Sharna Olfman, he co-edited an anthology, Child Honouring: How to Turn This World Around, which introduces Child Honouring as a philosophy for restoring communities and ecosystems. The Child Honouring ethic is described as a "vision, an organizing principle, and a way of life-a revolution in values that calls for a profound redesign of every sphere of society." His "Covenant for Honouring Children" outlines the principles of this philosophy. In the 21st century, Raffi has devoted himself to "Child Honouring," his vision for creating a humane and sustainable world by addressing the universal needs of children. In February 2016, Raffi released the song "Wave of Democracy" in support of American Senator Bernie Sanders run to be the Democratic nominee for US Presidency. Suzuki's recent Canadian tour to promote action on climate change. In 2007, Raffi wrote, recorded and produced the single "Cool It", a rockabilly "call to action" on global warming with Dr. He also promotes those causes through his books, academic lectures and as a speaker. Raffi's recent musical work focuses on social and environmental causes and appeals to the generation who grew up with his children's music ("Beluga Grads") to effect change in the world. Īs of 2017, Raffi continues to perform and appears occasionally across Canada and the United States. He released recording for a number of other artists, including Caitlin Hanford and Chris Whiteley. He is currently the president of Troubadour Music Inc., a triple-bottom-line company he founded to produce and promote his work. Raffi is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.
He moved to Saltspring Island near Victoria, British Columbia, in 2008. Īfter a seven-year gap in publishing, Raffi released an album, Let's Play, in 2002. In 1989, his album Raffi In Concert With The Rise And Shine Band was listed on the RPM Top 100 Albums chart. This led to him taking a hiatus from children's performing in the mid-1980s. He also wrote that early in his career, he found it difficult to perform for kids under 3 years old because their short attention span was distracting to him and to the rest of the audience. In his autobiography he notes that he turned down a very lucrative offer to perform a concert at Madison Square Garden because he thought the venue was too large for him to connect to children. Raffi preferred to play in small intimate settings. Raffi also incorporated many world music sounds into his records, including "Sambalele" (More Singable Songs, 1977) and "Anansi" (The Corner Grocery Store, 1979).
Early works included contributions from Toronto-area folk musicians, including Ken Whiteley, The Honolulu Heartbreakers, and Bruce Cockburn. Most of Raffi's children's albums include small, simple, folk instrumentations featuring Raffi's vocal and guitar work.
Some of Raffi's best-known children's songs are " Baby Beluga," " Bananaphone," "All I Really Need," and " Down by the Bay." His autobiography, The Life of a Children's Troubadour, documents the first part of his award-winning career. Once called "the most popular children's singer in the English-speaking world," he is well loved by many children born in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s for his popular children's songs. Despite his hesitations about singing for kids, he was an immediate success, and thus began his career entertaining children.Ĭareer Children's entertainer He returned to Toronto a few years later and was invited to sing for a Toronto public school. Raffi continued playing folk guitar in coffee houses in Toronto and Montréal before hitchhiking to Vancouver in 1972 to find "fame and fortune." He befriended Lacey, a folk guitarist from Oakville, Ontario, who helped Raffi improve his finger picking. In the early 1970s, Raffi frequented a Toronto guitar store near Yonge and Wellesley called Millwheel, where he met other developing Canadian musicians such as David Wilcox and John Lacey. His parents died within twelve hours of each other, his mother dying first of abdominal cancer. His younger sister is Ann Cavoukian, Ontario's former Information and Privacy Commissioner. His older brother, Onnig Cavoukian, known as Cavouk, is also a famous portrait photographer. His father, Arto Cavoukian, was a well-known portrait photographer with a studio on Bloor Street in Toronto. His mother named him after the Armenian novelist Raffi. In 1958 his family immigrated to Canada, eventually settling in Toronto, Ontario. Raffi was born in Cairo, Egypt to Armenian parents who fled Turkey during the Armenian genocide.
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