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Ziggy Marley recalls singing one of the most popular animated theme songs of our time, with Arthur’s “Believe In Yourself.” As the Marley family continues to promote the Bob Marley: One Love film, Ziggy sat down on a Toronto based radio show “Ace & Marlon in the Morning” to talk about some of his present and past accomplishments. Watch a viral clip from their interview inside.
Some fans may not have realized the voice behind one of the most recognizable cartoon theme songs is Bob Marley’s son Ziggy Marley. The 55 year old reggae artist spoke with radio personality Marlon Palmer about how the Arthur song came to be.
“There’s a thing with kids and reggae music,” Ziggy answered. “There’s a connection with the music and the beat.”
Ziggy was honored to be a part of making the theme song a reality. His philosophy is that children are the key to everything.
“Anytime anybody come to me with something for children,” Marley adds. “Me always respond positively. I want to do it because children are really the key to everything.”
Watch the viral video of Ziggy sharing how it all came about below:
@themarlonpalmer Did you know Ziggy Marley is responsible for the Arthur theme song?
Fans know and love Arthur, the aardvark with a signature yellow sweater and eyeglasses. It’s the PBS Kids’ series theme song that has been a staple in the culture for decades. Most millennials can sing this song from beginning to end with the comforting sounds of Ziggy’s voice singing, “Listen to your heart, listen to the beat.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), producer Carol Greenwald began putting the song together with a blind pitch request to composers and lyricists, initiated by then producer Cassandra Schafhausen. The composition and lyrics of Judith Henderson and Jerry De Villiers Jr. were selected as the winning entry, which was later performed and recorded by Ziggy Marley in Jamaica using a rough vocal guide track.
Brown remembers it being a “community effort” and a major note was that creator Marc Brown wanted to distance the “Arthur” theme song from the theme of another popular children’s show at the time, “Barney & Friends.”
“As a parent, I wasn’t crazy about the theme song,” Brown shared with THR. “I and Carol Greenwald wanted a theme song that celebrated children in a way that felt right. All of those things that are in the theme song reflected what our goals were at the time, what we wanted to do with the series.”
“It just spoke to both Marc and me because it really captured the essence of what we were hoping to do with the song — about believing in yourself and about being open to all the people you meet every day when you’re walking down the street,” Greenwald added.
With Marley’s past experience in children’s music, the duo agreed he was the perfect fit for this song and he was their first choice.
The rest is history. “Believe in Yourself” is cemented in the culture. It’s so iconic that it got its own “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” rendition in 2017, courtesy of original performer Marley, as well as Jon Batiste and Chance the Rapper.
