Kiddie Pop : A Bevy of Stars Sing Nursery Rhymes to Benefit Pediatric AIDS Foundation

This old man, he played one

He played knick-knack on my drum

With a knick-knack, patty - whack

Give the dog a bone

This old man came rolling home.

Having someone with Bob Dylan’s voice sing that silly old nursery rhyme sounds like one of those ‘70s National Lampoon parodies.

But if you hear it on the radio, be advised: It’s no parody. It is Bob Dylan singing “This Old Man”--and not in honor of his own 50th birthday Friday, but to benefit the Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

“Children are my favorite people,” said Dylan (a grandfather) through his publicist about his contribution to “For Our Children,” a star-studded album of kids’ songs being released next week by Walt Disney Records.

Among the new recordings on the album are new papa Bruce Springsteen’s frisky adventures-in-dining “Chicken Lips and Lizard Hips,” Paula Abdul’s lullaby “Good Night, My Love (Pleasant Dreams)” and Little Richard’s hip-hop “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” the album’s first single with a video premiering today on “Entertainment Tonight.”

Other contributors of new recordings include Brian Wilson, Pat Benatar, Meryl Streep and Sting. Paul McCartney and Barbra Streisand donated old releases.

The album’s 22 songs offer a good balance of silly and somber. And its appeal should be nearly as strong to parents as the kids, with a few pleasant surprises that go far beyond novelty. One unsuspected highlight comes from Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson on an elfin, Celticized version of “Autumn to May,” originally written and recorded by Peter, Paul & Mary.

“Everyone was so child-hearted about it,” said Shepard Stern, the project’s Los Angeles-based executive producer. “When Sting would call to say he was worried that he would go over the deadline he would say, ‘I feel like a kid who hasn’t turned in a report.’ ”

“For Our Children” was initiated by the Santa Monica-based Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which was founded by Elizabeth Glaser, the wife of actor-director Paul Michael Glaser. The Glasers lost their 3-year-old daughter, Ariel, to AIDS in 1988 after HIV had been passed on by Elizabeth, who had contracted it from a blood transfusion in 1981. Since Ariel’s death, the foundation has raised more than $4 million for AIDS research and education.

Inspired by a tape singer-songwriter James Taylor recorded for Ariel while she was ill, the Glasers approached Disney with the idea for the album last year. Disney brought in Stern, 35, who had overseen a 1989 album of rock songs about the animated character Gumby for the company.

Stern, who last June became the father of twins, jumped into the venture with a new parent’s enthusiasm. That was matched, he said, by virtually all the artists approached about participating, several of whom--including Springsteen and Bette Midler--were also new to the parental ranks.

“We put down a giant wish list and started calling, and filled up the record,” he said. “It was really easy.”

The keystone proved to be Dylan, one of the earliest contributors.

“Almost upon being asked he turned around and gave us a tape, no strings, no questions,” Stern said. “He really nailed the concept, making it easier to explain to others. ‘Here’s Bob Dylan doing “This Old Man,” ’ and then everyone would imitate it.”

Elizabeth Glaser, who though infected with the AIDS virus has not developed the full-blown disease, is pleased with both the musical and potential financial results.

“My son Jake, who’s 6 1/2, loves every minute on it,” she said from Toronto, where her husband was directing a movie. “It’s his basic sense of music and good taste that leads me to believe this will be more than just a benefit album.”

As for the proceeds, Disney Records vice president Mark Jaffe said, “Every single penny other than expenses will be donated directly. Not only have we signed a contract on that, we are signing a side letter that says that if there’s any loophole that allows the company to get any profit, we will donate that too.”

Jaffe was unwilling to predict how much the album might raise. For comparison, sales of the 1985 “We Are the World” single and album for Ethiopian famine relief raised more than $55 million for the USA for Africa foundation, according to executive director Marcia Thomas.

Glaser is confident in the arrangement for this album.

“All of the profit from Disney’s end is going to the foundation, and the foundation’s overhead is less than 8%,” she said. “The guarantee I can make is this: No one has more to lose or gain than me to make sure that every penny that is raised from this album is put to something that will save lives. Every minute and every penny in my life is significant and we cannot afford to have this album anything other than what it was meant to be.”