The Wiggles

• Genre: Children's TV/Movies
• The Wiggles Website

About

They started out as a pub rock band in Australia in the 1980s, and two decades later the babes may have dried up, but the babies have come out in droves. Anthony Field and Jeff Fatt had enjoyed a few Top 40 hits as part of the Cockroaches in the 1980s, but when that gig dried up, Field enrolled in an early childhood education program. Recognizing the dearth of good children's music available at the time, Field enlisted Fatt and a few other musicians in the program to try their hand at making kids' music. Applying what they'd learned about childhood development to their songs and act proved a winning combination. ABC Records picked up their self-produced debut, and the act added a few animal characters to help them appeal to youngsters. But in truth, the Wiggles' appeal is not so academic: blazing through G-rated pop songs that borrow liberally from Lennon-McCartney, they have an immediate, visceral impact on toddlers and their older siblings.

- Sarah Bardeen