Fred Penner

During his peak years Fred Penner ranked among the leading figures in family entertainment, appearing both as a widely admired vocalist and as the on-screen host of an extended television program. Born in Canada, he invented original tunes throughout childhood, then mastered the guitar on his own and sang regularly in school ensembles and stage presentations. His grasp of music’s healing potential developed while caring for a sister who had Down’s Syndrome; after finishing university he took positions assisting children with mental and physical disabilities. Throughout the 1970s he also performed with the humorous folk-rock ensemble Kornstalk, and in 1977 he and choreographer Odette Heyn—who later became his wife—founded a children’s dance theater troupe. Following one of their shows an audience member proposed funding a recording of Penner’s material, which became the debut album The Cat Came Back. In subsequent years he and the Cat’s Meow Band issued numerous family-oriented releases on his Oak Street imprint, including Polka Dot Pony, Happy Feet, and Ebeneezer Sneezer. He further presided over the CBC series Fred Penner’s Place and Sing Along with Fred. Serving as a national UNICEF ambassador, Penner received the Order of Canada in 1992, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and in 1995 the University of Winnipeg awarded him an honorary law degree in recognition of his work in children’s education. Although Fred Penner’s Place ended in 1997, he stayed active in the field, issuing the lullaby set Moonlight Express in 2001 and the singalong collection Sing with Fred in 2003. After nearly ten years composing for other children’s shows, he resurfaced in 2014 with the globally themed Where in the World, which earned the Juno Award for Children’s Album of the Year, as had the 1989 titles Fred Penner’s Place and Sing with Fred. On the 2017 album Hear the Music, Penner collaborated with Ron Sexsmith, Basia Bulat, the Good Lovelies, and longtime producer Ken Whiteley.