Barney's Favorites, Volume 1 is the debut album of Barney.[1] It was released on August 31, 1993 on CD and cassette by SBK Records. The album features a compilation of songs from the first and second season of the TV show and was the first entry in the Barney's Favorites line.
In the same year as the album was released, it became the fastest-selling children's album ever released,[2] hitting double platinum within four months of the album commercially entering at number nine on the Billboard 200.[3][4] On April 13, 1996, the album peaked at number thirty-four on Billboard's Catalog albums.[5] On March 22, 1997, the album commercially went on to peak at number one on Billboard's Top Kid's Albums, the same date that Run, Jump, Skip and Sing peaked at number three on the same chart.[6]
On March 13, 1998, the album went triple platinum (selling over three million units), making it the most successful Barney album to date.[7]
The album received a nomination for Best Musical Album for Children at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards in 1994, in which the nomination would go to the album producer, Bob Singleton.[8]
Following the release of Barney's Favorites, Volume 1 a sequel was released the following year. In 1997 a Spanish equivalent, titled Las Canciones de Barney, was released, and a German equivalent, titled Barney's Lieblingslieder was released in 1998.
Critical reception[]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| allmusic | 4.5/5 stars |
At AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album four and a half stars out of five, saying that both volumes in Barney's Favorites are much like the television series is "cute and sweet". He stated that the album "provides hours of listening enjoyment for small children, although parents might find it a little tiring."[9]
Track listing[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Barney Theme Song" (Audio taken from season one) |
Stephen Bates Baltes • Philip Parker • Traditional | 0:54 | |
| 2. | "My Family's Just Right for Me" (Audio taken from "Home Sweet Homes") |
Parker | 2:18 | |
| 3. | "Peanut Butter" (Audio taken from "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy!") |
Traditional | 1:26 | |
| 4. | "The Ants Go Marching" (Audio taken from ""I Just Love Bugs"") |
Traditional | 2:24 | |
| 5. | "Apples and Bananas" (Audio taken from "Falling For Autumn!") |
Traditional | 1:44 | |
| 6. | "A Camping We Will Go" (Audio taken from "A Camping We Will Go!") |
Parker • Traditional | 0:49 | |
| 7. | "Sarasponda" (Audio also taken from "A Camping We Will Go!") |
Traditional | 0:44 | |
| 8. | "Clean Up" (Audio taken from "Grown-Ups For A Day!") |
Traditional | 0:31 | |
| 9. | "If All the Raindrops" (Audio taken from "The Exercise Circus!") |
Traditional | 1:23 | |
| 10. | "And the Green Grass Grows All Around" (Audio taken from "Our Earth, Our Home") |
Traditional | 2:23 | |
| 11. | "Sally the Camel" (Audio taken from "Going Places!") |
Traditional | 1:49 | |
| 12. | "BINGO" (Audio taken from "Be a Friend"; with additional vocals from Baby Bop) |
Traditional | 1:26 | |
| 13. | "Six Little Ducks" (Audio taken from "Down On Barney's Farm") |
Traditional | 1:19 | |
| 14. | "Do Your Ears Hang Low" (Audio taken from "Alphabet Soup!") |
Traditional | 1:13 | |
| 15. | "Looby Loo" (Audio taken from "May I Help You?") |
Traditional | 1:34 | |
| 16. | "Down on Grandpa's Farm" (Audio taken from "Grandparents are Grand") |
Traditional | 2:29 | |
| 17. | "The Stranger Song" (Audio taken from "Playing It Safe") |
Parker | 1:32 | |
| 18. | "Old Brass Wagon" (Audio taken from "Red, Blue and Circles Too!") |
Traditional | 1:07 | |
| 19. | "Hurry, Hurry, Drive the Firetruck" (Audio taken from "Going Places!") |
Traditional | 1:20 | |
| 20. | "There Are Seven Days" (Audio taken from "Happy Birthday, Barney!") |
Lawrence I. Haron | 0:56 | |
| 21. | "Alphabet Song" (Audio taken from "May I Help You?") |
Traditional | 1:03 | |
| 22. | "Mr. Knickerbocker" (Audio taken from "Be a Friend") |
Traditional | 1:13 | |
| 23. | "Kookaburra" (Audio taken from "A Camping We Will Go") |
Traditional | 1:15 | |
| 24. | "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (Audio taken from "Grandparents are Grand!") |
Traditional | 1:00 | |
| 25. | "Me and My Teddy" (Audio taken from "When I Grow Up...") |
Parker | 2:08 | |
| 26. | "The Sister Song" (Audio taken from "Everyone Is Special") |
Parker | 1:56 | |
| 27. | "I Love You" (Audio taken from season two) |
Lee Bernstein • Traditional | 2:03 | |
| Total length: | 40:23 | |||
Personnel[]
Credits for Barney's Favorites, Volume 1 adapted from AllMusic[10] and the CD pamphlet.
|
Managerial and creative
Vocals
Musicians
|
Production
Visuals and imagery
Technical
|
Booklet[]
.png "Barney's Favorites, Volume 1 (Spread 1).png (1.61 MB)")
.png "Barney's Favorites, Volume 1 (Spread 2).png (1.84 MB)")
.png "Barney's Favorites, Volume 1 (Spread 3).png (1.73 MB)")
.png "Barney's Favorites, Volume 1 (Spread 4).png (1.65 MB)")
.png "Barney's Favorites, Volume 1 (Spread 5).png (1.93 MB)")
.png "Barney's Favorites, Volume 1 (Spread 6).png (1.74 MB)")
.png "Barney's Favorites, Volume 1 (Spread 7).png (1.53 MB)")
_.png "Interior for Barney's Favorites Vol 1 (Back) .png (2.28 MB)")
Back cover[]
Charts[]
Promotional advertisement for the album.
| Chart (1993-1997) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Catalog albums | 34 |
| US Billboard Top Kid albums | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 | 9 |
| (UK) Woolworths | 1[11] |
Certifications[]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA) | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000 |
Release history[]
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | August 31, 1993 | Cassette • CD | SBK |
| United Kingdom & Ireland | 1st November, 1996 | Abbey Home Entertainment | |
| Australia & New Zealand | 1997 | Roadshow Entertainment | |
| Various | Summer 2018 | digital download | Universal |
Trivia[]
- This album went triple platinum on the same date its sequel went platinum.
- The National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) named it the best selling children's album of 1993-1994.
- In the New York office of EMI Records, the parent of SBK Records who distributed Barney's Favorites, Volume 1, friendly betting occurred in regard to who was going to pre-sell more physical albums, Barney's Favorites, Volume 1 or In Pieces by country music artist Garth Brooks, given that both albums were being released on the same day and were under EMI. While both albums pre-sold one million units (platinum), Brooks barely beat out Barney by a few thousand units.
See Also[]
- Barney's Greatest Hits: The Early Years - a compilation album that features songs from Barney's Favorites, Volume 1.
References[]
