For a generation of Canadian 20-somethings, Fred Penner is children’s entertainment royalty. From 1985 to 1997, he was the gentle star of Fred Penner’s Place on CBC Television. At the start of every show he’d crawl through a hollow log to reach a magical place where you could learn all sorts of fun things; how plants grow, how fish swim, what stars are and why trees matter. And there was always music. Lots of it.
Who can forget "The Cat Came back," the song that put Penner on the map and made him part of camp fire sing-a-longs forever?
Then there are the two Junos, eight Juno nominations, the Order of Manitoba and the Order of Canada. Penner is still out there: working, singing, spreading that positivity. He performed at the 2015 CBC Music Festival and recently hosted the Polaris Prize gala.
On this episode of My Playlist, Penner shares the songs and the stories of why they mean the most to him.
On this episode of My Playlist, Penner shares the songs and the stories of why they mean the most to him.