RAFFI: KIDS HEAR HIS MESSAGE

He’s something of a phenomenon, this mild, neatly bearded Canadian with soft brown eyes.

A velvet-voiced singer/musician known simply as Raffi, he has become a quiet success in a field not known for its success stories.

His avid fans, in the 2- to 8-year-old range, don’t have financial clout, but their parents do, and they’ve obviously gotten the word: Sales of Raffi’s albums--gold and platinum in Canada--are approaching the 1-million mark here since A&M; Records began U.S. distribution in 1984.

Playing to sellout crowds wherever he goes, Raffi has an eighth album in the works. His songbooks and individual songs in picture-book form will be available from Crown Publishers this year. A first concert video, “A Young Children’s Concert With Raffi,” ran on the Disney Channel last year.

The Canadian school system uses his records in its preschools and kindergartens.

And, “an exciting piece of news,” Raffi said, when reached by phone at his Toronto, Canada, home, is that his “One Light, One Sun” album becomes available on CD this spring--a first, he believes, for a children’s recording.

His current U.S. tour brings him to Millikan High School in Long Beach today and Thursday, to Riverside Civic Auditorium on Saturday, UCLA’s Wadsworth Theatre on Sunday and San Gabriel Civic Auditorium on Monday.

His voice was thoughtful, as he tried to analyze the unusual depth of his appeal.

“It’s the songs first. I think something of my empathy for kids comes across the vinyl.”

Raffi offers a combination of the familiar and the funny--with songs like “Workin’ on the Railroad” and “Shake My Sillies Out”--and the reflective, in such songs as “Baby Beluga” and “Thanks a Lot.”

The accent is positive, the themes of self-esteem and humanity are celebratory, never preachy.

“It was my wife, Debbi (a kindergarten teacher for 11 years), who opened my eyes to children.

“Being a child is hard. You’re afraid, you’re not in control of your emotions, you’re totally dependent on adults. Children need our compassion. (They) do the best they can most of the time, but we generally ask more of them than they’re able to give. At the same time, we underrate what they do.

“I think the songs are a bridge. There’s a joy (they) impart that helps on some level.”

Raffi’s favorite audiences include parents. “It’s a unifying experience for a family to share a concert, laughing, clapping--it’s a bonding of spirits.”

The singer’s heightened sensitivity has long roots. Born in Cairo, he moved with his Armenian family to Canada in 1958. “I learned my English here. People made fun of me. It was hard to deal with.”

A folk singer in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Raffi began performing in Canadian elementary schools under the auspices of a Toronto program.

In 1983, the Canadian government bestowed upon him the Order of Canada for contributing to the betterment of its children.

“An emotional impact is the major aspect of my music. It’s definitely a heart-work.”