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Santa Sings For You: The Magic of Memory-Making (and Not Paying Royalties)
29 Plays22 days ago
Welcome to Episode 22 of On the Ground Parenting! Hosts Sandy, Sam, and Kelly are joined by special guest Russ Clayton, a recently retired elementary school teacher, children's musician, and community theater performer known during the holiday season as Santa Sings For You!
Russ shares his unique journey from children's singer to kindergarten teacher, explaining how early musical performances shaped his career. The conversation highlights the profound impact simple songs and joyful experiences have on children's development and long-lasting memories.
Russ opens up about the two women who most inspired his music: his kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Crawford, who melted away anxiety on the very first day , and his Aunt Beatrice, who took five or six "wacky cousins" to a cottage for six weeks every summer, knowing she was gifting them memories that would last a lifetime.
The hosts discuss Russ's current role as Santa Sings For You complete with a six-month beard growth, and his work on TikTok, where he connects with thousands of followers, often hearing that he is "healing my childhood right now" for adults and teens. He emphasizes that the magic of Santa is making people feel seen, heard, and accepted.
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Transcript
Introduction and Call to Action
00:00:00
Speaker
On the Ground Parenting is a project of Muskoka Family Focus, a registered Canadian charity. They rely on your support to keep this show going and to continue their work helping families.
00:00:10
Speaker
To show your support and to make a donation, please visit tinyurl.com forward slash OGPDonate. Your support is greatly appreciated. Music
00:00:46
Speaker
Welcome back to On the Ground Parenting.
Meet the Hosts and Guest
00:00:48
Speaker
My name is Sandy and I'm here with Sam and Kelly and a special guest, Russ. Hi, Russ. Welcome. Welcome to our podcast. We are staff from Muskoka Family Focus and that little blue house in the town of Bracebridge. And we offer parent ed workshops all over Muskoka as well as online.
Russ's Teaching and Musical Journey
00:01:10
Speaker
And a special guest, Russ.
00:01:13
Speaker
So Russ Well, after 27 years of teaching, he's just recently retired. An elementary school teacher who half of his career, he was a kindergarten teacher.
00:01:27
Speaker
And the other half offering arts prep from kindergarten all the way to grade eight. And I first met Russ while you were teaching, but you came in as a children's singer. So it was wonderful. Those days were fun.
00:01:43
Speaker
Those days were fun yeah and even more, yeah many more years, well, not many more years, but a few years um more than your teaching career. You have been offering music to children. Yes, I actually started doing children's music before I even became a teacher. I think that's one of the reasons that I got into Teachers College and decided to go the route of kindergarten because I had already had experiences playing music for preschool-aged children, anywhere from zero to to four.
00:02:15
Speaker
And it's quite amazing because when I started my library programs, I never thought I'd be playing for zero-year-olds. But parents just want to expose their kids to music at that age, so they end up bringing them in. in that And then I, of course, had to change my shtick a little bit and start doing some hand rhymes and and things that parents could do with their children sitting on their laps. Yeah. It was a good experience for me. I didn't have children of my own at that time when I started that early childhood music program. So I kind of had to to learn how to change my show on the fly. Well, it was amazing. The first time I saw you perform, it was at an event that we had here in Muskoka. And yes, you brought a lot of praise.
00:03:02
Speaker
crops You were engaging both the children and the parents, the caregivers. um It was for a family literacy event. And i was just so thrilled with how you were engaging with
Navigating Music Production
00:03:14
Speaker
the children. And you've also written and produced your own CDs, six of them, right? That is correct, yes. Yeah, the first one just was all my own written songs because I I didn't I hadn't learned to navigate the whole royalty thing and doing other people's songs in the beginning. So my very first CD, I thought I'm going to play it safe and just everything on there is going to be songs that I've written on my own. And that way I won't get in any trouble.
00:03:41
Speaker
with ah royalties or playing other people's songs. So that's how I started doing my own. And then as I got through the other CDs, I started learning, oh, you can you can do public domain songs, you can do traditional songs, and not to have to pay anything for them. And you can even like add your own verses to them. and make them your your own and and still not have to pay for them. So I learned all that kind of stuff about the music business as I went along. Yes. And I'm not sure if you remember, Sam, I know that you were at some of the events earlier where um you probably heard and met Russ.
00:04:13
Speaker
So my grandsons, who are now 18 and 16, they were little guys. And actually, your own children were quite young at the time when ah you brought them to one of the events. but So my grandsons were thrilled with that whole cleaning up and shoving everything in the closet song and how it all came crashing out. And you really embraced what it was like to be a kid and cleaning up, as well as the relationships that you have with people like kids. You've got one about a teacher, one about, um I think maybe an aunt as well.
00:04:47
Speaker
Yeah, those are on the Sing and Play with Russ albums. ah Two females that meant a lot in my life. One was my own kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Crawford. Funny enough, I got to tell her that I wrote a song about her before she passed away, but by the time the CD was ready, she had passed away. So at least I got to talk to her on the phone and tell her how much she meant to me and told her I was writing a song for her. And I was able to take the CD to her memorial service and present it to her family.
00:05:20
Speaker
So they were pleased to receive something that they didn't even know anything about. And since then, it's funny, i I've had other people say, oh, my gosh, I had Mrs. Crawford. in Richmond Hill too. So then I point them to my CD so they can go listen to the song about Mrs. Crawford. Because I just remember right off the bat, very first day of kindergarten, my mom always got a picture of us with our teacher. And she was just this happy lady who came out and kind of just all our anxiety kind of melted away within the the very first couple of hours that we were with Mrs. Crawford. So her And then the other female that I wrote about was my Aunt Beatrice, who I don't know how she did this, but every summer she would take all us cousins up to the cottage for six weeks. And it would just be her as the only adult with five or six cousins who were just wacky kids. Yeah. And she took us up there for six weeks every year for about 12 or 15 years of my childhood into into teenagehood. So she was another lady that even in her older age would often give me advice when I was going through university and stuff. And just a wonderful woman who who gave a lot. And it was her that taught me. um
00:06:35
Speaker
And my mother has said this about her too. My mother is still alive and talks about Ampey very often. But Ampey always said, The most important thing is that you're giving the kids the memories and those memories will stick with them forever. So it didn't matter that she was with a bunch of crazy kids every summer for six weeks. She knew that she was giving us something that we'd hold on to for the rest of our lives. So those are the two big females in my life that were on that CD.
The Impact of Music on Memories
00:07:01
Speaker
Yeah, thanks. And so many other wonderful songs, too. And I don't know if you can see, but behind Kelly is the instrument that she's ah currently studying and performing. So, Kelly, as a budding musician and as a mother, what's the significance with what Russ is doing, what he's offering? How important is that for you?
00:07:22
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I love the idea that we gather by song. I am not, you know, as you know, I'm still very much learning, but kids love to sing and whether we're singing around the campfire or singing to do chores. And I think Russ is right. It,
00:07:37
Speaker
creates memories that stick with you forever. And those songs can bring you right back. My husband's cub leaders taught him a bunch of songs. And those are the only songs to this day he still knows the words to. Otherwise, he has to read the words, but he can sing those nine-year-old cub songs word for word.
00:07:55
Speaker
Yeah. And what's it like for you learning a new instrument, Callie? It's one part, am I ever going to get this right? And really trying to cultivate some growth mindset. And it's another part, it's just so fun. it leaves me with a song in my heart and whistling things all day and singing them all day. And it's my moment of pure...
00:08:15
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Fun or pure joy in the week. And I think that that's what I get from Russ too, is when I've been involved at different events and hearing Russ, everyone's up moving and often singing along with it or chuckling away because there's some sort of a comical line in there.
00:08:31
Speaker
Sam, you happened to see Ross, right? So what's your experience that you've had with Ross as a children's performer, a children's entertainer? I just remember being so struck with how engrossed every single child was in the experience. They were just...
00:08:48
Speaker
Eating it up. They loved every second of it, which was very notable for me because it's unusual when you have a bunch of kiddos together that every single one of them is going to be completely attending to what is happening. But in those situations, that was definitely the case. It brought a lot of joy to my heart to see that.
00:09:05
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you so much. My head's getting big as we're talking. Well, it's just really wonderful like to have spent your whole career in and like center-based school and learning environment, as well as choosing to engage with children in your extracurricular time. And for me too, I know that we also had a special event at Beaver Creek Canada
Performances and Community Engagement
00:09:26
Speaker
Institution. So children who were coming to visit incarcerated family members and It brought a lot of joy to them. And, you know, we were normalizing the fact that we could come together as family members and sing and dance and have fun. I remember that experience. I tell other people about that experience. And when I was going into it, I didn't know ah what to expect because I knew that they were coming to meet their parent who was incarcerated. I certainly didn't want to be jumping in there and taking the moment away from them because they were all kind of picnicking
00:09:58
Speaker
around the area that I was playing. So at first I tried to just kind of be background music and then I would kind of get a little louder as I saw that they were they were okay with me being there. They were comfortable with me being there. So that was an amazing experience. Thank you. and there's more that you do that we want to talk about. We want to share with everyone. So tell us what else you do, Russ.
00:10:23
Speaker
you're You're not just a children's musician, children's entertainer. That's right. I do a lot of community theater one thing I do where we kind of dress up. My idol as a child was Mr. Dress Up. And so it's pretty easy for me being a kindergarten teacher and directing school plays and and doing community theater to just have my own little tickle trunk in the house here where I like to dress up. So my kind of alter ego every October, November, December is to become Santa Sings for You. And it's quite easily done. Far easier now that my wife
00:11:01
Speaker
is okay with me growing a beard from June to December. It used to be a little more difficult when I had to glue the beard and the mustache on, but there you go. So every October, November, December, I become Santa Sings for You. And when do you start to grow the beard, did you say? June 1st, I start to grow the beard. June 1st. So the kids see it coming in really scruffily for the last month of school. Then they see me in September again. It's like, oh my gosh, Mr. Clayton, you look 15 years older.
00:11:33
Speaker
I can pretty much get a senior discount wherever I want once the beard is on. Well, I want to say that the the facial hair certainly matches my recall of a child and the image of Santa.
00:11:45
Speaker
Like, it's just spot on. So, Santa sings for you. Tell us about that. Or give us a sample. I will. I'll just tell you, the first time I ever played Santa... I was like 17 years old and it was ah a music academy in town in in Newmarket where I lived.
00:12:02
Speaker
And her name was Rita, the the owner of the music store. And she's like, Russ, would you mind being a Santa for one of our concerts? And I'm like, sure. It's very magical. it doesn't matter if you're 17 year old putting on a Santa suit or or whether you're my age.
00:12:17
Speaker
people look at you like you're this magical character. And so I really loved that feeling that I had when I was 17 years old. Rita is still around, ah the the owner of that music. She afterwards bought a store in Bradford ah music store. And I went in and I said, Rita, do you remember me? Because I was that like 17 year old kid. I said, I play Santa now, but you gave me my first Santa gig all those years before. So that was really cool. So going from Russ, the children's singer to Santa, is not a big change, really.
00:12:49
Speaker
And I also have a band called Rec Room Elvis. So when I don't have the beard, I become Elvis as well. I have, a um and you know, there's not a big difference between Elvis and Santa. Everybody still wants to sit on your knee. yeah
00:13:04
Speaker
So I'll give you a little bit of ah a tune. We will stay traditional and so we don't get in trouble. We'll just do a song that we know is not because my favorite Christmas song of all is Silver and Gold, which was from The Rudolph Show.
00:13:19
Speaker
But we won't play that just because we don't know what the copyright is on that. But here's one we know is traditional. So I'll give you a little bit of Old Toy Trains, which Rafi does so wonderfully and magically on his Christmas album.
00:13:35
Speaker
Old toy trains, little toy tracks, little toy drums coming from a sack, carried by a man dressed in white and red, little boy, don't you think it's time you were in bed?
00:13:58
Speaker
All is calm, all is well. Soon you'll hear Chris Gringle and the jingle bells ringing. Ringing toy trains, little toy tracks, little toy drums coming from a sack.
00:14:12
Speaker
Carried by a man dressed in white and red. Little boy, don't you think it's time you were in bed? I love that song so much. I used to sing that to my children all the time.
00:14:28
Speaker
And it didn't matter what time of year it was, it would be the one that I could remember even when I was super duper frazzled and I was just singing, trying to get little people to settle down for the night or for a nap or just in general. So thank you for sharing that song with us. No problem.
00:14:44
Speaker
Mm-hmm. what happens with Santa Sings for You? What what do people do? It's been a few different things. Like I just do some photo shoots. i'm This weekend, I'm going to a dentist office in Alliston, and they just invite their clients to come in for three hours. So it's really just pictures with me. But I bring the guitar too, and I tuck it behind the chair where I am, because sometimes a little person will come in, and they're very, very shy, and or they're scared, and they're kind of standoffish. So I'll pull out the guitar and and I'll sing like jingle bells or something to break the ice as an icebreaker. And then they end up wandering over with their parents. Sometimes they have to have their parent there in the picture with them, which is totally fine with me, whatever is most comfortable for them. So it started out with me trying to do some professional things on the side. My biggest thing now, the thing I have the most fun with is TikTok.
Social Media and Virtual Adaptation
00:15:36
Speaker
I have a TikTok channel called Santa Sings For You. And my wife thinks I'm crazy because I go on there sometimes twice a day, especially now that I'm retired. I was on there two hours this afternoon. And on TikTok, people can gift you with monetary gifts. So my wife will laugh because I'll come off a two-hour song and she'll be like, how much did you make today? And I'm like, $2.22.
00:15:59
Speaker
Wow.
00:16:02
Speaker
So I don't do it for the money. But after two hours of singing, sometimes I'll have like 300 new followers after that two hours of singing. And that's the part that I love the most. I love that people are coming in there. and joining and it's amazing how many adults because i thought i'm going to be singing for a lot of children whose parents are cooking dinners and stuff as they're on tiktok but there are so many special needs people and just older people who are lonely and they tune in and they i get comments like santa like i get comments from teenagers and 20 year olds who say Santa, you're like healing my childhood right now. And that just makes you feel so good that year you're singing for people of all ages and they feel that way. It's a little bit like Mr. Dress Up. When he retired, he was able to go around to universities and colleges. and just talk to kids. And they'd they'd have them in the pub there at a university talking to children. And it's like, it's your whole childhood ah that that rises up again. So I guess some people who didn't have the happiest of childhoods, I love when those kinds of people discover me on TikTok, because then we can we can bring some happiness to them.
00:17:17
Speaker
So outside of that, the real Santa Sing for you when I came up with the concept, it was that I would go into people's houses and I would sing for half an hour And then we'd spend 15 minutes more taking pictures with the family that is there. So that was the original concept. It's like Russ coming to your house and doing a birthday party, except I'm dressed up as Santa. That was the original idea, but it's kind of branched off into all these other things, which make it so wonderful. Yes, I know that my youngest grandson has really appreciated his Santa Sings for You sessions that he's had.
00:17:51
Speaker
That was amazing that we could do that online. And that's kind of what happened is we were coming out of COVID, I was getting offers to come into people's homes as Santa Claus, or if they live in the East Coast. I've done a couple of families that were in Nova Scotia while I was in Ontario and we did it on a Zoom call.
00:18:06
Speaker
So it is really cool to go into somebody's living room. It's also nice on TikTok that sometimes I'll get people from like Australia, or New Zealand tuning in. And they'll tell me where they're from and I'm like, oh my gosh, that's like 16 hours difference. So here I am singing in the evening, but it's really like good morning to you. So it really brings the whole Santa being a worldly character into view.
00:18:29
Speaker
Well, ah so I'm just thinking about this whole connection
The Power of Music in Building Relationships
00:18:33
Speaker
with people. So obviously, well, it's about relationships and you value other people and you've got a very unique way of connecting with people through music and then through dressing up. And this character happens to be Santa. And really it's like it's almost magnetic, I think, how people respond to a relationship with Santa. yeah.
00:18:56
Speaker
You know, anything else that you want to offer about what you get out of this, like what you're giving, what you're getting? It just feels really good. That's what I'll say about it. I think I get as much out of it as they do. And for me, it's I've always been a kind of performer and to pretend you're somebody else, but yet have someone look at you like you are a real person is really special. And that's the magic of Santa is that kids really do think you're a real person and you're not just a guy dressed up in the suit. So.
00:19:26
Speaker
It's amazing on TikTok how many people I get the same question over and over. Are you the real? so Are you the real Santa? Are you the real Santa? And I just point up to my name up in the corner. So I am the real Santa sings for you. You will never see another Santa sings for you here on TikTok. So and then I have other people say, I don't believe in you. And I'm like, that is fine. I said, you don't have to believe in me if you're enjoying what you're seeing here then we invite you to stick around whether you believe in Santa Claus or not. If you're finding it entertaining that I'm singing Christmas songs for you, then stick around. You are welcome to stay. So you get all kinds of people who who end up just hanging out and having a good time with me. And that's what I've always enjoyed is being that person that brings a good time to people.
00:20:09
Speaker
Thank you. It's really quite inspirational. Thank you. And so when we wrap up our podcast, we often talk about, you know, what rose up from the ground for you, what's sort of inspirational or what's ah an aha moment. So I'm just going to go around. Sam, what happened for you? I think it's just a really great remember remember really great reminder as we're entering this season of busy times and holidays that it really is about the magic of giving and being there for other human beings. I think that's the really big piece of this. And anything we can do to help other humans feel seen, heard, and accepted is a benefit for everyone. So I just love that idea of being kind and being helpful to others. Kelly, what rose up for you?
00:20:57
Speaker
I really appreciated Russ's comment around creating memories. And I think there's so many beautiful ways, whether it's through music or dancing or fun, that we can gift our kids and the people that we live with, with good memories to remember and talk about years later. And Russ, how about for you? I'm happy that you invited me here and I'm always glad when I can talk about ah the people who inspired me in my life because I didn't get to be this way without other people giving to me. So the whole paying forward thing. So I'm just glad that when I can talk about my Aunt Bea or my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Crawford, and keep throwing their names up for other people to hear, I'm sure you all have people who have inspired you in that way. And so when I mentioned someone that probably triggers your your memories of someone else who made you the way that you are as well. So ah that's what it is for me.
Reflections and Inspirations
00:21:49
Speaker
It's about digging up those old memories and throwing them out there for other people to latch on to their own. Thank you. And for me, it certainly was the relationship piece that touched me is remembering back to that kindergarten teacher. The aunt that gathered all of the crazy cousins together and somehow did it. And also even Mr. Dress Up, because it's all about connecting with other human beings. And so it just it really touches my heart that that was inspiring you and that invitation to be Santa at 17 and how at such an impressionable age, you know, it sort of launched you into this whole way of being.
00:22:26
Speaker
ah Thanks so much. So Santa Sings for you. Remind everyone, it's TikTok. You can just search up Santa Sings for you on TikTok. If you're just interested in what I do as a children's entertainer, ah you can go on Facebook and just put Russ the Children's Singer and you'll find my Facebook page. Also, just to one more plug for Mr. Dress Up. About five years ago, I started a Facebook group for Mr. Dress Up called i Grew Up with Mr. Dress Up. Since then, his daughter has joined, his son has joined, a bunch of the puppeteers that were working on the show in the end have joined, and it's just become a really good place to celebrate what Mr. Dress Up was and everything. So if you want to check out I Grew Up With Mr. Dress Up on Facebook, I would appreciate that too. Thanks, Russ. I'm there. I've joined.
00:23:15
Speaker
I will be joining. yes Yes. So would you like to sing us out before we go and say our farewell? I don't know if you have a song you just want to sing us out to. Sure.
00:23:28
Speaker
Here's one you can sing with me. Who's got a beard that's long and white? Santa's got a beard that's long and white. Who comes around on a special night? Santa comes around on a special night.
00:23:39
Speaker
Special night, beard that's white. Must be Santa. Must be Santa. Must be Santa, Santa Claus.
00:23:51
Speaker
One more time.
00:24:01
Speaker
Woo! Well, happy holidays, merry season, happy Christmas, ah joy to all of you. Thanks for joining. Thank you so much, Russ. And Santa sings for you. it was a real thrill to have you here with us on this podcast. I was pleased to be here. Thank you.
00:24:21
Speaker
On the ground parenting podcast saying you later.
00:24:36
Speaker
On the Ground Parenting is a production of Muskoka Family Focus's parent education program. It is made possible by the generous donations of listeners like you. If you'd like to make a donation, sponsor an episode, or just ask a question of one of our hosts, go to linktr.ee forward slash on the ground parenting.
00:24:54
Speaker
On the Ground Parenting is produced and published by Red Juice Studios. To learn more, go to redjuicestudio.com. Thanks for listening.