Synthetics Plastics Company or SPC of Newark, New Jersey was a plastics manufacturing company that made various items made of plastic including children's records and budget music albums .
26-505: SPC was formed by Daniel Kasen in the late 1920s as a plastic manufacturer of buttons for the garments industry and game parts for the toy industry. After World War II, Daniel and his brother Louis Kasen founded Peter Pan Records , in 1949, operating the label under SPC from then until 1970. Daniel and Louis Kasen owned several subsidiary music labels including: Ambassador Records, Guest Star, Parade, Prom, Promenade, Pirouette, Power Records, Spin-O-Rama (1959), and Diplomat Records, whose motto
52-485: A WGN-TV children's programming retrospective , along with their two other short Christmas classics, Suzy Snowflake and Hardrock, Coco and Joe . The short had previously been telecast annually on WGN's The Bozo Show , Ray Rayner and His Friends , and Garfield Goose , along with its two other companion cartoons. The three cartoons are also a tradition on WJAC-TV in Johnstown, Pennsylvania , which not only broadcasts
78-498: 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 ") and stories (such as a heavily abridged version of Peter and the Wolf , with Victor Jory narrating) were released. Releases credited a variety of performers, including Dick Edwards with
104-459: A comedy spotlighting then-president John F. Kennedy , his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy and their daughter, Caroline, that followed in the footsteps of Vaughn Meader's The First Family series of comedy records. "My Son, The President" (the "My Son" part of the title itself borrows from Allan Sherman 's series of comedy albums) was released on the Clan subsidiary of SPC in 1963. They were very active in
130-686: A repertory company of actors performing the stories as audio dramas. Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes characters, Popeye the Sailor Man , Huckleberry Hound , The Flintstones , Yogi Bear , Bozo the Clown , the superheroes of DC ( Superman , Batman , Wonder Woman , Plastic Man , Green Lantern , Aquaman and Metamorpho ) and Marvel ( Spider-Man , the Fantastic Four , Hulk and Captain America ), Conan
156-400: A three-minute animated short which appears regularly on WGN-TV . This production included a bouncy, jazzy a cappella version of the song and a limited animation style reminiscent of UPA's Gerald McBoing-Boing . The short, filmed entirely in black-and-white , has been a perennial WGN-TV Christmas classic, and was broadcast on December 24 and 25, 1955, and every year since, as part of
182-659: Is an American record label specializing in children's music . The label was introduced to the public in March 1948. The label was owned by the Synthetic Plastics Company of Newark, New Jersey 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 ). Peter Pan enjoyed its greatest success as
208-687: The American charts. A Phil Spector -produced 1963 cover by The Ronettes is a popular version, featuring in Rolling Stone' s list of "The Greatest Rock & Roll Christmas Songs". The song has been covered as an instrumental by the Canadian Brass , with founder Charles Daellenbach taking on the persona of Frosty, and repeatedly calling "One more time!" ("You know what happens when Frosty gets 'hot'"), and then starting to collapse ("I think he's melting" -- "You know what happens when Frosty gets hot"). It
234-592: The Apes . 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
260-671: The Barbarian , G.I. Joe , Scooby-Doo , Casper the Friendly Ghost , and later Betty Boop , Inspector Gadget , the robots of Robotech , the ThunderCats , 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 , Space: 1999 , Star Trek: The Original Series , Kojak , and Planet of
286-611: 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
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#1733092989056312-605: The Scripture sessions were done in Nashville, Tennessee , with the musicians under the direction of pianist/composer David Reece. Groups recording for Scripture included The Sego Brothers & Naomi, The Rangers Trio (featuring Reece and Page), Wendy Bagwell and the Sunliters , and The Goss Brothers. Under the SPC banner, one of their most successful records released was "My Son, The President",
338-603: The Snowman " Frosty the Snowman " is a popular winter 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 recording of " Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer " the previous year. Rollins and Nelson shopped the new song to Autry, who recorded "Frosty" in search of another seasonal hit. Like "Rudolph", "Frosty"
364-451: The Snowman was announced to be in development at Warner Bros. and Stampede Ventures, with Jason Momoa voicing the titular snowman, Jon Berg and Greg Silverman producing alongside Geoff Johns , Roy Lee and Momoa, and David Berenbaum writing the screenplay. Following Ray Fisher 's accusation of mistreatment on the set of Justice League , Momoa defended Fisher and claimed that the Frosty
390-471: The actual singer would be mentioned in very small print ("Sung by Enzo Stuarti "). Eventually, if the sound-alike became a name artist, the same record could be re-issued with a new title ( Enzo Stuarti Sings ). Some of the record pressings were of poor quality, as they were created from inferior grade vinyl, and often sounded very noisy. Despite record companies lowering their prices, Synthetic Plastics said they remained successful due to their cooperation with
416-510: 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
442-430: The business of sound-alike recordings. They would find a singer who sounded like a well-known artist of the time, such as Mario Lanza or Perry Como . The sound-alike singer would record an album of songs previously recorded by the better-known artist, which would be released with a facsimile of the "name" artist on the cover. The cover would prominently mention the popular artist (e.g., A Tribute To Mario Lanza ), while
468-683: The cartoons on their station, but also makes them available on their website. In 1969, Rankin/Bass Productions produced a 25-minute television special, Frosty the Snowman , featuring the animation of Japanese studio Mushi Production , and the voices of comedians Jimmy Durante as the narrator (who also sings a version of the song), Billy De Wolfe as Professor Hinkle and Jackie Vernon as Frosty. Paul Frees and June Foray both also voice characters including Karen and Santa Claus in this animated special produced and directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass and designed by Mad artist Paul Coker . This
494-539: The children, reassuring them, "I'll be back again someday." It is generally regarded as a Christmas song , although Christmas itself is never mentioned in the lyrics. The action supposedly takes place in White Plains, New York , or Armonk, New York ; Armonk has a parade dedicated to Frosty annually. The song was quickly covered by many artists including Jimmy Durante , Nat King Cole and Guy Lombardo . The versions by Nat King Cole and Guy Lombardo also reached
520-636: 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 , and established new label divisions and imprints, including Rohit International Records, a budget label from the 1980s and 1990s that specialized in reggae . In 2006, PPI Entertainment Group changed its name yet again to Inspired Studios, based in West Palm Beach, Florida. Frosty
546-503: The stores that sold them. In 1964, the company changed its name to Peter Pan Industries because of their success in children's records under the name of Peter Pan Records. Throughout the 1960s, 1970s and early '80s, Peter Pan and its Power Records subsidiary became known for its licensed audio-story productions that featured characters from franchises ranging from DC Comics and Marvel Comics to Star Trek and The Six Million Dollar Man . Peter Pan Records Peter Pan Records
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#1733092989056572-668: Was "Fine records need not be expensive". In 1950, the American Music Performance Trust Fund challenged Synthetic for not paying royalties. A spokesman said that Peter Pan records were designed purely for home use and therefore there was no reason to pay contributions to the fund. Diplomat Records had its own children's label, Rocking Horse. In the 1960s SPC ventured into the Southern Gospel music arena when it hired former Oak Ridge Quartet member Ron Page to solicit groups to record for its Scripture label. Most of
598-424: Was a story based on the discovery of Frosty the Snowman. Three sequels followed: Frosty Returns (1992) is a sequel to the original song, set in a separate fictional universe from the other specials, with John Goodman as the voice of Frosty defending the value of snow against Mr. Twitchell ( Brian Doyle-Murray ), the maker of a snow-removal spray. On July 1, 2020, a live-action film adaptation of Frosty
624-568: Was also covered by the Hampton String Quartet on their inaugural album, What if Mozart Wrote 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' . It was also recorded by American Brass . The song has also been covered (with lyrics) by the band Cocteau Twins ; the cover was released on their 1993 EP Snow . It was also covered by the Jackson 5 and appears on the Jackson 5 Christmas Album . The song
650-501: Was covered and released as the first single of Tarja Turunen 's third Christmas album and ninth studio album, Dark Christmas . Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. In 1950, Little Golden Books published Frosty the Snow Man as a children's book, adapted by Annie North Bedford and illustrated by Corinne Malvern . In 1950, the UPA studio brought "Frosty" to life in
676-423: Was subsequently adapted to other media including a popular television special . The song's lyrics describe the adventures of Frosty, a snowman who comes to life after a group of children place a magical silk hat on his head. Frosty laughs and plays with the children until the hot sun threatens to melt him. After leading them through the village streets and running afoul of a traffic policeman, Frosty says goodbye to
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