KID BEAT : Tenor Keeps ‘Sesame’ Songs Alive

Even on the telephone, the sound of Bob McGrath’s light, mellow voice can enfold the listener in a blanket of cozy nostalgia. Nostalgia for Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Mr. Snuffalupagus and that whimsical street where lessons of the heart and of the mind are delivered by furry monsters and sympathetic humans.

One of the original “Sesame Street” human hosts, McGrath is on a national concert tour, singing family songs, including “Sesame Street” selections. His next stop is Pepperdine’s Smothers Theatre on Saturday at 1 and 4 p.m.

The mild-mannered McGrath, whose latest album is A&M;’s “Bob’s Favorite Street Songs,” talked recently about his music--and about his pre-”Street” days as Japan’s pop star “Bobu Magulas.”

“I was one of the soloists on ‘Sing Along With Mitch,’ ” he said, “and when we toured Japan in 1965, almost everywhere we went I had screaming teen-agers saying ‘Bobu! Bobu!’ I discovered I had ‘Bobu’ fan clubs all over Japan.”

That led to a three-year recording career in Japanese, capped by a request performance for Japan’s then-prime minister, Sato Eisaku. “I thought, ‘What in the world is an Irish tenor Illinois farm boy doing here?’ ” and it was back to the States just in time to be cast as a host of the brand-new children’s show, “Sesame Street.”

“I’ve had an incredibly fortunate life in the business,” McGrath said.

McGrath, whose previous recordings include his “Bob’s Books” series, started thinking of doing the new album “around ‘Sesame Street’s’ 21st year. I was looking back, getting nostalgic and realizing that at my concerts parents were coming who had grown up watching the show . . . they were saying they sometimes had even a better time than their kids, reliving those times.”

McGrath wanted to keep alive some of the “wonderful music written for ‘Sesame Street’ over the years,” noting that he’s “a little partial to the music written by Joe Raposo during the first 10 or 12 years or so.” Raposo and Jeffrey Moss, “also wonderful,” wrote most of the songs McGrath chose to record, such as Raposo’s “Somebody Come and Play” and Moss’ “Rubber Duckie.”

“I think somehow those songs still stand out as the real classics of those 23 years,” McGrath said.

“I’m hoping that since a lot of these songs are no longer used on ‘Sesame Street,’ a parent might say, ‘Gosh, I haven’t heard this song since I was 8 years old and that will lead to a nice connection between parents and children; there’s hardly anything kids like to hear more from their parents than ‘what I did when I was a kid.’ ”

McGrath and producer Bill Usher wanted to “find a really individual style to do these songs,” rather than reproduce what had been done before. Giving guest musicians such as Bob Becker and Jim Galloway creative freedom, “We ended up with maybe nine or 10 distinct styles of music,” he said. For instance, “the second tune, ‘Hi, Friend,’ we decided to make a tribute to the Bill Evans trio.”

“ ‘People in Your Neighborhood’ evolved into a feeling of walking down Bourbon Street in New Orleans--Jeff Moss rewrote the lyrics to fit.” Ernie’s favorite bath time tune, “Rubber Duckie” became “a Spike Jones version with bells and whistles.”

Kermit the Frog’s signature song, “Bein’ Green,” is included because it’s “so simple, yet it can touch everyone. When I’m singing that song I can look out in the audience and see people of all different colors and ages, smiling and nodding and saying, ‘I know where that song’s coming from.’ ”

McGrath has dedicated the album to the two late, unique talents who imbued “Sesame Street” with creative genius: Muppet creator Jim Henson and Raposo.

* “Bob McGrath in Concert,” Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University, Malibu, Saturday, 1 and 4 p.m. $18. (213) 456-4522.