CR 002: Renee Stahl on Making Music for Kids of All Ages

An interview with the singer-songwriter on working in the children's music realm, covering Led Zeppelin for little ones, and the healing nature of song circles.

Renee Stahl by Danielle Rubi

Although singer-songwriter Renee Stahl had already recorded and released two solo albums, she became widely known for her children’s music in 2007, when she and Jeremy Toback released their debut album, It’s a Big World, under the name Renee & Jeremy. A collection of lush, harmonic lullabies, It’s a Big World quickly became a hit with parents, who found that the kid-friendly tunes were just as enjoyable for adults.

In the years since, Renee & Jeremy have released four additional studio albums featuring a mix of original songs alongside folky, family-friendly covers of hits by the Pixies, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Guns N’ Roses, and Steve Miller Band, among others. In addition, Stahl has released two Renee & Friends albums, on which she collaborates with a notable array of talent, including Maya Rudolph, Lisa Loeb, and Men at Work’s Colin Hay.

All of this work has put her solidly in the children’s music genre, though she admits that the label isn’t quite right for the type of work she does. “I need another word to describe [our music],” she says. “We call it ‘indie folk’ now. We've never really fit into the children’s music category. We do make children's music, but music for children of all ages.”

Lately, Stahl has been busy with a wide variety of projects. In addition to serving as music supervisor on the Peter Dinklage comedy American Dreamer (directed by Stahl’s husband, Paul Dektor), she is studying Reiki, leading song circles, and writing and recording new singles. Her latest song, “Text Me When You Land,” was released earlier this week in memory of her mother, who passed away last year.

Writing the song was, she says, a crucial component to the grieving process. “My writing and my creativity is really how I heal,” she says. “I don't know how I could get through [my mother’s death] if I hadn't written a song and sang through it. It’s really a love letter to my mother and our relationship. I feel like I just need to do that as an artist, express myself with my songwriting. That feels healing for me.”

From her home in Santa Barbara, Stahl recently spoke with me over Zoom about the early days of Renee & Jeremy, her love for harmony, and how Jonatha Brooke inspires her work.

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SANDRA EBEJER: How did your music career begin? Were you musical as a child?

RENEE STAHL: I was very musical as a child. I was always singing with a hairbrush in the mirror. When I was seven, I joined this choir called the Singing Angels in Cleveland, Ohio, which is where I was raised. I started doing musical theater when I was about 10, and I started doing solos in high school with my glee club.

Were your parents musical?

They were very musical. Not like playing an instrument, but always interested in music and jazz. Yeah, both of them. Just big music fans.

The first Renee & Jeremy album saved me when my son was an infant and I was home on maternity leave and needed something to keep me from losing my mind.

I love that you said that because that feeling of being at home alone with your child, it’s such a lonely experience. It’s just you and this person that you’re supposed to take care of, and it can be crazy making because they can’t talk. I'm really happy that comforted you.

Your music is enjoyable for adults as well as children. I could easily listen to your songs on my own without my kid there and not feel as though I’m listening to children’s music. How did you launch this side of your career?

I was 35 weeks pregnant and was about to go to my solo show and I started spotting. I went to my midwife and I said I was going to my show. And she goes, “Oh, Renee. Not only are you not going to be able to do your show, but I’m going to put you on bed rest for two weeks.” That was like a prison sentence for me because I’m very active and I like to be busy. Jeremy came over while I was on bed rest and we wrote It’s a Big World. We didn't even have an intention. We just started writing songs, and we wrote songs that we would want to listen to. So I really wrote for my unborn child and the love of a parent to a child. Jeremy had a three-month-old, so we were both new parents. It was such a loving time for him to come sit next to the bed and write. And then two weeks before [my daughter] was born we recorded it in her nursery at my house in L.A. That’s how Renee & Jeremy started.

When it comes to doing covers, how do you pick the songs? I never would have imagined Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” for example, as a folky children’s tune, but you and Jeremy made it work.