RI Veteran of the Year Greg Lato of Narragansett on New Children’s Album, Dandelion

It might seem like a long journey from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier to a career in writing and recording books and music for children, but for Narragansett’s Greg Lato, it’s just another chapter in a fully engaged life. Lato, a Navy veteran, who recently released his third children’s album, Dandelion: Songs Inspired by Military Kids and Families, has been named the 2025 Rhode Island Veteran of the Year by Military Friendly, an organization that supports military veterans and their families.

Lato learned of the award, which recognizes his leadership, community impact, and achievement after serving in the military, just as his recording reached number one on iTunes earlier this year. Inspired by conversations with military families, the 13-track album features uplifting songs about resilience, courage, and belonging – messages that reflect both his service to his country and his passion for creating meaningful music.

Recording children’s songs might seem like an unusual path for the former soldier, whose service included a tour as a firefighter on the now decommissioned USS Constellation. The journey began while his own kids were growing up. “My kids inspired me to create children’s music more than anything,” he explains. “Before that, I was doing adult pop rock for many years. It was when I had kids that I was inspired to write my first book.”

That first book, Try, published in 2017, is an inspiring story about not being afraid to take chances. “My first book had one song that came with it,” he says. “I would just make up songs for all the things that the kids would do.” While promoting the book at bookstores and libraries, Lato would sing “Try” at the end of his readings. “I would do story time with the book and then perform the song. Parents and kids would ask if I had anything else, and I didn’t. Then I realized, maybe they’re onto something. So I started writing songs with kids’ themes and then came out with a whole album.”

Lato attributes his success to his writing style, which often uses the voice and tone of a child experiencing life’s ups and downs. “Sometimes you write from a kid’s perspective and sometimes I’ll write as a dad from a dad’s perspective,” he says. Although Dandelion was conceived as a tribute to military families, many folks of all ages outside the military will certainly relate to its themes.

“I had never tied my military service to my music before, and I wanted to do that,” he adds. “I was young when I was in the service. I didn’t have kids or family, but I would hear stories back then about what they go through when they’re deployed – how they missed their kids and the things they would do when they got home. Based on those conversations, I wrote songs for the album. It’s a kid’s album, so I wanted to keep it fun and upbeat, but there are heartfelt moments in there too, woven into the fabric of it because of the stories I heard.”

Before recording, Lato met with military families and recruited children to sing on the album. “It was amazing to meet with the families and kids and just hear stories of how military life affects them, good or bad,” he says. In the process, Lato recently led a week-long songwriting workshop at Portsmouth Middle School. “There’s a heavy concentration of military families in that area. There were about 20 kids who got together over the course of the week – we did a songwriting workshop, and I recorded them on two songs for the album. It was an amazing experience.” Learn more at GregLato.com.