About Charlotte
Charlotte Diamond has spent most of her life in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. She now resides in Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast of BC. Born and raised in Vancouver, she graduated from the University of B.C. with a Bachelor of Secondary Education, majoring in Zoology and French. She took further studies at Laval University, Quebec, in French Language and taught Science, French and Music at the junior-high school level for 12 years.
Charlotte has had a life-long interest in music. She sang with local folk groups, including performing intro sets for Pete Seeger and Tom Paxton. When her own children came along, she began singing and writing songs for them and also developed a preschool music program in her community. This led to performances for her children’s parent-participation preschool, which mushroomed into requests for workshops, school concerts and family shows around Vancouver and throughout British Columbia.
Charlotte formed her Hug Bug Band and proceeded with the independent production and release of 10 Carrot Diamond, which won the Canadian Juno Award in 1986. Her career turned professional and international overnight, and “10 Carrot Diamond” is a Certified Gold Record in Canada.
10 Carrot Diamond is our #1 Best Seller of all recordings for 15 years!
– All for Kids Bookstore, Seattle, WA
A frequent headliner for the Vancouver International Children’s Festival, she is best known for favourites like:
- Four Hugs a Day
- I am a Pizza (Je suis une pizza, Soy una Pizza)
- Octopus (Slippery Fish)
- La Bamba
- All the Nations Like Banana
- Dicky Dinosaur
Her popular song, “Octopus (Slippery Fish),” was published in 2013 as a children’s board book, titled “Slippery Fish in Hawai’i.”
Charlotte is often accompanied by her son, Matt Diamond, who is launching his own career in family music. In the fall of 2015, Matt and Charlotte released their new CD, “Diamonds by the Sea,” to rave reviews.
Charlotte presently has fourteen recordings, a string of awards, including five Parents’ Choice Awards and three American Library Association Awards (to mention a few), two nationally televised videos, and two Music / Resource books. She also offers Song Cards (Big Books) and felt Puppets to accompany the teaching of her songs. As a frequent presenter of Keynotes and Workshops at Conferences for the Education of Young Children, Charlotte links singing and music with the development of literacy and self-expression.
Her latest CD, “24 Carrot Diamond – The Best of Charlotte Diamond”, features 24 of her best-known songs, recorded over the past 25 years.
Charlotte tours throughout Canada and the U.S.A., and has had three concert tours to Costa Rica, on the invitation of that country’s First Lady, UNICEF and the Canadian Embassy. Charlotte is trilingual and has three recordings in French (“Bonjour l’hiver,” “Nous sommes tous comme les fleurs,” and “Qu’il y ait toujours le soleil”), and two in Spanish (“Soy una Pizza” and “Todo el Mundo Come Banana!”). She was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal “in recognition of her exemplary support of UNICEF”, as well as being named a “Paul Harris Fellow” by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, “in appreciation of significant assistance given to the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.”
The Governor General presents the Member insignia of the Order of Canada to Charlotte Diamond, C.M.
Charlotte was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada in Ottawa by the Governor General in August, 2018 “for her contributions as a children’s entertainer who, through song and music, helps to develop creativity and self-expression in youth.” In addition, she was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal “in recognition of her exemplary support of UNICEF,” and was also named a “Paul Harris Fellow” by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, “in appreciation of significant assistance given to the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.”
Following her Keynote Presentation on the value of Music Education in our schools at the BCMEA Conference in Richmond, October, 2019, Charlotte was very honored to receive the Special Distinguished Service Award from the BC Music Educators Association “In recognition of exemplary commitment, talent and leadership for music education in British Columbia.” Beside Charlotte in the photo is Evelyn Benson, who was co-director of Charlotte’s choir, the New Westminstrals at New Westminster Secondary 1969 – 1978. Charlotte’s focus was always inclusion. Any student who wanted to sing was welcome.
Her music, as well as being lively and singable, inspires children to care for each other and to celebrate the diversity of our cultural mosaic with songs like “Leave the World a Little Better”. Charlotte’s concerts are fun for kids, but parents and grandparents will be captivated by her music as well.
For more information, please contact us.
Please click here for a printable version of Charlotte’s biography.