How does Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood get its catchy songs?

By Marah Eakin | April 27, 2020 | 7:30pm

TV Features Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

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Parents of toddlers most likely know at least one song from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. The quick little ditties are written to worm their way into children’s heads in an effort to teach about everything from hand-washing to taking care of a rabbit. Of course, parents often catch the aural shrapnel, to varying degrees of earworm-ish insanity.

The A.V. Club talked to the three creators of all of Daniel Tiger’s catchiest tunes. Collectively known as VooDoo Highway Music, Graeme Cornies, James Chapple, and Brian Pickett sat down in their home studios to tell us about how they have both adapted Fred Rogers’ original, “snappy new” melodies and created their own motifs, all in service of the youth of today.