The Barbers

Releasing its first recordings in 2000, the family group shares no connection to the barbers that hippie musicians of the 1960s dreaded being assigned. The Barber surname already carried musical associations through William C. Barber, the piano-tinkling swinger and founding member of surf combo Dick Dale & the Del Tones. His son Billy Barber later supplied a track with his main band Flim & the BB's that served as the theme for the soap opera All My Children, an achievement that might have funded a sizable house down payment were it not for typical music-business constraints.

The Barbers took shape in the late '90s as one of Billy Barber's numerous undertakings, which have continued to encompass film and television scoring plus studio sessions across new age, jazz, and folk. Two of his children round out the lineup: Julia Barber, who has sung in recording studios since age six, and Chris Barber, who at twelve already handled guitar, bass, and drums while writing material that he performs and engineers in his home studio. Kathy Mueller adds vocals and flute after contributing to assorted commercial jingles, among them a soothing sonata for soup, an oldies ordeal for orange juice, and a serious serenade for cereal. Billy Barber first ventured into children's music in the early '90s through multiple projects with the Music Workshop for Kids collective, among them his own composition "Family Playground."