Peter Pan Records is an American
record label
"Big Three" music labels
A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
specializing in
children's music
Children's music or kids' music is music composed and performed for children. In European-influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has hi ...
. The label was introduced to the public in March 1948. The label was owned by the
Synthetic Plastics Company of
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
until the 1970s.
The label became one of the largest and most successful children's specialty record labels in America, manufacturing releases that often contrasted with those of its competitors (Golden Records, Disneyland Records, Wonderland Records,
Kid Stuff Records, and
Pickwick Records
Pickwick Records was an American record label and British record distributor known for its budget album releases of sound-alike recordings, bargain bin reissues and repackagings under the brands Design, Bravo (later changing its name to Internati ...
). Peter Pan enjoyed its greatest success as a children's label during the 1950s. Many of their most famous releases were issued on 78-RPM 7- and 10-inch records, and on 45-RPM 7-inch records. Both songs (such as a cover version of "
Frosty the Snowman
"Frosty the Snowman" is a song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950 and later recorded by Jimmy Durante in that year. It was written after the success of Autry's ...
") and stories (such as a heavily abridged version of ''
Peter and the Wolf
''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и волк, Pétya i volk, p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk) Op. 67, a "symphonic tale for children", is a Program music , programmatic musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a ...
'', with
Victor Jory
Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, such as Oberon in ''A Midsummer Ni ...
narrating) were released. Releases credited a variety of performers, including Dick Edwards with the Peter Pan Chorus and Orchestra, the
Caroleer Singers,
the Peter Pan Players and variations on these titles.
The label was notable for its series of book-and-record sets, combining an illustrated storybook (and, later, comic book) with a vinyl record that contained music and narration by "your Peter Pan Storyteller" (who would prompt the listener to turn the page at the sound of a bell or similar sound). Others featured a repertory company of actors performing the stories as audio dramas.
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...
and the
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...
characters,
Popeye the Sailor Man,
Huckleberry Hound
Huckleberry "Huck" Hound is a fictional cartoon character, a blue dog who speaks with a North Carolina accent. He first appeared in the series ''The Huckleberry Hound Show''. The cartoon was one of six TV shows to win an Emmy Award in 1960 as a ...
,
The Flintstones
''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...
,
Yogi Bear,
Bozo the Clown
Bozo the Clown, sometimes billed as "Bozo, The World's Most Famous Clown", is a clown character created for children's entertainment, widely popular in the second half of the 20th century. He was introduced in the United States in 1946, and to tel ...
, the superheroes of
DC (
Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
,
Batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
,
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...
,
Plastic Man
Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero featured in American comic books first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole (artist), Jack Co ...
,
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
,
Aquaman
Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...
and
Metamorpho
Metamorpho (Rex Mason) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon, the character debuted as the lead feature in The Brave and the Bold, ''The Brave and the Bold'' (January 1965). ...
) and
Marvel
Marvel may refer to:
Business
* Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company
** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment
** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe
** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
(
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
,
the Fantastic Four,
Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...
and
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
),
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...
,
G.I. Joe
''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), A ...
,
Scooby-Doo
''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...
,
Casper the Friendly Ghost
Casper the Friendly Ghost is a fictional character who serves as the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a translucent ghost who is pleasant and personable, but often criticized by his thr ...
, and later
Betty Boop
Betty Boop is a cartoon character designed by Grim Natwick at the request of Max Fleischer. She originally appeared in the '' Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pic ...
,
Inspector Gadget
''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...
, the robots of ''
Robotech
''Robotech'' is an American-Japanese science fiction Media franchise, franchise that began with an 85-episode anime television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production; it was first released in the United St ...
'',
the ThunderCats
''ThunderCats'' is an American animated science fantasy television series produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment and 4Kids Entertainment, Leisure Concepts. It debuted in 1985, based on the characters created by T ...
, and
the SilverHawks were among the characters and stories featured in these sets. Peter Pan also produced original stories, most of them based upon TV and film franchises such as ''
The Six Million Dollar Man
''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After being seriously injured in a NASA test f ...
'', ''
Space: 1999'', ''
Star Trek: The Original Series'', ''
Kojak
''Kojak'' is an American Action film, action Crime film, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theophilus "Theo" Kojak. Tak ...
'', and ''
Planet of the Apes
''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...
''. Another original title was ''
The Amazing Adventures of Holo-Man'', whose publication did not last beyond its introductionary issue. In the 1970s, many of these properties were released by its subsidiary label Power Records.
One of its most successful releases was ''Santa Claus is Coming to Town'', an original production by Peter Pan's studio collective (known as the Peppermint Kandy Kids), that featured remakes of classic Christmas holiday songs, original songs for the album, and portrayals of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus.
Also notable was the company's run of
Irwin the Disco Duck albums, which featured popular songs of their time (1976 to 1980) and were aimed at children, with the title character acting as a
DJ.
Peter Pan Records was spun off into its own entity, Peter Pan Industries. In 1986, the company created Parade Video as a home-video division, as well as Peter Pan Video and Ambassador Video later in the line. In the late 1980s, while keeping its primary asset alive (even though the children's label market had declined), Peter Pan Industries branched into music releases not aimed at the children's market.
The company changed its name to PPI Entertainment of
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
, and established new label divisions and imprints, including Rohit International Records, a budget label from the 1980s and 1990s that specialized in
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
.
In 2006, PPI Entertainment Group changed its name yet again to Inspired Studios, based in West Palm Beach, Florida.
See also
*
Book and record
A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...
*
Cricket Records
*
Golden Records
*
Kid Stuff Records
*
Parachute Records
*
Irwin the Disco Duck
*
Synthetic Plastics Company
References
External links
Peter Pan Records — Entertaining Kids for Over 60 YearsInspired Studios
{{Authority control
American record labels
Record labels established in 1948
Children's record labels