The celebrity guest stars came and went, but the musical production team was consistent throughout. Taking advantage of the prestigious Simon & Shuster imprint, Shimkin was able to lure some name talent to his label - Jimmy Durante, Danny Kaye, puppeteer Shari Lewis, major league baseball's Mel Allen, Cliff 'Jiminy Cricket' Edwards, and Roy Rogers and Dale Evans - all of whom appear on Volume 1 of Micro Werks' Your Golden Childhood. Golden Records were originally an audio offshoot of the New York publishing house Simon & Shuster where, under the direction of Arthur Shimkin, they became the first label to be devoted exclusively to children's music. At the least it gives these so-called 'kiddie records' - long forgotten and tossed in with the other toys in the attic - the name recognition they deserve.

Sure, it's not definitive, but it's at least something. Now that's multi-tasking!)īut now the slighted have been righted! Thanks to the folks at Shout! Factory's reissue label Micro Werks, we Boomers can now truly name that tune - and who was singing it. (In fact, Edison Lighthouse - a studio concoction of Brit bubblegum writer/producer Tony Macauley - featured singer Tony Burrows, who holds the distinction of singing on hits by four different fake bands in the same year: Edison Lighthouse's 'Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes,' White Plains' 'My Baby Loves Lovin',' the Brotherhood of Man's 'United We Stand,' and the Pipkins 'Gimme Dat Ding.' Burrows is also in the record books as the only person to appear on BBC Television's Top Of The Pops fronting three different acts in one show: Edison Lighthouse, White Plains, and Brotherhood of Man. Unfortunately, most of their names were shrouded in mystery or ignominity - kind of like all those 'fake' in-name-only '60s groups that were really the studio creations of behind-the-scenes record producers 'bands' like The Cuff Links, The Grass Roots and Edison Lighthouse never existed until the record companies had a hit on their hands, and only then would they draft cookie-cutter musicians to hit the road and promote the records - often sending multiple versions of the same group to different geographic regions. Little Golden Records: Kid-safe and unbreakable!

It's great that Golden Records are finally getting their artistic due because, in addition to their pop cultural value, these platters of yore featured some truly talented - albeit unheralded - singers and musicians. Those little yellow 78s (and later 45s and LPs) - branded 'unbreakable' and heralding a vast library of 'new and gay and charming' stories, songs and music - had never previously been available on CD until now, so when I spotted this disc at Daedulus Books & Music recently, I had to pick it up. are deeply embedded in our minds, like some Manchurian Candidate hypnotic implant. Whether we Baby Boomers like it or not, these melodies and jingles - 'Bumble Bee, Bumble Bye,' 'Icka Backa Soda Cracker,' 'Piddly Patter Patter' et. As a result, my musical tastes were determined early on by sucking on the teat of Little Golden Records, starting in the late '50s and continuing through my lost early '60s Youth. Spock was right, everything in life depends on how you were weaned. PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON - The Golden Singersĭr. THE BALLAD OF THE ALAMO - Mike Stewartġ4. HI-LILI, HI-LO - Shari Lewis, Lamb Chop & Friendsġ3. SONG WAGON - Roy Rogers, Dale Evans & The Ranch Handsġ2. CAROUSEL WALTZ - Mitch Miller's Orchestra Conducted by Jimmy Carrollġ0. GIVE A LITTLE WHISTLE - Cliff Edwards with Mitch Miller's Orchestraĩ. THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD - The Sandpipers featuring Anne Lloyd and Mike StewartĨ. TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME - The Sandpipers featuring Anne Lloyd with Mitch Miller's Orchestraħ. I LIKE PEOPLE (The Friendly Song) - Jimmy DuranteĦ. PETER COTTONTAIL (Year Round Version) - The Sandpipers featuring Anne Lloydĥ. MIGHTY MOUSE THEME (Here I Come to Save the Day!) - Mighty Mouse (Tom Morrison) and The Terrytooners featuring Mike Stewartģ.

Your Golden Childhood: The Best of Little Golden Records Vol.

Mitch miller little golden records