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For Immediate Release:
March 10, 2004

Contact:
Ann-Marie Nieves (anieves@giles.com)
Giles Communications
(914) 798-4114

BUENA VISTA RECORDS & HYLO PRODUCTIONS BUILD A WORLD OF HAPPINESS SET FOR RELEASE MARCH 9, 2004

—CD features tracks from Deborah Harry, Perry Farrell, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Magic Johnson and many more, celebrating the importance of music-making for children "one smile at a time!"—

Burbank, CA, March 10, 2004—Buena Vista Records is proud to announce the release of A World of Happiness, a compilation CD that picks up where the legendary 1970's soundtrack Free To Be You and Me left off. The collection consists of sixteen original recordings performed by some of today's most highly renowned celebrities including Deborah Harry, Perry Farrell, Gary Oldman, Bradley Whitford, Jane Kaczmarek, Samuel L. Jackson, Magic Johnson, and more. The CD spans several genres of contemporary music united by sensitive yet powerful messages appealing to children and adults alike.

A World of Happiness fills the need for more sophisticated children's entertainment through stimulating music and poems that engage and enlighten the spirit of the child. The life lessons facing children as they begin their socialization are the same ones they will face throughout adulthood. Learning how to respond to others with kindness and respect is one of the most valuable attributes a young person can cultivate . . . and all it takes is a little encouragement. A World of Happiness combines friendly encouragement by well-loved celebrity personalities with positive messages and a compelling original score.

 

L to R: Joe Lamond, Representative Duke Cunningham (R-CA), Isaac Hayes, NAMM Chairman Paul Heid, and Tor Hyams celebrate the World of Happiness CD launch for music education on Capitol Hill.

 

L to R: Tor Hyams, actress, director and producer Rosanna Arquette, A World of Happiness co-writer David Scharff, Isaac Hayes, the Anne Beers Boy Choir, a VH1 Save the Music School, and Paul Heid help AMC celebrate the A World of Happiness CD launch on Capitol Hill.

     
 

L to R: Joe Lamond joins Isaac Hayes and members of the Truesdell Elementary School Band, a VH1 Save the Music School, on Capitol Hill.

 

L to R: Maria Kleinman, Walt Disney Records’ VP Media Relations, David Scharff, Walt Disney Records VP Marketing Damon Whiteside, Rosanna Arquette, Walt Disney Records’ VP Product Development Ted Kryczko, Tor Hyams, Isaac Hayes, and Dasha Smith, Walt Disney Records’ Director of Product Development at the A World of Happiness celebration.

The CD also supports recent studies, promoted by the American Music Conference (AMC), showing the important benefits that interaction with music and music-making has for young children. Along with the AMC and its national affiliates SupportMusic.com and MENC, the National Association for Music Education, Buena Vista Records and celebrities from the album joined forces on Capitol Hill during Music in Our Schools Month (March 2004) to help bring much-needed attention to the importance of music education for children - something that fewer and fewer of them are getting the opportunity to experience in school.

Press activities kicked off the week the CD was released with a Congressional Staff and kids party on the Hill on March 11th with participants from the album. All activities celebrated the theme "Making Music Makes A World of Happiness for Children." The press activities also kicked off a national "Making Music Makes A World of Happiness" songwriting contest for kids to enter with the chance to win instruments for their school and to have their song recorded by one of the album's music artists.

Track listing:

Producers: Tor Hyams & Vincenzo LoRusso

 

1. Introduction - Sydnie Leolani Hyams
2. A World of Happiness - Lou Rawls
3. In the Details - Lisa Loeb
4. Just Ask - Gary Oldman and Illeana Douglas
5. The Grumps - Isaac Hayes
6. Don'tcha Wanna Know? - Deborah Harry
7. The Jiggles - Bradley Whitford and Jane Kaczmarek
8. Tatum the Toad - Michael Wincott
9. The Patience Bossa - Perry Farrell and Deborah Harry
10. Knowa' the Cat - Samuel L. Jackson
11. What Could Be Better? - Annette O'Toole and Michael McKean
12. The Possibilities - Rosanna Arquette
13. Kassandra the Snake - Gretchen Parlato
14. Use Your Words - George Wendt and the Velvet Snazzletones
15. Little Me - Magic Johnson
16. The Same Ground - Tor Hyams
17. Syd & Lou Lullaby - Gary Oldman and Gretchen Parlato
18. A World of Happiness (reprise) - Lou Rawls and the Kids
19. Outro - Lilli Elias and Luke Shmuger

A World of Happiness will be available March 9, 2004 wherever music is sold for a suggested retail price of $18.98. All Walt Disney Records and Buena Vista Records audio products can also be ordered by visiting DisneyRecords.com.

Hylo Productions
HyLo Productions is a multimedia production company dedicated to creating entertainment products with redemptive value. Formed in 2001, effluent music producers Tor Hyams and Vincenzo LoRusso joined award-winning composer Jonathan Elias, spawning HyLo Productions; a company committed to disseminating messages of kindness and compassion through entertainment media. Their collective belief that entertainment can inspire individuals and provoke change in our communities is at the core of the HyLo philosophy. HyLo seeks to use its diverse talent to accomplish these goals.

About AMC
Founded in 1947, The American Music Conference (AMC) is a national non-profit educational association dedicated to promoting the importance of music, music-making and music education to the general public. For more information on the American Music Conference, go to www.amc-music.org.

About SupportMusic.com
SupportMusic.com is an easy-to-use resource offering information about how parents and community members can work to ensure that music is an integral part of a quality education for all children. The site focuses on reaching parents and teachers who are facing massive school music program cuts while providing the tools and information needed to take action on behalf of their children's education and future.

About MENC
The National Association for Music Education (www.menc.org), the world's largest arts education organization, is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. Nearly 100,000 members represent all levels of teaching from pre-school to graduate school. Since 1907, MENC has worked to ensure that every student has access to a well-balanced, comprehensive, and high-quality program of music instruction taught by qualified teachers. MENC's activities and resources have been largely responsible for the establishment of music education as a profession, for the promotion and guidance of music study as an integral part of the school curriculum, and for the development of the National Standards for Arts Education. For more information about MENC, visit www.menc.org or call 800-336-3768.