newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Generally the first person you think of when it comes to slow-jamming music is not the late Fred Rogers, icon of sneakers and cardigan sweaters in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

The Los Angeles Times reports that clips from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and the altered voice of Rogers are featured in a YouTube video called "Garden of Your Mind" that has gone viral. According to masslive.com, PBS said the video has been viewed more than 400,000 times on YouTube. At the time of this writing, that number has grown to more than 2 million.

The voice-changing process is known as auto-tuning, according to People. Singers use an electronic processor to change the pitch of their voice. Kanye West and Rihanna are some of the singers who have been auto-tuned.

Fans of Mr. Rogers' show know he normally had one pitch during his program: monotone.

According to the New York Daily News, the video sees Rogers asking "Did you ever grow anything in the garden of your mind?" He is speaking over the slow-jam melody, as clips roll across the screen.

The video was done by artist John D. Boswell, or melodysheep, who has previously done science videos known as “Symphony of Science” with astronomer Carl Sagan and Neil DeGrasse Tyson. 

Fred Rogers Company Chief Operating Officer Kevin Morrison called Rogers ahead of his time.

“The message that it’s good to be curious, to use your imagination, and that ideas are the ‘garden produce’ of a fertile mind was something he stressed throughout his career,” Morrison said, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

PBS is looking to release a number of remixed videos of famous notable figures to introduce them to a new generation. Rogers’ program Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood was on from 1968 to 2001. He died of stomach cancer in February 2003 at age 74.