Raffi

Template:Infobox musical artist Raffi Cavoukian Template:Post-nominals (Template:Langx, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is an Armenian-Canadian singer-lyricist and author born in Egypt best known for his children's music. In 1992, The Washington Post called him "the most popular children's singer in the English-speaking world".<ref name="WashPost">Lei, Richard, The Washington Post, "Raffi's Growing Pains." May 31, 1992. Retrieved on May 23, 2019.</ref> He developed his career as a "global troubadour" to become a music producer, author, entrepreneur, and founder of the Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring, an initiative focused on promoting children's rights and well-being. He has also been involved in advocacy for environmental and social causes, often addressing issues like commercial exploitation of children and climate change through his music and public appearances.

Early life

Raffi was born in Cairo, Egypt, to Armenian Christian parents who fled Turkey during the Armenian genocide.<ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His mother Lucie Cavoukian named him after the Armenian novelist Raffi. He was exposed to music at a young age, as his mother sang to him and his father sang and played accordion.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In a 2024 interview, he noted that "In my early childhood, growing up in a fairly authoritarian family, my parents loved me greatly. But it was at times a coercive love, not exactly a respectful love".<ref name=":0" /> The family left Egypt in 1952, living in Jerusalem and Syria<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Pogrebin2002" /> before immigrating to Canada in 1958, eventually settling in Toronto, Ontario.

His father, Arto (Artin) Cavoukian, was a well-known portrait photographer with a studio on Bloor Street in Toronto. His older brother, Onnig Cavoukian, 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.<ref name="Pogrebin2002">Template:Cite news</ref> He visited Soviet Armenia once in 1972.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

Children's entertainer

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, who helped Raffi improve his finger picking. Raffi continued playing folk guitar in coffee houses in Toronto and Montréal before hitchhiking to Vancouver in 1972 to find "fame and fortune."

His first performance for children was in 1974, at a nursery school run by his mother-in-law.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His first album, Singable Songs for the Very Young, was produced in his friend's basement and released in 1976.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite news</ref> The album was influenced by three educators, including his then-wife.<ref name=":5" />

Most of Raffi's children's albums include small, simple, folk instrumentations featuring Raffi's vocal and guitar work. Early works included contributions from Toronto-area folk musicians, including Ken Whiteley, The Honolulu Heartbreakers, and Bruce Cockburn. Raffi also incorporated many world music sounds into his records, including "Sambalele" (More Singable Songs, 1977) and "Anansi" (The Corner Grocery Store, 1979). Some of Raffi's best-known children's songs are "Bananaphone",<ref name=":2" /> "All I Really Need", and "Down by the Bay".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1979, he wrote "Baby Beluga", possibly his most famous song, after meeting a beluga whale named Kavna at the Vancouver Aquarium.<ref name=":2" />

In 1989, his album Raffi In Concert With The Rise And Shine Band was listed on the RPM Top 100 Albums chart.<ref>"RPM Top 100 Albums". RPM Magazine Volume 50, No. 24 October 14, 1989.</ref> He took a break from music from 1989 to 1990.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite journal</ref>

In 1999, he released his autobiography, The Life of a Children’s Troubadour.<ref name=":2" />

After a seven-year gap in publishing, Raffi released an album, Let's Play, in 2002.<ref name=Pogrebin2002 /> Between 2003 and 2013, he took a hiatus from touring.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He is currently the president of Troubadour Music Inc., a triple-bottom-line company he founded to produce and promote his work. He released recordings for a number of other artists, including Caitlin Hanford and Chris Whiteley.<ref name="Inc.1981">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

As of 2017, Raffi continues to perform and appears occasionally across Canada and the United States. His most recent album is "Penny Penguin", a collaboration album with Canadian trio The Good Lovelies which was released in 2024.

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.

Raffi has been involved with environmental advocacy since 1989, releasing a music album for adults about climate change, Evergreen, Everblue, the following year.<ref name=":2" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2004, he released "Salaam Shalom," a song calling for the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.<ref name=":1" />

In 2007, Raffi wrote, recorded and produced the single "Cool It", a rockabilly "call to action" on global warming with Dr. David Suzuki 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 run to be the Democratic nominee for US Presidency.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt23T2hAkZQ</ref> In September 2019 he released song "Young People Marching", which was written for Greta Thunberg.<ref name=":2" />

In August 2020, Raffi released a song titled "For All You Do," featuring Lindsay Munroe and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The song honoured frontline and essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Proceeds from downloads and streams were donated to Direct Relief to support healthcare workers globally.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Raffi is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Child Honouring

In 1997, Raffi developed the idea of "Child Honouring," which he described in 2021 as "a vision of an extraordinary social-change revolution with the universal human at its heart, and that universal human is the human child".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2006, he described 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."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His "Covenant for Honouring Children" outlines the principles of this philosophy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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, Fritjof Capra, David Korten, Riane Eisler, Mary Gordon, Graça Machel, Joel Bakan, Matthew Fox, Barbara Kingsolver, Jean-Daniel Ó Donncada, and others. The book's foreword is by the 14th Dalai Lama. The musical album Resisto Dancing: Songs of Compassionate Revolution was released as a tie-in for the book.

In a 2006 speech, Iona Campagnolo, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, referred to Child Honouring as a "vast change in the human paradigm."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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, urging them to stop marketing cell phones to children.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref>

Raffi has been hailed for his work as "Canada's all time children's champion".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In October 2006, Raffi was presented with the Fred Rogers 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, 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.Template:Citation needed

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

In 1975, Raffi married Deborah Pike, a kindergarten teacher and high school classmate; they divorced in 1991.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="WashPost"/> He became a vegetarian in 1980.<ref name=":6" />

He owned a home on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia from 2008<ref name=":4" /> until 2024, when he put the property on the market.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He has been an outspoken critic of American President Donald Trump, especially regarding the effects of his policies on children and youth.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Awards and memberships

• Order of Canada (1983)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Order of British Columbia (2001)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Doctor of Music, from the University of Victoria (honorary degree)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Doctor of Letters, from the University of British Columbia (honorary degree)<ref>[1] Template:Webarchive</ref>
• Doctor of Letters, from Wilfrid Laurier University (honorary degree)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Fred Rogers Integrity Award (2006)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Special Achievement Award at the SOCAN Awards in Toronto in 2000.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• 2010 Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award Winner.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Honorary Doctorate of Letters, Vancouver Island University (2014)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Works

Discography

Studio albums

• Good Luck Boy (1975)
• Singable Songs for the Very Young (1976)
• Adult Entertainment (1977)
• More Singable Songs (1977)
• The Corner Grocery Store (1979)
• Baby Beluga (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 (1990)
• Raffi on Broadway (1993)
• Bananaphone (1994)
• Raffi Radio (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)<ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Owl Singalong (2016)
• Dog on the Floor (2018)
• Nursery Rhymes For Kinder Times (with Lindsay Munroe) (2022)
• Penny Penguin (with The Good Lovelies) (2024)<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />

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"
• "Daniel"
• "Five Little Ducks"
• "He's Got the Whole World"
• "Big Beautiful Planet"
• "I'm in the Mood"
• "Something In My Shoe"
• "This Little Light of Mine"

Raffi's Christmas Album (1983)

• "Must Be Santa"
• "Douglas Mountain"
• "Every Little Wish"
• "Old Toy Trains"

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)
• 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)
• Ferngully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
• Raffi on Broadway (1993)
• Raffi Renaissance (2007)

Bibliography

Adult

• The Life of a Children's Troubadour (2000)
• Template:Cite book
• Lightweb Darkweb (2013)<ref name=":0" />

Children

• Template:Cite book
• Raffi Christmas Treasury (1988)
• Template:Cite book
• Shake My Sillies Out (1988)
• Tingalayo (1988)
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Rise and Shine (1995)
• One Light, One Sun (1995)
• Like Me and You (1996)
• Spider on the Floor (1996)
• This Little Light of Mine (1997)
• Wheels on the Bus (1998)
• Five Little Ducks (1999)
• Template:Cite book

Further reading

• Campagnola, Iona. "Campagnola says Child Honouring is a vast change in the human paradigm", "Child Honoring Luncheon" 2006-07-29. Retrieved on 14 March 2007.
• Cavoukian, Raffi. "Raffi's open letter to Ted Rogers asking not to market mobile phones to children", "Commercial Alert", 2005-08-30. Retrieved on 14 March 2007.
• Adilman, Sid, Toronto Star, "Coming of Age Canada's boom in recordings for kids has peaked. But shift is on to videos and CD-Roms", 10 March 1996
• Leiby, Richard, The Washington Post, "Raffi's Growing Pains", 31 May 1992.
• Appears as a parody, named Roofi, in the 2004 The Simpsons episode "Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays" (eighth episode of the fifteenth season). Roofi, albeit voice only, also appears in the 2010 and 2015 episodes "Elementary School Musical" and "The Man Who Came to Be Dinner", respectively.

External links

• RaffiNews.com
• Child Honouring
• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 1070116

 | name/{{#if:{{#invoke:ustring|match|1=1070116|2=^nm}}
   | Template:Trim/
   | nm1070116/
   }}
 | {{#if: {{#property:P345}}
   | name/Template:First word/
   | find?q=%7B%7B%23if%3A+Raffi%0A++++++%7C+Raffi%0A++++++%7C+%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D%0A++++++%7D%7D&s=nm
   }}
 }}{{#if: 1070116  {{#property:P345}} | {{#switch: 
 | award | awards = awards Awards for | biography | bio = bio Biography for
 }}}} {{#if: Raffi
 | Raffi
 | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
 }}] at IMDb{{#if: 1070116{{#property:P345}}
 | Template:EditAtWikidata
 | Template:Main other

}}{{#switch:{{#invoke:string2|matchAny|^nm.........|^nm.......|nm|.........|source=1070116|plain=false}}

 | 1 | 3 =  Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning
 | 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning

}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}

• {{#if:Raffi (2)|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs|{{#if:Template:Wikidata|Template:Wikidata Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at DiscogsTemplate:EditAtWikidata|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs}}}}
• Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
• "A Day in the Life" podcast about Raffi's career