Award winning entertainer, Tom Chapin's album, Some Assembly Required, is a high-swinging, bursting-with-energy, good time for the whole family! Chapin's boisterous voice is accompanied by children and guest singers, including Vanessa Williams, Laurie Berkner, and Dan Zanes. Chapin's songs are all original and often have a Broadway feel to them, although they also have influences of folk, rock, and jazz. Instruments heard throughout the album include string guitar, piano, organ, synth, accordion, bass, kazoo, banjo, dobro, fiddle, mandolin, jaw harp, autoharp, drums, and whistles.

Tom Chapin's songs all have a full and rich quality to them. He is a fantastic singer with a strong voice capable of numerous impersonations. He uses a plethora of different instruments and singers, and has strong positive messages behind the songs. For example, I'm The Only Me and My Face are both about appreciating yourself for you are and what you look like, encouraging a positive self-image. The children singing along on the tracks also help the message hit home for young listeners. Brown Gold sends a great message about the wonders of composting and gardening. Walk the World Now, Children, with guest singer, Dan Zanes, also encourages environmental consciousness through lyrics like, "Breathe the air now children, treat it lovingly, and the world will last forever and a day." An entire children's choir even joins in for the final verse. Many of the songs are also about situations children can identify with and appreciate, like losing an article of clothing and having to answer to mom in Only One Shoe, feeling safe and sound at home in Home is the Welcoming Sound, or building something with dad in Some Assembly Required. Most of the songs are Broadway-esque in theatrical excitement, but there is one blessing on the album for overwhelmed parents, called Quiet Tim, with a calming tempo and lyrics to encourage listeners to wind down.

Many of the songs are filled with imagination-inspiring stories and humor the whole family can recognize and appreciate. How I Became a Clown is the tale about a first grader who ran away to the circus and became a clown; each verse adds more to the story, getting crazier and more imaginative, until the first grader ultimately ends up being a bookkeeping, bearded, lion-taming, sword-swallowing, acrobatic, clown! Planet Bruno takes listeners on a space adventure with a young boy who visits the planetarium with his grandma, ends falling asleep, and visiting Plant Bruno. The tiny voice singing many of the verses will help your little one imagine their way right into the adventure. Questions parodies the endless number and range of inquiries little ones are known for. The questions posed in this song range from humorous (What is the weirdest smell? What's with artichokes?), to questions your child will certainly ask as well (What makes the sky look blue? Why do I look like you?), and even big conceptual questions (Where do you go when you die? Why do we still have wars?). The end of the song stated, "if you care, that's what Google's for" and you may find yourself often referring to internet research to answer your child's endless questions. Inevitably, some of the questions in this song will spark an interest with your child, and they will look to you for answers - be ready!

My three-year-old friend, Sam, was dancing to this album before the first song was over. His favorite song was Puppy at the Pound since dogs are his favorite animal. Sam noticed that the song named many different breeds of dogs, so he asked me about the ones he hadn't heard of before. We looked them up on the internet together so he could see what they looked like. That was extremely entertaining for him, and we spent about half an hour doing that. Sam now wants a Great Dane...great.

--Audra

Tom Chapin is a Grammy Award-winning American musician, entertainer, singer-songwriter and storyteller. He has won the following awards: Parents' Choice Award in 1988 for Family Tree; Moonboat was named notable children's recording by the American Library Association in 1980; Harry Chapin Award for Contributions to Humanity and National Association for Campus Activities in 1990; Parents' Choice Award and New York Music Award for best children's album in 1991 for Mother Earth; and a Parents' Choice Award and New York Music Award for best children's album in 1992 for Billy the Squid.

He is best known for his children's music, but he also writes and performs for adults. Chapin's music borrows elements from a vast range of musical influences, from folk singer Pete Seeger to syncopated rhythms of Latin music, blues, country, and classical music.

Chapin graduated from State University of New York at Plattsburgh. From 1971-1976, he hosted a TV show called Make a Wish. He is the son of Jim Chapin and the brother of Harry Chapin. He has appeared in the Broadway production Pump Boys and Dinettes, among others. He is married to Bonnie Chapin; his daughters and stepdaughter are musicians as well (the Chapin Sisters).