Talk:Campfire Sing-Along/@comment-68.174.136.60-20161021043739/@comment-68.174.136.60-20161021043803

Barney & the Backyard Gang is a home video series produced from 1988 to 1991. The series focused on a purple tyrannosaurus rex named Barney, and a group of kids known as The Backyard Gang, and the adventures they take, through their imaginations.

The series, for the most part, was for entertainment, having little to no education incorporated. Some tapes, such as Campfire Sing-Along and Barney Goes to School, are really the only ones of the series to teach educational lessons. All the other tapes only focus on the caring and imagination aspect of Barney. It wasn't until Barney & Friends, when the songs incorporated lessons and morals.

The series made more than $3.5 million. The first three tapes alone sold 50,000 copies. Despite being a huge success in Dallas, the series was only a moderate success throughout the rest of America.

The first six videos of this series were written by Frank Olsen. After he left the Barney franchise after the first six videos of this series, Sheryl Leach, Dennis and Kathy Parker (The creators) wrote the last 2 videos of this series.

Dinosaurs

 * Barney (Voice: Bob West, Costume: David Voss and David Joyner) [8/8]
 * Baby Bop (Voice: Julie Johnson, Performer: Dao Knight) [2/8]

Children

 * Amy (Becky Swonke) [8/8]
 * Michael (Brian Eppes) (8/8]
 * Luci (Leah Gloria) [8/8]
 * Tina (Jessica Zucha) [8/8]
 * Adam (Alexander Jhin) [7/8]
 * Derek (Rickey Carter) [5/8]
 * Jason (Salim Grant) [3/8]
 * Jeffrey (Jeffrey Lowe) [1/8]

Adults

 * Michael and Amy's Mom (Sandy Duncan) [3/8]
 * Michael and Amy's Dad (Bob Reed) [3/8]

Guest Appearances

 * Jeanne Cairns (played Mrs. Claus in Waiting for Santa)
 * Henry Hammack (played Santa Claus in Waiting for Santa)
 * Sonya Resendez (played Tina and Luci's Mom in Campfire Sing-Along)
 * Philip Parker (performed as the Bear in Campfire Sing-Along)
 * Lauren King (played Kathy in Rock with Barney)
 * Alexis Harris (played Jennifer in Rock with Barney)
 * Ajay Reddy (played AJ in Rock with Barney)
 * Chris Rodriguez (played Joseph in Rock with Barney)
 * Lourdes Regala (played Adam's Mom in Rock with Barney)

Trivia

 * Music for the Backyard Gang videos was done by Stephen Bates (Baltes) and Philip A. Parker (as with the television series that aired later), while Lory Lazarus wrote the first original song created for Barney, Friends Are Forever.
 * In the first five videos, "I Love You" was sung at the beginning. However, it was sung at the end of Barney Goes to School and Barney in Concert and is frequently sung at the end of Barney & Friends.
 * In November 1990, The Disney Channel the first six videos of this series as part of its "Lunch Box" program.
 * Related merchandise to the Backyard Gang videos include read-along books (of the first three videos) and tape sets (of the entire series), and later in the series, the first Barney dolls (two of them actually used in the videos).
 * The earlier videos from 1988 and 1989 featured actress Sandy Duncan as Michael and Amy's mother.
 * The first three videos of this series featured Barney with a slightly deeper voice, perhaps larger eyes, a visible red tongue (until 1990), and a much darker color of purple (which turned more magenta as the series went on).
 * All eight videos were re-released in 1992, and the last five titles were re-released in 1996. Two of them, Waiting for Santa and Barney in Concert, were also re-released by Lyrick Studios, in 1997 and 2000.
 * After David Voss left the show to join the military, Barney was performed by a woman for one concert. She couldn't stay in the costume for a long time and she ended up freaking out, so she was never heard from again. Then David Joyner did the rest of the concerts and continued as Barney's costume performer.
 * This is a prologue to the actual series, Barney & Friends, similar The Tracey Ullman Show, whose shorts serve as a prologue to The Simpsons.
 * Barney and Baby Bop are the only dinosaurs to appear in these videos, as BJ wasn't even introduced yet.