From professor to musician and adults to tiny tots

BERKELEY, Calif.— With fire trucks, planes, trains and over 120 songs in his repertoire, you name it and Grandpa Clyde will sing it.

Clyde Leland, known to many as Grandpa Clyde, began singing to kids around 41 years ago when his children were born. Now that he’s retired, singing has become his full time job, going to preschools, day cares, and special events.

Kids stop and listen to Grandpa Clyde sing on Saturday. (Photo by: Natalie Wu)

Accompanied by children and their parents who would intermittently pass by, he sang at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market this past weekend promoting Freighter Tots: a Saturday Morning sing along for kids at the Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse.

When asked about his favorite part of his job he said, “I like it all.”

“Firetruck”, is a crowd favorite song among kids. Every so often teachers at daycare will send Grandpa Clyde videos of their kids singing the song after a visit.

Leland, originally from San Francisco, was a professor of law at University of San Francisco. Upon retiring, he turned to singing for kids full time. He now lives in Berkeley.

“All the years I taught law school, no one came up to me after class to give me a hug, and now it happens everyday,” he said.