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Hopalong
At
the same time he produced and marketed many recordings for the
rapidly growing children's market.
Winky Dink
Host Jack Barry and Mae Questel (the original voice of Olive Oil
and the voice of Winky-Dink) are represented on this 1954 78 rpm
record:
SIDE
ONE: SIDE
TWO: Never-Never
Land, the B-side to the theme single.
Jack
Barry also had another 78 RPM record in the Winky Dink series entitled
"Mister Bungle" b/w "The Make-Lika Song" (Decca Children's Series).
Sheriff
John SONG
ONE: SONG
TWO: SONG
THREE: Sheriff
John also had a record on the Imperial label titled "Little TV
Cowboy" in the 1950s as well.
This
is the children's version of Woody's hit song, originally recorded
by Kay Kyser's Band.
I'm
not crazy about Woody Woodpecker, he's annoying! But then, how can
you hate a song that has a lyric like, "It's nothing to me... to
peck a few holes in your head"!?!
THE
OLD REBEL SHOW The
Old Rebel Show was one of the longest running children's shows
of all time with 27 years on the air. Seen at left
is the Old Rebel played by George Perry, below (with Cathy the Chimp)
is Pecos Pete portrayed by Jim Tucker. Today
this ultra-rare recording is not only a collector's item, it's a
genuine folk classic.
The
Mickey Mouse Club A
slew of Mouseketeers record albums and 78 singles were released
in conjunction with the afternoon series and they were enormously
popular. These mid-fifties recordings were noted for their first-rate
orchestrations and arrangements, as you would expect from Disney.
SIDE
ONE:
SIDE
TWO: Here's
the alternate version of the Mickey
Mouse Club March, the one with Donald Duck in the mix.
Another
release: SIDE
TWO:
POPEYE These
songs from his first album were performed by the host (as Popeye)
with Mae Questel as Olive.
Mae
Questel was the original voice of Olive Oyl in the Fleisher cartoons,
and these recordings reflect the improvisational style of the incomparable
1930's Fleisher cartoons.
"Captain
Allen" cut a second kid's TV recording in 1960 for RCA Camden Children's
Records. "Popeye's Favorite Sea Shanties" had Capt. Allen performing
songs ("his Mateys") along with informational segments and even
some poetry (like "I Saw A Ship A Sailing") between tunes performed
by "Bill Simon and His Crew." That
record was nominated for a Grammy award in 1960 but lost to Liberty
Record's "Alvin Show" TV soundtrack.
Allen
Swift was responsible for so many of the cartoon voices we grew
up with, like, Simon Bar Sinister ("Underdog"), Tom & Jerry cartoon
narrations (1960-61) and Mayor Phineas T. Bluster ("Howdy Doody").
SIDE
ONE:
SIDE
TWO: The
Merry Mailman
Ray
Heatherton, aka The
Merry Mailman, made
his debut as host of a 15 minute cartoon fest; the show was later
re-formatted as an hour-long kiddie variety series.
Sadly,
Mr. Heatherton became a victim of the Communist witch hunts, when
a bogus supermarket chain owner wrongly accused him of being in
support of 'the Red Menace.' Ray
Heatherton returned as The Merry Mailman when the series
was picked up by WPIX channel 11 in NYC on Monday afternoon, September
25, 1961. The series didn't do very well and left the air on Friday,
May 31, 1963.
Ray
Heatherton died on August 15, 1997.
Merry
Mailman records (and books) were sold nationally in the mid-fifties.
The lyrics were written by Mrs. Sylvia Rosales. Here's
The Merry Mailman BERTIE
THE BUNYIP Their
adventures could be seen Sunday mornings at 11am (and at times on
Saturdays) for
a 10 year span from 1956 until 1966 on channels WPTZ, WRCV & KYW
(all channel 3 Philadelphia) - and on WPHL-TV (channel 17 UHF) in
1966. The
Do Bee Song - young people today, please keep in
mind they are NOT saying "doobie".
The
Posture Basket Song encouraged good posture.
WARNING:
Sampled from some VERY scratchy records!
Cassidy
William (Hopalong Cassidy) Boyd was one
of early TV's most popular personalities. He brought his old western
films from the thirties and forties to the new medium by shooting
fresh footage in the fifties and splicing it in. Kids weren't
supposed to notice that Hopalong would suddenly age twenty years
from one shot to the next!
and You
Winky Dink was the world's first interactive video
game. You took a plastic screen, placed it on your television screen,
then drew pictures on it with crayons to help poor Winky out of
a tough spot.
Magic Crayons
Make Magic Pictures
Winko
From
another record, here is the Winky Dink
and You theme song sung by Mae Questel and Jack Barry - released
as a 78 single in 1955.
Kids
who grew up in LA in the 1950s & 1960s will remember Sheriff
John from his daily KTTV Channel 11 show.
Good Advice
Eat Your Food, Wash Your Hands, & Face, Brush Your Teeth, Take A
Nap
The Safety Song
Woody
Woodpecker
Woody
was popular animated children's fare for decades. Believe it or not,
both Woody Woodpecker and Mighty Mouse had incredibly well-written
swinging jazz songs in the forties.
In 1957, The Old Rebel and Pecos
Pete from WFMY TV in Greensboro, NC released a 45 rpm record that
was sold in local record stores.
This
children's show changed the face of kid vid, replacing the wild,
uncontrolled antics found on the Howdy Doody & Pinky Lee shows with
a more low-key, lightly educational approach.
The MMC March
Mouseketeers Song
SIDE ONE:
We're the Mouseketeers
These
tunes were intended to introduce youngsters to the concept of different
cultures around the world.
Hi To You (Around the World)
Teaching
baby boomers how to say hello in various languages, then ending
with the TV show's closing theme.
A
popular local New York TV kiddie host was Captain Alan Swift
with his daily Popeye Show.
Popeye's Song
I Like Popeye
Here's the Popeye Song done
by the original voice, Jack Mercer - from another Popeye 78 around
the same time.
The
Merry Mailman was seen weekday evenings and afternoons on WOR
channel 9 in NYC from Monday October 16, 1950 until Friday June
22, 1956.
song as released on a 78 RPM record
A
Bunyip, from creator Lee
Dexter's
description, was a cross between a bunny, a collie dog and a duck
billed platypus.
Romper Room
Here are some songs
from the Romper Room soundtrack: