Justin Roberts is an American singer-songwriter of children's music. He performs with the Not Ready for Naptime Players. In 2010, his album ''Jungle Gym'' was nominated in the "Best Musical Album for Children" category for the

53rd Grammy Awards The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights pri ...

, ''Recess'' was nominated in the same Grammy category in 2013, for the

56th Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid compe ...

, and "Lemonade" was nominated in 2017 for the

60th Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongc ...

. Justin Roberts released a ''Greatest Hits'' album in August 2016, and his new album of acoustic original songs, featuring guest

Robbie Fulks Robert William "Robbie" Fulks (born March 25, 1963) is an American alternative country singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and long-time resident of Chicago, Illinois. He has released 15 albums over a career spanning more than 30 years. His 2016 r ...

, was released in October 2016.

History

Roberts was born in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. As a child, he sang in choruses and had an early love of music. Roberts attended

Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...

Gambier, Ohio Gambier ( ) is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,213 at the 2020 census. Gambier is the home of Kenyon College. History Gambier was laid out in 1824. The village was named after one of Kenyon College's early ...

, where he was a member of the Kokosingers, the college's male a cappella group. He formed the indie-folk band Pimentos For Gus with Mike Merz and Tracy Spuehler at Kenyon when he was a freshman in 1988. In 1992, the three members graduated from Kenyon and moved to Minneapolis, where they gained moderate popularity in the Minneapolis indie music scene of the 1990s. Roberts began a second job as a

Montessori The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

preschool teacher in 1992, and it was here where he learned his love of children's music. He wrote and performed his first children's songs for the preschool students. When Pimentos For Gus broke up in 1996, he moved to Chicago to attend graduate school, where he was a religious studies major. In December 1996, Roberts sent Liam Davis a tape of original children's songs as a Christmas present. He didn't think much of them, but Davis wanted to record them. In 1997, Roberts quit graduate school to instead focus on children's music and record his first album, ''Great Big Sun''. He graduated in 1992. He began his music career in the Minneapolis-based indie-rock band Pimentos for Gus, of which he was a founding member. Pimentos for Gus released three separate albums in the 1990s. Roberts decided to moonlight (during the day) as a

preschool teacher. It wasn't long before Roberts began writing and singing songs for a new generation of fans: his students. The kids immediately responded and inspired Roberts to record some of his new songs and send them out to a few friends for Christmas. One of the gift recipients was Liam Davis, a college pal and music producer, who suggested that they record the songs professionally. In 1997, Roberts released his first CD, ''Great Big Sun'', and the critics took note. Roberts' music was soon being compared to everyone from

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

and

Fountains of Wayne Fountains of Wayne is an American Rock music, rock band that formed in New York City in 1995. The band included founding members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter, and Brian Young (drummer), Brian Young. They released six album ...

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...

and

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave,Symphony Space Symphony Space, founded by Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller, is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theat ...

, DC's National Geographic Live, Los Angeles'

Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. It is operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world's wealthies ...

, Seattle's

Moore Theatre Moore Theatre is an 1,800-seat performing arts venue in Seattle, Washington, United States, located two blocks away from Pike Place Market at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Virginia Street. It opened in 1907 and is Seattle's oldest active theate ...

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

and Chicago's

Ravinia Festival Ravinia Festival is a primarily outdoor music venue in Highland Park, Illinois. It hosts a series of outdoor concerts and performances every summer from June to September in a wide variety of musical genres from classical to pop. The first orche ...

Discography

With Pimentos For Gus *''Musica Psycoustica'' (1993) *''The 17-Minute Workout EP'' (1995) *''East of Sweden'' (1996) As solo artist *''Bright Becomes Blue'' (1999) Children's albums *''Great Big Sun'' (1997) *''Yellow Bus'' (2001) *''Not Naptime'' (2003) *''Way Out'' (2004) *''Why Not Sea Monsters? Songs From The New Testament'' (2004) *''Why Not Sea Monsters? Songs From The Hebrew Scriptures'' (2006) *''Meltdown!'' (2006) *''Pop Fly'' (2008) *''Jungle Gym'' (2010) *''Lullaby'' (2012) *''Recess'' (2013) *''Greatest Hits'' (2016) *''Lemonade'' (2016) *''Wild Life'' (2020) *''Space Cadet'' (2022)

Awards and acknowledgements

Roberts is the winner of eight National Parenting Product Awards (NAPPA) and eight Parents' Choice Gold Awards. ''Not Naptime'' was included in the Parents' Choice list of the 25 best children's CDs of the past 25 years, and ''Jungle Gym'' was MetroKids' top children's CD of 2010. ''Meltdown'', ''Pop Fly'' and ''Jungle Gym'' were each chosen as the "Number One Children's CD of the Year" by Fids and Kamily, and Roberts' albums have been among Amazon's "Top 10 Children's CDs of the Year" four times. ''Meltdown'' was given as an example of the "Best Children's Music of the Past 30 Years" at Time Out NY Kids. ''Jungle Gym'' was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for best album for children in 2010; ''Recess'' was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for best album for children in 2013; ''Lemonade'' was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for best album for children in 2017.'' ''Wild Life'' was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Children's Music Album in 2021.

References

External links

Official website"An Interview With Songwriter Justin Roberts About His New Album, Pop Fly"
Newsvine, April 7, 2008.
"For the Children"
profile at Kenyon College website. *Allen, Susie (February 7, 2011)
"Divinity alum gets Grammy nomination"
University of Chicago. {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Justin Living people 21st-century American singers 20th-century American singers Musicians from Chicago American children's musicians Place of birth missing (living people) Kenyon College alumni University of Chicago alumni Year of birth missing (living people)

History

Discography

Awards and acknowledgements

References

Further reading

External links