Russell, Benjamin - Cool Kids

Tracks

Side 1

		Track Name	Length
	1	Cool Kids	02:28
	2	Gonna Do My Thing	02:47
	3	Silent Cheer	03:42
	4	Joshua	02:41
	5	Crazy For That Rock'n Roll	02:46
	6	Steppin' Out	01:35

Side 2

		Track Name	Length
	1	Michael Row the Boat Ashore	02:44
	2	Boffo	02:56
	3	Oh, Susanna	03:07
	4	Do Wop Dream	04:04
	5	No One Can Fool With The Fonz	02:29
	6	Kumbaya	02:07
	7	Alligator	01:10

Photos

Videos

Information/Write-up

Cool Kids is both a snapshot of its time and a heartfelt departure from it—an album born from grassroots community spirit, educational outreach, and one artist’s desire to make music that mattered. Never reissued in any format, it remains available only on original vinyl—and now streaming exclusively on CitizenFreak.com, offering a rare window into Benjamin Russell’s early 1980s work with children in Montréal’s inner city.

While his punk and folk sides were evolving, Russell built a successful business performing sing-along concerts in schools. He later became a part-time music teacher and decided to make a children’s album, cutting a deal with Studio Producson to trade recording time for a share of any future proceeds. The result is a musically rich and emotionally sincere project—not a commercial gimmick, but a love letter to education, creativity, and community.

Russell performs nearly every instrument on the album himself—acoustic and electric guitars, organ, bass synthesizer, harmonica, banjo, electronic drums, and even mouth trumpet. Co-written with his partner Elyce and one of her students, Brena Clark (on “Gotta Try Again”), Cool Kids blends public domain reimaginings with original tunes crafted from real-life classroom experiences.

At the heart of the album is The Sun Youth Singing Club, where Russell and Elyce volunteered for years, taking the bus downtown every Saturday loaded with synths, drum machines, and electric guitars to supplement donated gear. Children from the club sing on “Kumbaya” and “Gonna Do My Thing,” their joy and energy radiating through the tracks. The cover artwork, co-designed by 12-year-old Frank Vieira, reinforces the album’s community-made soul. Other club members, including Jose Sierra and Joe Pacheco, would later contribute to Russell’s future projects—Jose eventually recording an album produced by him.

Despite its heart and originality, Cool Kids was released at the worst possible time: in the middle of a recession. Sales of records slowed, Attic Records cycled through three distributors, and a broader marketing campaign—meant to include artists like the Irish Rovers—collapsed. The album disappeared with little notice, and Russell, wary of being boxed in as a “children’s artist” like Raffi, moved on.

But what remains is something rare: a true children’s record with depth, heart, and integrity. Cool Kids is more than a musical detour—it’s a testament to the power of art, education, and community working in harmony.
-Robert Williston

Benjamin Russell: acoustic six and twelve string guitars, electric guitar, organ, bass synthesizer, harmonica, electronic drums, banjo, synthesizer, mouth trumpet

Produced by Benjamin Russell
Recorded & mixed at Studio Producson, N.D.G., Montreal, Quebec
Engineered by J.C. Beaudoin

Package design by Extragrafix
Front cover illustration by Benjamin Russell & Frank Vieira (age 12)

Special thanks to THE SUN YOUTH SINGING CLUB, which helped Benjamin Russell sing “ Kumbaya” and “ Gonna Do My Thing”

All original songs and arrangements of public domain material copyright © Benjamin Russell & The Clear Blue Enterprise (Socan)

Comments