The First Barbie Album – Barbie Sings!
Barbie Sings Is the first Barbie album that was produced for the now-famous toy line. It was released in 1961 by Mattel. Although it seems commonplace today, at the time, creating a tie-in album for a toy was a fairly new concept. This was sold as a true old-fashioned album in the sense that each song is separate, one on each side of three records. Taking a look at each song provides a fascinating glimpse into the past.
Review:
The album opens with quiet and soothing music that sounds like the intro to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Barbie starts talking in a pleasant voice. She introduces herself and thanks you for inviting her into your home. Barbie talks about how she used to wonder what it would be like to go to her first dance, have a first date, wear her first formal, and have a whole wardrobe full of pretty clothes, and says that every girl (including the listener) wonders about these things too.
This viewpoint is pretty old-fashioned, but this record did come out in 1961 and definitely reflects that. You can also see just from this intro and the front of the album, which reads “6 terrific teenage tunes,” that Barbie is targeting a younger demographic by selling the appeal of being older. This advertising strategy markets older characters to younger kids. In theory, it trades relatability for the fantasy of growing up. Barbie is that kind of fantasy figure, as seen in the many types of occupations she has had over the years. It’s interesting to see that philosophy in use from the very start.
Click each record to play the song in another tab.
Sung By: Charlotte Austin and Bill Cunningham
The intro segment leads into Barbie and Ken singing “Nobody Taught Me.” A song about what it’s like growing up and how formal education doesn’t cover how to fall in love. Which sounds deeper than it really is. This song involves Barbie asking why nobody ever taught her how to fall in love, with the implication being that it’s not taught because people do that naturally.” Then one day I looked at you and snap.” I would much rather read too much into it and say that this song brings up a good point about how the school system doesn’t teach social interaction as part of its curriculum.
This song is actually just a load of fluff, but you can kind of get the sense that the subject is more interesting than the songwriter realized. There is a bit of innuendo at one point where Barbie and Ken sing, “I wonder why they skipped this most interesting lesson?” I wonder that too, Barbie… Also, Barbie has a good singing voice.
Song 2 - Ken
Sung By: Charlotte Austin
Song one leads directly into song two. There is no voice acting between songs in this album. This song is fairly basic. Barbie used to think love was just mush until she met Ken. There is an odd bit where Barbie walks an imaginary, invisible Ken home before they start going out.
This is pretty much Barbie’s yet-to-be requited love song. Oh, and Barbie’s line “I’ve got a yen for Ken” Is an old slang term for a desire or yearning for someone, according to Dictionary.com.
Song 3 – Barbie
Sung By: Bill Cunningham
Ken sings a crooner song about how great Barbie is. Who knew Ken sounded like Dean Martin? This song has an emphasis on looks that isn’t entirely comfortable. You see, Barbie is “just his style”. He loves her in “frills, frocks, or blue jeans. Ponytail up or down. Even in blue jeans, she is the dreamiest doll in town.” I had no idea that blue jeans could be "undreamy". This song is Ken’s version of Barbie’s song about him. He doesn't know she loves him yet.
Dean Martin – Everybody Loves Somebody
Sung By: Charlotte Austin and Bill Cunningham
“Take one girl, add a dash of moonlight. Add one boy, add a pinch of June night.” Various elements from one magic night can be mixed together to make instant love. The song treats love like a recipe. It’s a clever gimmick to base a song around, even if instant love doesn’t sound like it would taste very good. Instant food was still a novelty in the 1960s, and this probably sounded very modern at the time. Good use of instruments as sound effects.
Sung By: Charlotte Austin
Barbie's favorite dream to dream is of her very first date. The song says she dreams it when the lights are off at night. Barbie is so innocent, though I can’t make a joke here. Not much to say about this one. She wants to spend most of her first date dancing.
Sung By: Charlotte Austin and Bill Cunningham
This track starts with the sound of someone dialing an old-fashioned rotary telephone. Like “Instant Love”, this song has a gimmick. Ken calls Barbie every morning, but he thinks Barbie is already on the phone. He is tired of the busy buzz (busy signal) he hears on the line.
Barbie is also getting the buzz, and by the end of the song, Ken figures out that they are calling each other. Now they don’t have to be jealous that the other is always talking to someone else on the phone. It’s a cute, odd song, and my personal favorite one from this album, but I tend to like catchy earworms. It doesn’t hurt that the song also reminds me of Judy Garland's “Trolley Song”.
“Trolley Song”
This recording ends without a farewell. Barbie was invited in at the beginning, but then she just gets up and leaves. How rude! Still, this is a surprisingly good tie-in album with some decent big band jazz music. The songs contain outdated concepts, but the album as a whole was well produced, which shows that Mattel actually cared about the quality of the brand.
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