ABOUT OUR ARTISTS & CO-FOUNDERS

Mary Donnelly Haskell, our Singer, began her professional career in Musical Theatre for Stage, followed by a successful career as a TV Actress, Concert Performer & Recording Artist.  Our Composer, Michael Reno, also has a background in Musical Theatre, TV and film.  The two of them met in 1984 while working on a national Musical Theatre Industrial project.  They soon became colleagues and friends.

After Mary became the mother of two small children, she quickly became quite familiar with the burgeoning Children’s Music market, and was inspired to do something original and unique for those young listeners.

In 1990, she brought Michael the idea of doing a personalized collection of original songs. Michael immediately loved the idea, and they went to work conceptualizing an album they hoped would consist of original quality songs that would be entertaining and engaging not only to the children, but also to their parents.  As a result, “My Songs” was born.

One of the things that made this album instantly popular, was their dedicated and continued approach to keep the songs “personalized.”  To accomplish this, Mary actually sang the child’s name every time it occurred in the music rather than relying on computerized “drop-ins.”  They maintained that concept through every song that followed, and for every name that was added to the list of available names.

In 1993 Jim McDonald joined the collaboration to take the reins in developing Distribution and Sales for the young company.  It was always foremost in their minds to “listen to their customers.”

As the fan base for “My Songs” grew and the children began to get a little older, parents began requesting music that targeted a bit older age group.  The answer to that request for more songs was – no big surprise - “More My Songs.”

Parents and grandparents were also requesting music that was not so “bouncy,” and that could be played at “sleepy time” for naps and bedtime.  Mary and Michael answered with “Hello, Dreamland.”

Soon, “Happy Boogie Birthday” was added to the collection to make that special day for all of the My Songs fans even a little more special.

Over the last three decades, the My Songs team have built an international fan base, and are grateful to all the customers who continue to share our products with the ever-growing child audience.  With the introduction of the new website, and the availability to download the “My Songs” collection digitally, we are all thrilled to be able to make our music easily and instantly available.