Tale Spinners for Children

Tale Spinners for Children was a series of stories and novels adapted for young audiences on vinyl records in the early 1960s. They included a collection of old fairy tales, folklore, literary classics such as Don Quixote and Robinson Crusoe, and time-honored fables, with the title role sometimes played by a renowned theatrical actor or actress. (Many of the actors who appeared, however, such as Maggie Smith or Alec McCowen, became more famous for other roles years after the albums were released, and some of the actors, such as Donald Pleasence, who played Don Quixote, or John Wood, who played several villainous roles, were not even identified on the album covers.) The series gave children an exposure to timeless classic stories.

Tale Spinners for Children
Parent companyUnited Artists
Founded1959
FounderMax E. Youngstein
Distributor(s)United Artists Records (America)
Country of originGB

Originally only 30 records were pressed in England and France and sold as Atlas Talespinners under the Atlas Record label, and included an easy to follow story booklet. Within a few years, these records were introduced to the U.S. as Tale Spinners for Children under the United Artists Records label. What was known as the Atlas Theatre Company in England was marketed as the Famous Theatre Company in the United States. The story booklets were not included in the U.S. releases.

UA continued to produce more stories records until the early 1970s, and distribute them in the Canadian[1] and Australian[2] markets as well.

With popular children's record companies like Walt Disney Records already on the market, a host of other record companies followed: Mercury Storyteller series, Telegeneral Let's Pretend, Riverside Wonderland and Pathways of Sound.

The Nutcracker Suite UAC11011 dated 1962.

Selected discography

United Artists Series
Sunset Record Logo used from 1966 to 1970.

Atlas Talespinner Series
  • Robin Hood - Robert Hardy EN 10-001
  • The 3 Musketeers - Robert Hardy and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-002
  • The Story of Bach EN 10-003
  • The Little Mermaid - Denise Bryer and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-004 Atlas
  • Gulliver in Lilliput - Derek Hart and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-005
  • The Story of the Old Testament, Part One - James McKechnie and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-006
  • The Story of the Old Testament, Part Two - James McKechnie and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-007
  • Cinderella - Marjorie Westbury and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-008
  • The Nutcracker Suite - Denise Bryer and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-009
  • Christopher Columbus - James McKechnie and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-010
  • The Knights of the Round Table - Derek Hart and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-011
  • The Ugly Duckling - Denise Bryer and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-012
  • Don Quixote - Donald Pleasence and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-013
  • Puss in Boots - Cyril Shaps and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-014
  • Treasure Island - James Kenney EN 10-015
  • Beauty and the Beast - Cyril Shaps and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-016
  • Bluebeard - Marjorie Westbury EN 10-017
  • Brave Little Tailor - Donald Pleasence and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-018
  • Sleeping Beauty - Denise Bryer EN 10-019
  • Snow White - Marjorie Westbury and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-020
  • Pinocchio - Maggie Smith EN 10-021
  • William Tell - Paul Daneman EN 10-022
  • The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen - William Devlin and the Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-023
  • The Story of Chopin - Robert Hardy EN 10-024
  • The Count of Monte Cristo - Paul Daneman and The Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-025
  • The Story of Mozart - Alec McCowen EN 10-026
  • Little Red Riding Hood - Judith Stott EN 10-027
  • The Story of Beethoven - William Devlin EN 10-028
  • Robinson Crusoe - William Devlin and the Atlas Theatre Company EN 10-029
  • Nursery Rhymes EN 10-030

History

United Artists released the 30 original stories in the US in 1962. The recording labels changed when Liberty Records (its budget subsidiary Sunset Records) and United Artists Records[3] merged in 1968 after Transamerica[4] bought Liberty. All labels were merged under United Artists in 1971. When Liberty was deactivated in 1971 (for the first time) both the Sunset and Talespinners series were leased by Springboard International[5] and in the case of the Talespinners series they used the same catalog numbers until 1975. When Springboard International Records went bankrupt 1984 Gusto Records acquired some of their catalogues from Jay-Koala.

Music

Tale Spinners for Children used classical music as background and linking music in their productions. Examples of this include:

See also

References
  1. Manufactured and Distributed in Canada by The Compo Company Ltd., Lachine, Que.
  2. Manufactured and Distributed in Australia Under License from United Artists Records, Inc.
  3. ©LIBERTY/UA, INC., Los Angeles, Calf.
  4. DEPT. SUS 6920 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, Calif. (90028)
  5. Distributed by SPRINGBOARD INTERNATIONAL RECORDS, INC., 947 U.S. Highway 1, Rahway, New Jersey 07065
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