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Joe Scruggs

A folk musician by trade and (still) a kid at heart, Joe Scruggs’ children’s music career started with his very own high school sweetheart. They were both involved in the Texas folk music scene up through university, and after they married, Joe’s wife went on to become a kindergarten teacher. 
Boy did he learn a lot about children by listening to her classroom stories. What he also learned was that she needed more music in her classroom than what she could drum up on her own. So she asked Joe to write some songs for her. And from jungles to traffic jams, that’s exactly what he did. 
Over the years (and with the help of his good friend Pete), his body of published work grew to include nine albums, several videos, and two stage productions, for which he received a laundry list of awards and accolades. Today, his music is still incorporated into modern day primary curriculums and his songs are streamed for children in schools and homes across the state of Texas and beyond! 

Let’s Meet Pete!

A nearly 4-decade veteran of the music industry, and voting member of the Grammy awards for more than 25 years now, Pete Markham is Joe’s business partner and life-long friend. They met in high school, and reconnected when Joe sent a four-song demo out to L.A. where Pete lived and worked at the time. 
Pete was impressed, and when Joe told him to come back to Austin and start a record label with him, that’s just what he did! Together, they developed the body of musical work we all know and love, earning a cascade of recognition and accolades over the years. 
They further collaborated on the stage performance Joe Scruggs is best-known for, the Nanny Nanny Boo Boo Revue, and traveled the country together to perform it. You can even hear Pete’s characters throughout the Joe Scruggs Music catalog if you listen carefully!

About the Music

With witty lyrics layered over professional music arrangements that have garnered praise from parents, children, and educators alike, Joe Scruggs’ albums have received recognition from renowned organizations ranging from Good Housekeeping to Children’s Radio Network. 
The songs have been featured everywhere — from KUT’s Eklectikos with John Aielli (right here in Austin, TX!) to Late Night with Dave Letterman and more!
Why? Because this dynamic pair, Joe Scruggs and Pete Markham, made a conscious effort to honor the parents, teachers, and children who were their captive audiences with only the highest production quality they could muster. And their audiences continue to love it.
In these songs, simple and familiar moments are captured through the lens of a child — taking a bath, putting on sunscreen, having a new baby at home. Joe and Pete’s unique formula has produced timeless songs that children (and adults!) find easy to absorb, and that quickly become family favorites time and time again.

About the Curriculum

One of the most exciting components of JoeScruggsMusic is the continuation of its impact in classrooms today. Most Recently, we have partnered with early childhood education powerhouse, Frog Street, by providing some key components to their Pre-K Curriculum. 
Some of the best rated schools in Texas have elected to use this curriculum in their early childhood classrooms, and we couldn’t be prouder.
What’s more, JoeScruggsMusic has parceled out some of these elements in a number of ways right here on this site to make it easy for educators of all kinds to incorporate into their own lesson plans.
  • Search for a specific unit topic such as the family, the body, or cooking, and find which albums/songs could be relevant to your objectives.
  • Utilize sample lessons based on format guidance from Learning to Use Written Language as a springboard for your lesson-planning brainstorm sessions.
  • Print our letter charts and/or flashcards to use in conjunction with the ABCs song and more!
Whether you are homeschooling your children or teaching in the classroom, JoeScruggsMusic can offer an exciting supplement to your lesson plans. To learn more about what kinds of curriculum packages we have to offer, see our Educator’s resources.