Little did David know when he recorded this CD that it would win more and bigger awards than any other record he’s made. It has won one international and three national awards, including the Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media Award and First Place in the USA Songwriting Competition’s Children’s Music category.
Florida’s Folio Magazine called S.S. Bathtub CD “David LaMotte having the time of his life in the studio under the guise of making a children’s record.” That’s about right. The concept behind the project was to make an album of songs that would be as enjoyable for adults as for children. Most of the covers on the album were originally written for adult audiences, but David and Chris Rosser, who co-produced it, decided these songs would work pretty well for children as well.
There are only a few original songs on this record. The rest are songs that David grew up on or were included because they seemed just right for this collection. The production style isn’t as ‘bouncy’ as many kids’ records, due to David’s belief that kids have better taste in music than we generally give them credit for.
Download the musical score for S.S. Bathtub
A truly delightful mix of songs… Sail with LaMotte on his S.S. Bathtub. It’s one of those [recordings] that you’ll be happy your kids want to hear over and over.”
– Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media
There were two parts of this record that were recorded outside of the main studio. John McCutcheon’s hammer dulcimer parts were recorded at a studio in Virginia, and the pre-schoolers who sang back up on New Lullaby were captured with remote recording gear. To get their parts down Chris and David went on location to A Child’s Place, an Asheville, NC pre-school. Happily, most of the kids already knew the song because Sonia Brooks, a local children’s performer, had sung it with them many times on her regular visits. We did several takes, interspersed with a bit of playtime in the other room, and got some keeper tracks, which were later added to by some older kids who came to the studio for overdubs.
One other note, at the very end of the record you can hear the bathtub draining – in stereo. We recorded at Chris’ house, trying not to giggle and blow the recording. It’s great with headphones.
S.S. Bathtub is of course a delight. While LaMotte has himself written less than half the album’s dozen songs, he infuses them with the same casual cheerfulness that has become his trademark.”
– Rapid River Magazine, NC
