(Credit: Parry Gripp/Facebook)
“It’s raining tacos from out of the sky. Tacos, no need to ask why. Just open your mouth and close your eyes. It’s raining tacos.”
When my family discovered Parry Gripp, it felt like we’d joined a secret club.
There was no billboard for him. He didn’t show up on any social feeds, even though any algorithm out there could figure out we had kids. Not even Apple Music suggested a listen. No Parry Gripp commercials appeared on Nick Jr., Disney Jr., or any “junior” anything else.
A friend told us about Parry Gripp. We joined the club. And we’ve been laughing and dancing ever since.
His best-known song is “Raining Tacos.” (Some lyrics for it appear above). But do not miss “Space Unicorn,” “Baby Monkey (Riding Backwards on a Pig),” “Cat Flushing a Toilet,” and “Last Train to Awesometown.” Gripp does have some fun obsessions with animals doing stuff (see: “Chimpanzee Riding a Segway”) and with food (see: “Breakfast Burrito,” “Surfin’ Taco,” “I Like Vegetables,” and “Chicken Tender”).
When we found Gripp, he came out of the ether fully formed, a hilarious kids music machine. But he’s been around the block.
He’s done music for Netflix’s Ask the StoryBots, Disney’s The 7D, Cartoon Network’s Ben 10: Omniverse, and Marvel’s The Superhero Squad. Some parents may recall Gripp as the frontman for the early-oughts, nerd-rock band, Nerf Herder.
Gripp’s kids music isn’t that dreamy, “la-la-la,” nursery-rhyme stuff. The beats are fun for grown folks, ranging from EDM to super-fun ’80s fantasy rock. The lyrics are incredibly silly for the kids (“how I love you wiener dog, riding on your skateboard”) with fun nuggets for adults, too, like “call Dr. Phil and warn Oprah. I’m going to come to your house and eat up all the okra” from “I Love Vegetables.”
Here’s a great YouTube playlist of Gripp’s early stuff. Crank it up, get silly, and have a kitchen dance party. Consider yourself in the club.