A friend named Kevin sent this to me today. I find it to be terrifyingly funny. I think a small church named Saddleback may have done it with a little known minister named "Rick Warren." But if you made this video, please let me know, so that my applause can have a name, because it is very funny.
When I saw it, I laughed so hard I almost cried. Now my coworkers think I'm crazy.
ReplyDeletePsalty was at Saddleback for Their Worship conference!! He was there in person and you should have seen the reaction of all those closet psalty fans who are worship leaders. It was amazing, I love saddleback for bringing in Psalty!!!
ReplyDeleteI was telling my pastor's kids about Psalty the other day. They asked, "what's a song book?"
ReplyDeleteoh man! that was great. great memories of psalty (and painful ones when i had to play him :D)
ReplyDeletewe should bring him back. he can be like stallone re-doing all his old films. haha
So many memories... loved the Charity Churchmouse reference. It immediately made me think of scene with the church mice talking about there favorite cheese and Charity says she likes, "Cheerfully-challenging-cherry-chive-chocolate-cheese-chutney!" I don't know whether to hide my head in shame that I still remember that scene or let my freak-flag fly... I'm opting for the later.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like something they might have showed just before bringing Psalty out. Mostly cause of the stuff at the very end.. I can just see the crowd cheering at the end of the video and the lights come on as Psalty runs on stage, and busts out with "In the name of love". So moving.. think I might cry... *sniff*
ReplyDeleteMella dp... you've got to be kidding! I didn't think we were that old yet.
ReplyDeleteThis was super funny... did he do the "have patience, have patience, don't be in such a hurry" song?
That was in my head after this anyway.
i wanna see Psalty!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIn February, I was sitting around a table with some folks from Saddleback (including Psalty and Charity Churchmouse in their human form) and we were all laughing and joking about how funny a "Behind The Music" about Psalty would be. Apparently, that's where the idea germinated. And yeah, after they played this video last week at the Saddleback worship conference, Psalty came out and led the folks in a song. Wish I could have been there!!!
ReplyDeleteThat is great! My kids wondered what was so funny when I was watching this...I need to pass on this little bit of Christian pop culture heritage to them now. Once upon a time...before there were singing tomatoes and cucumbers, a giant singing songbook existed...
ReplyDeleteIf I could have a dinner party, and invite anyone - living or dead - I would make sure to save a seat for the person that made that video.
ReplyDelete"I'm gonna wa, wa, wa, sing la, la, shout AND clap my hands".... had to pull out the tapes after reading this. My two year needs to be exposed!!
ReplyDeletethe video is down now :(
ReplyDeletegabe -
ReplyDeleteI am able to see it on my machine.
Is anyone else having any problems?
Jon
I actually got chills around the 3:42 mark when I learned about Psalty's comeback. I'm so embarrassed.
ReplyDeleteMoving on... I'll always remember the man at church who volunteered to be Psalty in the kids' program. If I recall, he's still single (20 years later) and I wonder if it has something to do with painting his face blue and spending Saturday & Sunday evenings in a large book costume.
"Come in to the workshop...come in to the workshop...come into Psalty's worship workshop...we'll praise the Lord!!"
ReplyDeleteWay to go, Psalty. I've never stopped being a fan.
I hate to be a fly in the psalty ointment, but grown men in foam costumes with blue faces just freak me out. I know, it's "for the children", but still. Just to clarify, I also do not like clowns, mimes, chuck e. cheese, Joel Olsteen, french/canadian circus performers and blue man group. All incredibly annoying in their own ways. There. I feel better now.
ReplyDeleteHad to lol when it said “who was one of the most beloved characters of all time, who would take Christian entertainment from CORNY beginnings to a whole new level of sophistication…
ReplyDeleteIt's telling me that the video has been removed. :( I want to see Psalty!
ReplyDeleteWhenever the kids' choir (of which my mom was the director) did a Psalty musical, my dad dressed up as Psalty, with blue tights, blue face paint, white gloves, and all. We even had a little Psalty costume for the Hymnological Adventure Through Time.
However, I don't think we ever did a full musical with Psaltina, Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm. I was always disappointed; I wanted to be Melody or Harmony.
its working now, dont know what that deal was before. i was thinking psalty hacked the internet and took it down.
ReplyDeleteThat's great. Our youth choir did a musical with Psalty once only we didn't have the costume. Our hero was portrayed by a guy wearing kakhis and a white shirt. Cause white shirt=holiness, you know.
ReplyDeleteNever mind; I refreshed the page and tried again, and it worked the second time.
ReplyDeletemistymorningmountain..........
ReplyDeleteyour comment is as good as the video!!
we did a Psalty musical when I was in 2nd grade and had a Psalty Christmas RECORD!!! - I just asked a couple staff members at my church, one being the lead pastor and none of them knew Psalty. What a shame!!! - Hilarious about the "what is a song book"
ReplyDeleteI was laughing so hard, tears were coming... This was awesome!!!
ReplyDeletei love the cynical little kid "why should i shell out my hard earned cash when i can just see it on youtube?" classic.
ReplyDeletepsalty's wife is actually on staff at saddleback
ReplyDeletejustmarian: I think "Have patience, have patience - don't be in such a hurry..." was The Music Machine. That was SO much fun -- this crazy machine singing and tooting all the songs about the fruit of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience etc
ReplyDeleteYep... this was the opener to the 2008 Saddleback Worship Conference and Festival. And I was there touching my finger to my nose and then touching my toes with the rest of them there.
ReplyDeleteSO FUNNY! I was definitely in a Psalty musical back in middle school! And I have Psalty tapes! This video made me laugh a lot!
ReplyDeletemy kids grew up on Psalty!!! We had books, tapes, videos.......how exciting that he's still around!
ReplyDeleteI must confess, I was nauseated by Psalty from the moment I saw "him" when he first appeared to traumatize kids everywhere.
ReplyDeleteWhen our first baby came along, we swore as parents to NEVER play kiddie music of any kind to our kids. Since then, our kids have all been raised on Micheal W Smith, Stephen Curtis Chapman, the truy great Rich Mullins, U2, POD and on it goes.
I mean, Psalty is fine for you, but I prefer genuine Christians with authentic, well played non-pukable music.
And where is Evie these days anyway?
My mom was watching behind my shoulder and said, "Psalty won a grammy?!?"
ReplyDeleteHey JustMarian, I know the Have Patience song from the Agape Land tapes. Maybe Bullfrogs & Butterflies? Not sure who else has done it over the years though.
"Good morning good morning good morning, it's time to rise & shine. Good morning good morning good morning I hope you're feeling fine. Come on get up get out of bed, you've gotta get up you sleepyhead, the day is dawning just for you, and all your dreams are coming true; doodly-doo doodly-doo, doodly-doo..."
mistymorningmountain, I agree with you 100%. In fact I think Joel Osteen might actually BE a French Canadian mime for the circus.
ReplyDeleteThe Blue Men are a morphed version of Psalty. I think it's important to note that.
ReplyDeleteOK, that was hilarious. I never experienced Psalty as a child, but my 3 kids saw what I was watching and were all, "Hey! It's Psalty!" and "Look! Charity Churchmouse!" My bust-a-gut moment was the "Guys & Dolls" clip. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteso psalty has a myspace page, just in case you wanted to add one of the songs to your profile. also, the be patient song is totally from the agape land records (that's right, i said records cause that's what i heard it on) its on the music machine, disc two if you have the cd set.
ReplyDeletewhenever i go hiking or camping, i have psalty's camping adventure songs stuck in my head the whole way there. "we're going camping now, we're on our way.."
wow, i totally remember psalty haha. my mom bought my brother and I psalty cassette tapes. too funny!
ReplyDeleteHa ha loved it! Funny that we need to tell our kids about Psalty- but first most of us would need to tell them what a Song Book is! Ahhh- that would make a good post: remember when we sang hymns out of hymnals instead of off the big screen up front, remember when we used to have the big wood board that hung on the side wall that showed attendance and hymn numbers, remember when.... ha ha ha!
ReplyDeleteI think Psalty is a sell-out!
ReplyDeleteoh my word. i'm so glad to see that this dancing singing song book was not part of my imagination! i saw him once at my cousin's church while growing up, but no one i know remembers him... sigh, its nice to know i'm not crazy!
ReplyDeleteIs it just my imagination, or does the *real* Psalty have a beard in the video?
ReplyDeleteThat's just creepy. Blue facial hair.
**shudders**
Speaking of funny spoof videos and Christianizing secular things, if you have never seen Baby Got Book, you HAVE to watch this one...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTYr3JuueF4
I haven't read everything on this site so forgive me if this has already been mentioned :P Another fun Saddleback conference video and one of my personal favorites is "Filled With the Spirit"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nseKxA89qs
The treble clef on the side of Psalty is backwards. How dare they! :-)
ReplyDeleteMy sister (who knew every word from every Psalty song and play) bought 2 Psalty CD's for my 4 yr old daughter this last Christmas. She LOVES them. I'm surprised how many of the words I remembered 20+yrs after last listening to them!!
ReplyDeleteDude! When they did that pan over the old-school Psalty merchandise, I nearly yelled, "I had that Psalty PLATE!" Huzzah! I thought Charity Churchmouse had the loveliest voice in the entire universe. Maybe Psalty should get together with the Blue Man Group! They could bang on his "back"! It would be the ultimate awesomeness.
ReplyDeleteWe still watch Psalty in our house, we have all the old VHS tapes LOL We also still love Donut Man : ) When my two oldest were little, this is how I got to take a shower. Stick in the tape and I had almost an hour!
ReplyDeletewhen i was younger i used to listen to my yello cassette tape where psalty sang "its time for sleepy time its time to rest your head and snuggle up and get cozy in your bed to dream of happy thoughts of how much God loves you cause your his special child dream on." and im pretty sure it was all in one breath too. it always put me to sleep.
ReplyDeletewhile psalty and the music machine were popular, The Donut Man ruled in our household. my 9-year-old has recently started listening to my old tapes, and she loves the songs as well.
ReplyDeleteI can't help but jump in...I am the one who had the great pleasure of creating this video with Psalty himself, Ernie Rettino. We did it for the opening of our worship conference and he came out after the video to great applause.
ReplyDeleteA couple fun facts about the video:
- The "Corny" christian girl singer is actually Ernie's wife, Debby Kerner-Rettino, circa 1970. Debby was also Charity Churchmouse!
- During the shoot, we had to stop for lunch. Imagine walking into a sit-down Mexican restaurant with Psalty in full blue...I said to the hostess, "Two adults, one big blue cartoon character." We got a lot of looks.
- Psalty chain-smokes and swears like a sailor. (Okay, that one is a joke!)
Glad you all enjoyed it...
Tony Guerrero
Director of Creative Arts
Saddleback Church
HI everybody! I'm new at this blogging thing. I hope you don't mind the epistle-length blog. I 'm wanting to respond to all of you who made comments about my video from Saddleback Worship Conference 2008. They were a lot of fun to read. From the emails I receive on my own website www.psalty.com, and from a few on the PSALTY:Behind the Music clip, I see that many of you want to pass on the experience you had as a child. I'm thrilled to hear that.
ReplyDeleteFYI - Psalty was created in 1980 by Ernie Rettino & Debby Kerner Rettino (2 people I am ver-r-r-r-y close to). The video market in the Christian world really didn't exist before Psalty. It was Kids Praise 4 (the album that was nominated for a Grammy Award) that blazed the trail. I had to beg the record company to make a second video (Kids Praise 5). Today we take for granted that things like videos and DVDs and CDs always existed, but not true Li'l Praisers. Back in 1984 this was cutting edge Christianity. Folks just didn't have the vision, and if they did, it was usually thought of as something that was probably evil.
You should also know that before every album and video we created we prayed and surrendered everything to God. The prayer was usually something like, "Lord, this is your project. What do you want to say to your people?" Then we would sit and try to be creative...nothing came for days. Then usually about the fourth day or so the river would begin to flow. Basically what was happening was we tried in our own strength to fulfill God's Promise of meeting our needs. When we were completely exhausted and gave up then He supplied. I have heard many creative folks speak of similar experiences when creating.
Even though God rested on the 7th day from His creation of the world, He is still creating today through you and I. And when presenting the Gospel, using every creative tool at our disposal is essential and life-giving to the ones who are doing the creating and to the ones who are receiving the message. Over 30 years of fruit producing in terms of salvation and changed lives as a result of this ministry speaks volumes to that Truth.
We have seen hundreds of thousands of kids and adults make commitments to Christ at our Billy Graham Kidz Gigs, Luis Palau Kids Celebrations, Harvest Kids Crusades, Psalty Funtastic Praise Parties and from kids watching videos and DVDs and listening to CD's and tapes through the years. The original marketing prediction for the first Kids Praise Album was 30,000 units. We were excited to think that we could reach 30, 000 kids. BUt that album sold over a million copies.The series sold over 6 million, and is still selling today. The messages are timeless...and the music is still fun.
Everyday we receive many emails of testimonies from folks who say things like, "I accepted Christ when I was 4 at your Psalty concert. I want you to know that I am still a Christian today. I'm 30 years old and God still uses the words of the songs to minister to me".
When we stepped out in faith to create the first Kids Praise Album we had no clue as to what God had in mind for this ministry. It was produced in at least 14 languages, and it's difficult to go anywhere in the world where someone hasn't heard of Psalty the Singing Songbook. The man who was the voice of God on Psalty's Christmas Calamity tells of how he was in Africa with his own ministry, back in some deep jungle area in the Congo where there was no electricity. He preached one night and children came up afterwards recognizing that he was the voice of God on their Psalty tape.
I have so-o-o-o many stories and testimonies to tell. One day I may write a book. Some make you laugh, some make you cry, some make you jump for joy...and all your stories are the blessings of God and His handiwork. My personal email address is psalty@psalty.com I would to hear your story.
God loves you!
Still your friend,
PSALTY
WOW.
ReplyDeleteMy 2 yo daughter thinks Psalty is as cool as Mickey Mouse.
Me, too.
I grew up rough, so Psalty wasn't my thing, but does anyone remember the name of the Christian Rapping Robot. I loved that guy and had his tape. Listened to that along with Slick Rick, Grandmaster Flash and a few years later even NWA.
ReplyDeletewow!! psalty commented!! suhweet!! I must say I find it quite Ironic that he may write a book someday... books writing books??? why do I feel like there's something just wrong about that!!
ReplyDeleteA post from the REAL PSALTY! That's about the coolest thing I have seen in a while. Now, where's the Donut Man?
ReplyDeleteAhh, I have a fondness for Psalty records spinning on the creaking player when I was a child. I think I still know every line and song by heart.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I have five children now and all the records (but no record player). We have one lone cassette tape of Psalty that gets played over and over and over and over....and over.
Anything that can hook two generations onto the gospel is priceless.
Thanks, Psalty!
Now to find a record player....
Blessings,
Hannah
That is so awesome! I loved Psalty as a kid and I love sharing him with my first graders today. They get a kick out of the fact that I still know the songs from when I was "little". I'm so glad that God has used Psalty in so many ways and is continuing to use him today!
ReplyDeleteI used Psalty to teach my boys (now 12 and 14) the fruits of the spirit. We made our own fruit bowls and everything - borrowed the videos from our local library to do it. I so miss the simple innocence and low tech clarity of presentations of the Gospel like Psalty's and will always be grateful for the doors it opened to help me teach my guys about Jesus and His love.
ReplyDeleteScott Overpeck - I think you are thinking of Colby!
ReplyDeletehttp://waxidermy.com/images/colby.jpg
We showed a Psalty dvd to our 2 year old a few weeks ago. Now, he has surpassed Elmo in popularity in our household.
ReplyDeleteWe did some "Kids Praise" shows with Psalty in my elementary school when I was young. Psalty was played by our music teacher, who was approximately 5'5". A few years later we did one of the kids praise shows in church and they borrowed the costume from the school. Only problem was, the guy who played Psalty this time was about 6'2". Let's just say the book costume ended up being a little bit short, and nobody thought to tell the guy to wear something besides blue tights underneath. I think that's the last time we did a Psalty production at church or school.
ReplyDeleteOk, Psalty's songs helped keep me on the straight and narrow (know which song that's in?). One of his songs plays through my head for just about every situation in my life. No kidding. My daughter loves Psalty, and I'm so excited b/c now I have an "excuse" to blare it in the car.
ReplyDeleteI'm also extremely jealous of my sister, who got her post right next to Psalty's. Not fair.
Very interesting
ReplyDeleteI'm adding in RSS reader
I thought that you would enjoy this story: http://heatherltrotter.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/psalty/
ReplyDeleteI'm a recent fan of this blog, and i have to say I think this is my favorite post yet. I'm 24, and I also grew up listening to Psalty tapes. It was something my brothers and I shared with my dad. We'd act out the entire camping video in our backyard on a regular basis and my dad was always Farley McFirefly. I was always Lisa. I would sing "I cast all my cares upon you."
ReplyDeleteI'd listen nonstop. My favorite tapes were the one where they went back in time to hang out with David and Fanny Crosby and the one where they were in the jungle. I remember meeting the "real" psalty when I was very young(maybe 4) and singing to him my favorite song when he picked me up. It was the highlight of my childhood. :-)
I went on a radio contest at like age 8 to get to meet Psalty, and I was a proud member of Kidz Gig.
Thanks for bringing up some great memories! The video is also hilarious and I wish I could have seen good ol' psalty perform again. :-)
This is officially the coolest blog ever because the REAL Psalty commented! I'm so glad he left his email address so I could tell him how much he's meant to me and my family. I grew up with him and now my 2 yr old is obsessed with him.
ReplyDeletepsalty won a grammy?
ReplyDelete