus'' (1998) * ''Everything Grows'' (1998) * ''Down by the Bay'' (1999) * ''Five Little Ducks'' (1999)

References

External links

RaffiNews.com

Child Honouring
*
"A Day in the Life"
podcast about Raffi's career {{Authority control 1948 births Living people Egyptian people of Armenian descent Egyptian emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Armenian descent Canadian children's musicians Members of the Order of British Columbia Members of the Order of Canada Musicians from Toronto Juno Award for Children's Album of the Year winners 20th-century Canadian male singers Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian folk guitarists Canadian male guitarists Fingerstyle guitarists 20th-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian guitarists Shoreline Records artists A&M Records artists MCA Records artists Rounder Records artists Children's rights activists Canadian male singer-songwriters 21st-century Canadian male singers