Raffi, the children's troubadour
He may not look like a rock star, but for a certain shorter fanbase, Raffi is just that. "I'm the lucky guy whose songs apparently delight children," he said.
He's been playing children's music for more than 40 years, has been nominated for three Grammy Awards; sold more than 15 million records, and has the generations of fans to prove it.
"I mean, this has just been amazing," said one woman. "We raised our kids on Raffi. And now we're raising our grandkids on Raffi. So we just love it."
Raffi told correspondent Serena Altschul, "The children are having all kinds of fun, but so are the adults now, 'cause they're remembering their own childhoods."
Raffi spends his downtime at his home in the beauty and seclusion of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. He first came in 2008. And you can find him every Saturday at the farmer's market, manning a table for his non-profit, the Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring, which advocates for putting children's needs first when tackling environmental and social problems.
Raffi meets a young fan at a local farmer's market in British Columbia. CBS News
But as much as children love Raffi, and vice versa, he decided not to have children of his own. "People are always surprised by this," said Altschul.
"Well, back then, when my wife and I talked about it, long time ago, we were always around kids (she was a kindergarten teacher and I was entertaining children), we just felt that we didn't need children of our own. And we decided to honor that feeling. It was just that simple."
"And you have children – they're just not biologically your children."
"Precisely."
And he can count Altschul's own daughter Vivian as one of them!
Raffi serenades Serena Altschul's daughter, Vivian. CBS News
For more info:
raffinews.com (Official site)Follow @Raffi_RC on Twitter and Facebook"Dog on the Floor" by Raffi (Rounder Records), available in CD (Amazon, Barnes & Noble), Digital Download (Google Play, iTunes) and Streaming (Spotify) formatsRaffi Foundation for Child HonouringFollow the foundation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
Story produced by Amol Mhatre.
