Imagination Movers is an American
children's music group formed in
New Orleans,
Louisiana, in 2003. The lineup includes Rich Collins, Scott Durbin, Dave Poche, and Scott "Smitty" Smith. Members of the group were longtime friends and neighbors.
The group started as a television/music concept which was pitched to local PBS affiliates in New Orleans. WLAE-TV was the first to take an interest in the group and later introduced them to Beth Courtney, the President & Chief Executive Officer at Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Soon after, LPB began airing one-minute videos produced by the Imagination Movers themselves.[1]
The Movers built a sizable regional following by setting educational songs for kids to melodies and rhythms that adults appreciate as well. They sold more than 30,000 copies of their self-produced CDs and DVDs. Their three indie CDs "Good Ideas," "Calling All Movers," and "Eight Feet" along with their grass roots DVD "Stir It Up" have, combined, won fourteen national awards, from such groups as the National Association of Parenting Publications (NAPPA) and Parents' Choice.[2][3][4]
In 2005, Disney took notice, and initiated negotiations to add the Movers to the company's roster. These were interrupted by Hurricane Katrina - floodwaters claimed the band's office, as well as the homes of Collins, Durbin and Poche—but the deal was signed in the spring of 2006.[5]
