Even Four Year-Old White Children Get the Blues

• My four and a half year-old son has expressed an interest in blues music. Can you help me find enough great blues songs to fill a mixtape for him that are: a) electric; b) kinda rockin'; and c) not overly lyrically troublesome for a preschool-aged tyke? Last night, my preschool-aged son heard "Bang Bang Bang Bang" by John Lee Hooker and said, with no small amount of urgency, "What is that?" "That's the blues, son." "Play more! Play more!" We ended up going on a mini-odyssey through Spotify, checking out some of the big names in blues. His eyes got huge the first time Muddy red-lined the mike on "EVVVVVVVV'RRRRRRYYYYYbody knows I am!" in "Hoochie Coochie Man." We made it through two discs worth of a Howlin' Wolf box set in full-on dance party mode. It was a gas. I'd like to find him some more blues to listen to, since he likes it so much. There are a few problems there. The first thing is, my own tastes tend more toward country blues, which I have been told in no uncertain terms are "BO-RING." Slow, sad blues are similarly off the table. The second thing is, there are obvious issues with lyrics. Obviously, the blues are largely bereft of cheerful songs about teddy bear picnics. I get that. I can tolerate a small amount of saltiness as long as it's the kind that will go over his head and/or be precocious/hilarious for him to sing instead of disturbing. (Is "I'm a natural born lover's man" anything worse than he'd hear on Top 40 radio, for instance? I don't think so.) While I find it mildly amusing and mostly harmless to hear my son sing along to mild innuendo like, "I'm your hoochie coochie man," I don't particularly want to raise a sociopath or a misogynist. So I can't have him going to school singing about coming at somebody with a straight razor or beating his woman when she mouths off. So far, he's enjoyed the aforementioned, "Bang Bang Bang Bang," "Mannish Boy," "Hey Bo Diddley," and even "Give Me Back My Wig" by Hound Dog Taylor. I got a particular kick out of him enjoying that last oddball track, but then, it's not really about his jaded old man, so there are no bonus points for deep cuts. He still thinks duh-DUH-duh-duh-DUH" is the coolest sound he's ever heard in his life. We don't exactly need obscure stuff to impress him. We're looking for maximum sing-slong/foot-stomping potential here. Any ideas?

• Answer:

  Jimmy Reed has lots of songs clean enough for kids (eg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd-o_kLONVI).