~ A Look Back at Bob Carlisle’s Butterfly Kisses Song and Dolls ~
Butterfly Kisses Song
For butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer
Butterfly Kisses from the album Butterfly Kisses & Bedtime Prayers 🦋
Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair
“Walk beside the pony, Daddy, it’s my first ride”
“I know the cake looks funny, Daddy, but I sure tried”
Oh, with all that I’ve done wrong
I must have done something right
To deserve a hug every morning
And butterfly kisses at night
The year was 1997. “Butterfly Kisses,” a song written by Bob Carlisle and Randy Thomas was released from Carlisle’s third studio album Butterfly Kisses (Shades of Grace), also known as Butterfly Kisses & Bedtime Prayers. The touching ballad was written for Carlisle’s daughter Brooke on her 16th birthday.
“Butterfly Kisses” rocketed up the charts. It hit a chord with Americans about family and a father’s love. The song made the top 10 of Hot 100 Airplay, became a number-one single on the mainstream Adult Contemporary chart, received a Dove Award for Song of the Year, and earned a Grammy Award for Best Country Song. (Two versions of the song were released and one was a country take.) Although Carlisle had a solid career in Christian music, charting numerous times on the CHR chart, “Butterfly Kisses” remains his only mainstream chart single. Listen to the song here.
Butterfly Kisses Books
The song inspired a journal, Butterfly Kisses for Fathers and Their Daughters, written by Carlisle, as well as a book for juveniles called “Butterfly Kisses,” which was a book form of the song written by Carlisle and Cindy Sterling. Butterfly Kisses and Bittersweet Tears, also by Carlisle, is a collection of stories about fathers and daughters. A Little Golden Book by Bob and Brooke Carlisle was also published.
Bob Carlisle’s Butterfly Kisses Dolls
I cannot think of a more wonderful tribute to my song than this doll. Baby Brooke and all the dolls in the series are beautiful representations of the words to “Butterfly Kisses.”
Bob Carlisle
Perhaps it is most interesting to note, the song also inspired a doll series of 5 dolls at five different ages. The series was endorsed by Bob Carlisle. The first doll sold at Heilig-Meyers was the “Butterfly Kisses” baby Brooke doll, released in June, 1999.
The blond-haired, blue-eyed doll was issued by Precious Collectibles in a box that said “Butterfly Kisses” and had a butterfly on the box. She wore a yellow dress with “pearl” beads and embroidery.
After Baby Brooke, four more “Butterfly Kisses” dolls were released in the series that featured a birthday cake doll, a pony ride doll, a “sweet 16” doll, and a bride doll. The dolls are made of porcelain and appear to run from 11 inches to about 18 inches tall.
The Butterfly Kisses doll series was issued in this order and includes:
- Baby Brooke, released June, 1999
- Daddy’s Cake, released August, 1999
- First Ride, released October, 1999
- Sweet Sixteen, released December, 1999
- Wedding Day, released February, 2000
The “Butterfly Kisses” dolls are not hard to find on websites like eBay, Mercari and Amazon for a wide range of prices.
