News Archives - Plymouth Rock School Musical

A New Plymouth Rock Song

Plymouth Rock has a new Plymouth Rock Song and it’s called Have You Ever Visited Me? It was written by Candido Bretto. Take a listen to 4th and 5th graders from Cold Spring Elementary School of Plymouth, Massachusetts as they sing it.

“Have You Ever Visited Me? (remix)” from the album “Rockin’ The Secrets of Plymouth Rock” by Candido Bretto based on the storybook by Diane L. Finn.

HAVE YOU EVER VISITED ME?
Copyright 2017 Candido Bretto

Have you ever visited me in Plymouth, Massachusetts?
I’m the proudest little rock you’ve ever seen
Wanna pop on by feel free, you don’t need an invitation
To see my rockin’ place in history

I’m smaller than I once was, yet I’m stronger and it’s because
The folks in Plymouth take great care of me

I’ve got a house down by the sea, I’d love your company
I’m Plymouth Rock, have you ever visited
Well if not, do consider it
What a spot, have you ever visited me?

What do you think about the kid’s performance and the new Plymouth Rock song? We think they were great and so is the song. But of course, we’re a little biased as we feel the words and music came directly from the rock and the pilgrims through a force of nature yet to be understood by man LOL. More on that later.

Click here to listen to 11 more songs from “Rockin’ The Secrets of Plymouth Rock!”

Click here to find out information about the book the songs are based on, The Secrets of Plymouth Rock by Diane Finn.

The Old Colony Memorial

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Old Colony Memorial

Plymouth’s newspaper the Old Colony Memorial released an article today about the book and CD. You can read the article by clicking here.

Thank you to David Kindy for having an interest in The Secrets of Plymouth Rock and taking the time to talk to me, Diane Finn and Taylor Nardone.

Coming Soon

On Saturday, 5/5/19 and Saturday, 5/11/19 twenty-eight 4th and 5th grade students from 6 Plymouth area elementary schools (Cold Spring Elementary School, Nathaniel Morton Elementary School, West Elementary School, South Elementary School, Federal Furnace Elementary School and Hedge Elementary School) sang all 12 songs in the Funk Lab recording studio owned by actor Johnny Drama Alves of A&E’s Wahlburgers. Listen to the songs.

Four months have passed and I am pleased to say that we are in the final stages of mastering the music. What started in March of 2017 as an idea is about to become a reality. To fully understand why I wrote the songs you need to read the “The Secrets of Plymouth Rock”. When you purchase the book:

1. Look for the song titles within the book.
2. When you come across a song title, play the song.
3. Allow the voices of Plymouth’s children to be your escort through the story.

The other day someone said to me, “What you’re doing is very special. It’s like a gift to the Town of Plymouth.” I said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” With 2020 right around the corner there’s no better time than now to “experience” the book and songs. You won’t believe how much better you feel after sharing it with your child, grandchild or classroom.

Designing the album cover? Now that’s something completely different. Lucky for me I have a talented Illustrator, Erin Finn Zell helping me out. She created the illustrations for “The Secrets of Plymouth Rock” storybook the songs are based on.

Plymouth Children Bring “The Secrets of Plymouth Rock” to Life in Recording Studio

On Saturday, May 4, and Saturday, May 11, 2019, Plymouth elementary school students had a rare opportunity to experience what it’s like to sing in a professional recording studio. Twenty-eight students from Cold Spring, Nathaniel Morton, West Elementary, South Elementary, Federal Furnace, and Hedge elementary schools participated in a recording project by Candido Bretto titled The Secrets of Plymouth Rock.

Candido composed twelve original songs based on the children’s book of the same name written by Diane Finn and illustrated by Erin Finn Zell. The students recorded their vocals at Johnny Drama Alves’ Funk Lab recording studio right here in Plymouth. EdTV was also on site, capturing video of the sessions for future airing.

“From the time I began writing the songs, I knew they needed children’s voices to be complete. It’s like a dream come true to hear all of their sweet, precious voices.”
— Candido Bretto

A heartfelt thank-you goes out to all of the music teachers who recognized the importance of this project and made time in their busy schedules to support it. A special thank-you goes to Taylor Nardone of Federal Furnace Elementary School for enthusiastically introducing the project to the schools. Taylor attended each school’s recording session and assisted in countless ways—thank you, Taylor!

Another huge “thank you” goes to the parents who generously gave up a few hours on a Saturday to bring their children to the studio. And most of all, thank you to the students. Watching you step up to the microphones at the Funk Lab was truly unforgettable. You made me laugh, you made me cry, but most of all, you made me proud—and you should be proud too. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are now the new voices of Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrims, and from what I’ve heard so far, people will be enjoying your voices for many years to come.

You can hear snippets of the students’ recordings as they are posted here page.

The CD will be available alongside the book in local stores and gift shops. It will also be available for download here and through online retailers.

Mayflower Society House

The “Feel Good” hit of the Spring!

On Saturday, April 27, 2019 “Rockin’ The Secrets of Plymouth Rock” premiered at the historic Mayflower Society House in America’s Hometown Plymouth, MA, just up the hill from Plymouth Rock. April showers usually bring May flowers and the morning it started out that way but the afternoon rain held off to the delight of author Diane Finn, illustrator Erin Finn Zell and composer Candido Bretto. Mrs. Finn narrated the rock’s story and Mr. Bretto’s music seamlessly weaved its way in and out with uptempo numbers like “Fine Day” and “Madame Crab“.

A talking rock? Surely you jest.

No joke its true! In fact it sings too. Mayflower Society House Plymouth And this summer when the rock sings it will sound like 28 Plymouth children’s voices as we’re creating a music cd featuring their voices this and next Saturday.

It was a small gathering at the Mayflower Society House but they had fun! They tapped their feet and clapped their hands to the Caribbean beat of Mr. Seagull, the lilt of “Sights and Sounds of the Sea“, the rhythm of “Ouch Stop That“, and the beat of “Protect This Rock” and 9 more as Finn spoke and Bretto sang. The children in the audience were mesmerized as Candido was his usual animated self. Together he and Diane are on a mission to delight the hearts of children worldwide with a special rock’s story of innovation, exploration, survival and thanksgiving. “The Secrets of Plymouth Rock” is set to become a classic on the list of Early American based children’s music.

Mayflower Society House The author told (from “the rock’s” perspective) Mayflower Society House debut. of the “Landing of the Pilgrims” in 1620 as well as the some of the activities of the colonists up until 1920. The rock recalled how special it felt the day in 1920 it was given a “New and Wonderful Home“. You can see Plymouth Rock from the porch in the photo.”

“It felt very special to sing those songs in that historic place knowing what it represents. They were a joy to write and I am happy to be able to share Plymouth Rock’s story with the world in this way.”

Happy Forefather’s Day!

Plymouth Rock News you can use. Today is Forefather’s Day in Plymouth MA and below is a link to a video created by Hawk Visuals that was shot at 5:30AM this morning. The event is an annual tradition of Plymouth Old Colony Club celebrating the arrival of the Pilgrims on December 22, 1620. The POC was formed in 1769. Happy Forefather’s Day America! Enjoy!

Forefathers Day Plymouth MA — Forefather’s Day Plymouth MA with Plymouth Rock in the background.

See video.

Behind The Scenes

Have You Ever Visited Me?

Plymouth Rock News you can use. Johnny Drama and his Funky Entourage are getting ready for the 400th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Pilgrims Celebration. Check out this Behind The Scenes recording of a rehearsal of Drama singing with his sister Elizabeth (Lee Lee) Alves, the Theme Song of the book “Have You Ever Visited Me?”

Protect This Rock

Here’s another Behind The Scenes rehearsal. This time it’s of Song #10 “Protect This Rock” sung by everybody in Drama’s Funk Lab including a guest star. Can you guess who she is?

Note: At this point in the book the Town Fathers of Plymouth MA make the decision to protect Plymouth Rock from souvenir hunters.

Karaoke video of Plymouth Rock song

Plymouth Rock News you can use. Presenting our first Plymouth Rock karaoke video! We intend to create more karaoke videos as we go along. “Have You Ever Visited Me” (sung by the Rock itself) is the theme song of “The Secrets of Plymouth Rock”.

I’ve never made a karaoke video before. How did I do?

Plymouth Rock tells the story of the Arrival of the Pilgrims in The Secrets of Plymouth Rock.

The karoake video can help children to more quickly learn the words to the songs. If you would like us to make a karaoke video of a particular song from the show please let us know. We hope you’ll share this page on Facebook, Twitter and other social media. When you do you’ll help 3rd grade children from sea to shining sea rock their knowledge of Plymouth Rock while rockin’ a karaoke video.