Raffi CavoukianCCOBC (Armenian:Րաֆֆի, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by themononymRaffi, is anArmenian-Canadian singer-lyricist and authorborn in Egypt best known for hischildren's music. In 1992,The Washington Post called him "the most popular children's singer in the English-speaking world".[1] He developed his career as a "globaltroubadour" to become amusic producer, author,entrepreneur, and founder of the Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring, an initiative focused on promoting children's rights and well-being. He has also been involved in advocacy for environmental and social causes, often addressing issues like commercial exploitation of children and climate change through his music and public appearances.
Raffi was born inCairo, Egypt, toArmenian Christian parents who fled Turkey during theArmenian genocide.[2] His mother Lucie Cavoukian named him after the Armenian novelistRaffi. He was exposed to music at a young age, as his mother sang to him and his father sang and played accordion.[3] In a 2024 interview, he noted that "In my early childhood, growing up in a fairly authoritarian family, my parents loved me greatly. But it was at times a coercive love, not exactly a respectful love".[3] The family left Egypt in 1952, living inJerusalem andSyria[4][5] before immigrating to Canada in 1958, eventually settling inToronto,Ontario.
His father, Arto (Artin) Cavoukian, was a well-known portrait photographer with a studio on Bloor Street in Toronto. His older brother,Onnig Cavoukian, known as Cavouk, is also a famous portrait photographer. His younger sister isAnn Cavoukian, Ontario's formerInformation and Privacy Commissioner. His parents died within twelve hours of each other, his mother dying first of abdominal cancer.[5] He visitedSoviet Armenia once in 1972.[6]
In the early 1970s, Raffi frequented a Toronto guitar store nearYonge and Wellesley called Millwheel, where he met other developing Canadian musicians such asDavid Wilcox and John Lacey. He befriended Lacey, a folk guitarist fromOakville, Ontario, who helped Raffi improve hisfinger picking. Raffi continued playing folk guitar in coffee houses in Toronto and Montréal before hitchhiking toVancouver in 1972 to find "fame and fortune."
His first performance for children was in 1974, at a nursery school run by his mother-in-law.[7] His first album,Singable Songs for the Very Young, was produced in his friend's basement and released in 1976.[8] The album was influenced by three educators, including his then-wife.[8]
Most of Raffi's children's albums include small, simple, folk instrumentations featuring Raffi'svocal andguitar work. Early works included contributions from Toronto-area folk musicians, including Ken Whiteley, The Honolulu Heartbreakers, andBruce Cockburn. Raffi also incorporated many world music sounds into his records, including "Sambalele" (More Singable Songs, 1977) and "Anansi" (The Corner Grocery Store, 1979). Some of Raffi's best-known children's songs are "Bananaphone",[7] "All I Really Need", and "Down by the Bay".[9]
In 1989, his albumRaffi In Concert With The Rise And Shine Band was listed on the RPM Top 100 Albums chart.[10] He took a break from music from 1989 to 1990.[11]
In 1999, he released his autobiography,The Life of a Children’s Troubadour.[7]
After a seven-year gap in publishing, Raffi released an album,Let's Play, in 2002.[5] Between 2003 and 2013, he took a hiatus from touring.[12]
He is currently the president ofTroubadour Music Inc., atriple-bottom-line company he founded to produce and promote his work. He released recordings for a number of other artists, including Caitlin Hanford and Chris Whiteley.[13]
As of 2017, Raffi continues to perform and appears occasionally across Canada and the United States. His most recent album is "Penny Penguin", a collaboration album with Canadian trioThe Good Lovelies which was released in 2024.
Raffi's recent musical work focuses on social and environmental causes and appeals to the generation who grew up with his children's music ("Beluga Grads") to effect change in the world. He also promotes those causes through his books, academic lectures and as a speaker.
Raffi has been involved with environmental advocacy since 1989, releasing a music album for adults about climate change,Evergreen, Everblue, the following year.[7][14]
In 2007, Raffi wrote, recorded and produced the single "Cool It", arockabilly "call to action" onglobal warming with Dr.David Suzuki in the chorus. "Cool It" was the theme song for Dr. Suzuki's recent Canadian tour to promote action on climate change. In February 2016, Raffi released the song "Wave of Democracy" in support of American SenatorBernie Sanders run to be theDemocratic nominee forUS Presidency.[15] In September 2019 he released song "Young People Marching", which was written forGreta Thunberg.[7]
In August 2020, Raffi released a song titled "For All You Do," featuring Lindsay Munroe and cellistYo-Yo Ma. The song honoured frontline and essential workers during theCOVID-19 pandemic. Proceeds from downloads and streams were donated toDirect Relief to support healthcare workers globally.[16]
Raffi is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.[17]
In 1997, Raffi developed the idea of "Child Honouring," which he described in 2021 as "a vision of an extraordinary social-change revolution with the universal human at its heart, and that universal human is the human child".[18] In 2006, he described the Child Honouring ethic is described as a "vision, an organizing principle, and a way of life—a revolution in values that calls for a profound redesign of every sphere of society."[19] His "Covenant for Honouring Children" outlines the principles of this philosophy.[20]
In a 2006 speech,Iona Campagnolo, Lieutenant Governor ofBritish Columbia, referred to Child Honouring as a "vast change in the human paradigm."[21]
Raffi advocates for a child's right to live free ofcommercial exploitation and he has consistently refused all commercial endorsement offers. Raffi's company has never directly advertised nor marketed to children. In 2005, he sent an open letter to Ted Rogers ofRogers Wireless, urging them to stop marketing cell phones to children.[22] He also turned down a film proposal for "Baby Beluga" because of the nature of the funding, which was based on exploitative advertising and marketing.[23]
Raffi has been hailed for his work as "Canada's all time children's champion".
In October 2006, Raffi was presented with theFred Rogers Integrity Award by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood at the Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston, for his consistent refusal to use his music in endorsements that market products directly to children.
In 2012, after learning details surrounding the online bullying, exploitation and ultimate suicide of teenagerAmanda Todd, Raffi and his Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring co-founded the Red Hood Project with business owner, former Crown prosecutor, community and arts philanthropist and advocate Sandy Garossino and design professional, writer, educator and community activist Mark Busse. Red Hood Project is a movement for consumer protection for children online that launched in November 2012.[citation needed]
In June 2013, Raffi published the bookLightweb Darkweb: Three Reasons to Reform Social Media Before it Re-forms Us, which examines both the benefits and the dangers present on the internet and in social media.[24]
In 1975, Raffi married Deborah Pike, a kindergarten teacher and high school classmate; they divorced in 1991.[2][1] He became a vegetarian in 1980.[11]
Although Raffi's music is geared towards children, Raffi has never had any children himself.[25]
He owned a home onSalt Spring Island in British Columbia from 2008[2] until 2024, when he put the property on the market.[26][27] He has been a critic of American PresidentDonald Trump, especially regarding the effects of his policies on children and youth.[28]
