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Move over, Mickey and Minnie. The children's record market is growing up.
It wasn't all that long ago that the kiddie market consisted merely of sweetly chirped renditions of nursery rhymes and hits by such "manufactured" studio creations as the Chipmunks and the Archies.
Things are different now.
Some of pop's biggest selling acts-including Billy Joel, Huey Lewis and Bette Midler-will be featured on the sound track to "Oliver & Company," a new animated feature from Disney that is aimed at children. The album is due Friday on Walt Disney Records.
An even more diverse and surprising cast can be found on A & M's just-released "Free to Be . . . a Family" album, a sequel to a 1973 album ("Free to Be . . . You and Me") that sold more than 500,000 copies. The new LP features rock singer Pat Benatar, rap trio the Fat Boys, John Hiatt and South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Actress Marlo Thomas, who assembled both of the "Free to Be" albums, said one reason for the adventurous cast on the new LP is that children have become much more sophisticated.
"The music on this album is way more hip," she said. "The other one (featuring general show-biz personalities such as Carol Channing and Alan Alda) had more of a childlike, sing-songy feel. And we used a lot more comedy pieces this time, where before we had more fairy tales.
"Kids today are much more aware of what's happening in the world. When we did the TV special (also titled `Free to Be . . . a Family' and set to air Dec. 14 on ABC-TV), we were just amazed at what these 8- and 11-year-old kids thought was passe and what they thought was hot."
Equally important in the evolution of children's records, industry observers believe, is a...