TORONTO - Decorated children's entertainer Lois Lilienstein — perhaps the sunniest member of the cheerful trio Sharon, Lois and Bram — died Wednesday after battling cancer. She was 78. Below, a look at six songs Sharon, Lois & Bram made their own:

"I Am Slowly Going Crazy": Parents of children who grew up in the 1980s can surely relate. The group debuted the addictive, potentially never-ending earworm on the beloved '80s children's TV series "Today's Special," before performing it on their own show, with each member of the trio taking turns donning a floppy purple-and-pink elephant hat when the lyrical countdown finally hits the "Switch!"

"Old John Braddlelum": This traditional tune from the group's debut album might not be one of their best-remembered, but it did accumulate trivia cachet after Sharon, Lois & Bram's performance of the song was featured in the 1995 comedy "Billy Madison." For those about to Netflix, the song trills pleasantly in the background as Adam Sandler's titular manchild devours a jar of paste with increasing enthusiasm during craft time.

"One Elephant": The original version of this bilingual cut is enchantingly spare, with the trio's plucky vocals (and eventually, whistles) bouncing atop a bed of lumbering tubas and skeletal percussion. A revised, jauntier take — buoyed by additional brass and woodwinds — was used as the theme song during the animated introduction to their show.

"Peanut Butter": These lyrics doubled as what Bram referred to onstage as the trio's "favourite recipe." Culled from the group's second album, 1979's "Smorgasbord" — which merited the trio their first Juno Award — the song's jazzy, vaguely Noirish flair (with spare sax, guitar and piano riffs) contrasted nicely with its goofy lyrics and sticky-sweet refrain: "Peanut, peanut butter! (Jelly)." Whispering those last two syllables was a special treat for kids.

"She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain": The folky second track on the group's first album, 1978's "One Elephant, Deux Elephants," bursts with energy, featuring a chorus of children chanting "Toot toot!" and "Yum yum!" in the background. The stomping singalong was performed in a February 1986 episode of "The Elephant Show," in which the threesome explored Toronto's Kensington Market and performed outdoors with a team of steel drummers.

"Skinnamarink": Sharon, Lois & Bram's signature song, a blissfully nonsensical old tune (it dates back to a 1910 Broadway production) that was also included on the trio's debut. A performance of the winsome, ukulele-and-tuba tune — with its attendant series of cheerful hand movements, of course — closed every episode of "The Elephant Show."

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News from © The Canadian Press, 2015