The Red Thread Lucy Kaplansky (Red House Records)
lucykaplansky.com
New York City folk singer Lucy Kaplansky titled this album to evoke the Chinese belief that invisible red threads connect people who will become significant in each other’s lives. This Is Home, co-written with her husband, is an intimate reflection on welcoming their daughter into their family. Also check out Over the Hills, to hear Kaplansky sing about how life has changed since becoming a mom.

Checks, Thugs and Rock n Roll Darryl McDaniels (RomenMpire Records)
It wasn’t until he was 35 that rapper Darryl McDaniels (of Run DMC) learned he’d been adopted. In Just Like Me, he transforms Harry Chapin’s Cats in the Cradle—a folksong about a failed relationship between a parent and child—into a message of hope to adoptees everywhere. Fellow adoptee Sarah McLachlan collaborates on this hip remake.

My Shirt Looks Good on You Catie Curtis (Rykodisc)
catiecurtis.com
Years before she contemplated motherhood herself, Catie Curtis was inspired to write Love Takes the Best of You after her sister adopted from Cambodia. You dont look like me / And, baby, we dont look like you / But our love is so complete, she croons in this simple, soulful tune. On Curtis’s latest album, Long Night Moon, the folk singer looks back at the wait to adopt her own daughter, from Guatemala.

Winds of Change Tim Chauvin (cdbaby.com)
Watching his new daughter, Marit, sleep in their hotel room during the adoption trip prompted Texas folksinger Tim Chauvin to write Daughters of China. The song celebrates his love for all daughters—and birth parents—in China. Chauvin has adopted a second child, Mattie, and took a six-month tour of China with his family, to gather material for his next album.

Declaration Steven Curtis Chapman (Sparrow)
stevencurtischapman.com
A dad of three adopted girls and three biological children, Steven Curtis Chapman has become a leading advocate for adoption. In his tender ballad, When Love Takes You In, the Christian songwriter explores the journey from an adoptee’s perspective. The story—how a life is changed by a love that’s not biological, but everlasting—will strike a chord with forever families everywhere.

For Kids

Same/Same Chuck Kent (cdbaby.com)
Adoptive dad Chuck Kent’s songs help kids understand adoption. In Ask Me Anything he encourages children to ask questions about, well, anything.