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., The series gave children an exposure to timeless classic stories.
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 and Australian 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.
[Image:The Nutcracker 11011.jpg|thumb|right|100px|The Nutcracker Suite UAC11011 dated 1962.]

Selected discography

United Artists Series

Robin Hood - Robert Hardy UAC 11001William Tell - Paul Daneman UAC 11002Snow White - Marjorie Westbury UAC 11003Cinderella - Marjorie Westbury UAC 11004The [Knights of the Round Table] - Derek Hart UAC 11005Sleeping Beauty - Denise Bryer UAC 11006The Three Musketeers - Robert Hardy UAC 11007The Ugly Duckling - Denise Bryer UAC 11008Puss in Boots UAC 11009The Story of Chopin - Robert Hardy UAC 11010The Nutcracker Suite - Denise Bryer UAC 11011Little Red Riding Hood - Judith Stott UAC 11012Treasure Island - James Kennedy UAC 11013Pinocchio - Maggie Smith UAC 11014Robinson Crusoe - Alec McCowen UAC 11015Nursery Rhymes - UAC 11016The Pied Piper & The Tinder Box - Denise Bryer UAC 11017Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves - Denise Bryer UAC 11018Aladdin and the Magic Lamp - Denise Bryer UAC 11019Sinbad the Sailor - Derek Hart UAC 11020The Emperor's New Clothes & Hop-o'-My-Thumb - Frank Luther UAC 11021The Story of Mozart - Alec McCowen UAC 11022The Story of Beethoven - William Devlin UAC 11023Gulliver in Lilliput - Derek Hart UAC 11024Don Quixote - Donald Pleasence UAC 11025The Story of the Old Testament, Part One - James McKenchie and John Wood UAC 11026Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado - Frank Luther UAC 11027 with The New Modern Music Theatre CompanyBluebeard - Marjorie Westbury UAC 11028Alice in Wonderland - Denise Bryer UAC 11029Davy Crockett - Denise Bryer UAC 11030The Story of the Old Testament, Part Two - James McKechnie and John Wood UAC 11031Sing Along with Chipper and His Playmates - Henry LaPedus - UAC 11032Hansel and Gretel - UAC 11033Rip Van Winkle - UAC 11034Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Other Mother Goose Rhymes - UAC 11035Little Toot and Other Sea Songs - UAC 11036The Little Engine That Could & Jack and the Beanstalk - UAC 11037Thumbelina - John Scott, Ellen Hayes, Margo Shea, Bob Brown, The Ace Singers / Arthur Korb, John Stratter - UAC 11038Peter and the Wolf - UAC 11039Christopher Columbus - James McKechnie UAC 11040Mother Goose UAC 11041 Barrie Peter and John Thomas with the Hickory Dickory Singers and Orch. The Little Mermaid Denise Bryer UAC 11042Happy Birthday Party Time UAC 11043 Jack Johnson and the Hickory Dickory Players
[Image:Sunset Record Logo used from 1966 to 1970.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Sunset Record Logo used from 1966 to 1970.]The Count of Monte Cristo - Paul Daneman UAC 11044Beauty and the Beast UAC 11045Baron Munchausen William Devlin UAC 11046Brave Little Tailor - Donald Pleasence UAC 11047The Story of Bach Derek Hart UAC 11048Sing Along With Humpty Dumpty UAC 11049 The Penguins and OrchestraGod Bless Us All - John Chapman UAC 11050Golden Rhymes - Winnie Barrie UAC 11051 Hickery Dickery PlayersWestern TV Favorites - Rex Hickock and His Rangers UAC 11052Peter Pan - Frank Gauna UAC 11053Hiawatha Jordan Malek UAC 11054Goldilocks and the Three Bears & The Three Little Pigs UAC 11055Wizard of Oz UAC 11056Daniel Boone UAC 11057The Silver Skates UAC 11058Swiss Family Robinson UAC 11059The Prince and the Pauper UAC 11060The Snow Queen UAC 11061Tom Thumb UAC 11062The Red Shoes UAC 11063Heidi UAC 11064King Midas & Rumpelstilskin UAC 11065Jack and the Beanstalk - The Regency Players UAC 11067Aesop's Best Known Fables - The Regency Players UAC 11068 Favorite Stories from Grimm's Fairy Tales - The Regency Players UAC 11069 Alphabet and Numbers UAC 11070Ring Around a Rosy UAC 110'] UAC 11072 SunsetSnow-White and Rose-Red & The Goose Girl - Herb Galewitz UAC 11073 SunsetThe Gingerbread Man - The Regency Players UAC 11074 SunsetTales from the Arabian Nights - The Regency Players UAC 11075 SunsetThe Frog Princess - The Regency Players UAC 11076 SunsetRudyard Kipling's Just So Stories - The Regency Players UAC 11077 SunsetThe Owl and the Pussycat - Miss Kari UAC 11078 SunsetFunny Fairy Tales - The Regency Players UAC 11079 SunsetThe Very Best Stories About Princesses UAC 11080 SunsetMacaroni the Little Pony - Frank Luther UAK 61

Atlas Talespinner Series

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

History

United Artists released the 30 original stories in the US in 1962. The recording labels changed when Liberty Records and United Artists Records merged in 1968 after Transamerica bought Liberty. All labels were merged under United Artists in 1971. When Liberty was deactivated in 1971 both the Sunset and Talespinners series were leased by Springboard International 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:Robin Hood - Violin Concerto in E minor by Felix MendelssohnWilliam Tell - William Tell Overture and Overture from La Gazza Ladra by Gioachino RossiniThe Three Musketeers - "The Dance of the Furies" from Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph GluckTreasure Island - Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz 'Sinbad the Sailor - Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 'Rip Van Winkle - Overture for A Midsummer Night's Dream by Felix MendelssohnChristopher Columbus - Symphony No. 9 - "From the New World" by Antonín DvořákThe Little Mermaid - Piano Concerto in A minor by Edvard GriegThe Count of Monte Cristo - Symphony No. 6 by Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyRobinson Crusoe - Symphony No. 5 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky