Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Soundtrack

For the first feature film from the American Girl company comes Kit, the witty, ever-optimist, doing remarkable deeds in an ordinary, but depressed life. The soundtrack is fitting and feisty with content made light by upbeat melodies and lyrics. The classic period pieces are sung by both old revered favorites like Billie Holiday, Cliff Edwards, and Spike Jones, and new artists such as The Puppini sisters, country crooner Josh Harris, and the ubiquitous background singer Bridgette Bryant.

The music is simple and humble, but insatiably optimistic, much like the period it sings about. It has lots of racing piano, horns, and string bass typical of the Jazzy era, and gets creative using cowbells, whistles, and ukeleles. "It's Only a Paper Moon" is sung by the vaudevillian Cliff Edwards ("Ukelele Ike") best known for lending his voice as Jiminy Cricket in Disney's Pinocchio, and legends Billie Holliday ("When You?re Smiling") and Spike Jones ("Pack Up Your Troubles") make any song worth listening to. "Bye Bye Blackbird" is a welcomed favorite, and Renee Olstead's version of "Ain't We Got Fun" is just that. In typical American Girl fashion, there's a lesson to be learned about American history, and the soundtrack answers with its own lesson; a little taste of the great music from the Great Depression.