It was one of those incredulous "can you believe that?" laughs that tell a story when words can't.

Ziggy Marley was on the phone, hours before a reggae concert in Phoenix last month, and he was answering questions about how he'd recently started popping into the news.

Item No. 1 was about a lost song he collaborated on with Michael Jackson after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Marley said he has no idea what happened to the song, or what it will sound like when it's released. He only knows that after 9/11, Jackson called him and asked him to contribute, so he cut some music in his studio, sent it off and never heard from him again. "Maybe it will come out some day," he said. "Somebody's got it somewhere."

Item No. 2 was about his new children's album, "Family Time," released earlier this year. The four-time Grammy winner and father of five recently has taken his reggae roots and made music for children. He collaborated with Jack Johnson, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon and Jamie Lee Curtis for many of the tracks.

"The idea is that it's important to influence kids with positive ideas because that's how change is made in the world," Marley said. "Children have more open minds than a lot of adults who are set in their ways, and they'll be the people making the decisions in the future."

Item No. 3 is when Marley, 40, let out a "can-you-believe-it" chuckle. It came when he was asked about the San Diego County Fair dropping its annual reggae fest. While the official word is that it was canceled because of scheduling problems with promoters, reggae fans and promoters said in a San Diego Union-Tribune report that they were being singled out because of "blatant pot-smoking in front of youngsters at a Ziggy Marley show" the prior year. "I don't know what's happening with that," Marley said, laughing. "That sounds like something that would happen 50 years ago. It's so far behind the times, it's crazy."

Marley has little time for worries these days. Before he takes the stage Saturday night at the Waikiki Shell for a reggae fest loaded with tons of entertainers, he is heading over to the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center tomorrow morning to put on a free, one-hour concert at noon for children with songs from "Family Time." He'll sign autographs for parents, too.

"I've been doing shows for children more, but this is the first time I'm doing one in Hawai'i," he said. "Parents can bring their kids out and have some fun. I want to put something out positive that can you feel good and smile when you listen to it."

Part of Marley's desire to send children a positive experience through music stems from his own childhood. He grew up following his dad, the legendary Bob Marley, to concerts.

"Music is in my DNA from my father and mother," he said. "I grew up with it, and I took a lot from my father as a songwriter. The discipline in the art. I remember one time he opened for the Jackson 5 in Jamaica, and I got to meet Michael backstage. 'Rocking Robin' was something I sang as a child. For me as an artist, it was shocking to hear about Michael's death. I feel a camaraderie with Michael, like we lost one of our own. It's very sad."