Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.plastics manufacturing company that made various items made of plastic including children's records and budget music albums.
History
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
Peter Pan Records 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 ...
, in 1949, operating the label under SPC from then until 1970. Daniel and Louis Kasen owned several subsidiaries music labels including Ambassador Records, Parade, Prom, Promenade, Pirouette, Guest Star, Power Records and Diplomat Records, whose motto 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
Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as ...
music arena when it hired former Oak Ridge Quartet member Ron Page to solicit groups to record for its Scripture label. Most of the Scripture sessions were done in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
, 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
Wendy Bagwell and the Sunliters was a Southern gospel music and comedy trio that was inducted into the Gospel Music Association's Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
Personnel
The group originally consisted of Wendy Bagwell, Geraldine Terry (later ...
, and The Goss Brothers.
One of the most successful records released under the SPC banner was "My Son, The President"—a comedy spotlighting then-president
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
, his wife,
Jacqueline Kennedy
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...
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
Allan may refer to:
People
* Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name
* Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker
* Allan (footballer, born 1989) (Al ...
's series of comedy albums) was released on the Clan subsidiary of SPC in 1963. They were very active in the business of
sound-alike
A sound-alike is a recording intended to imitate the sound of a popular record, the style of a popular recording artist, or a current musical trend; the term also refers to the artists who perform on such recordings. In the voice-over world, it m ...
recordings. They would find a singer who sounded like a well-known artist of the time, such as
Mario Lanza
Mario Lanza (, ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at ...
or
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...
. 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 the actual singer would be mentioned in very small print ("Sung by
Enzo Stuarti
Enzo Stuarti (born Lorenzo Scapone; March 3, 1919 – December 16, 2005) was an Italian American tenor and musical theater performer. After performing on Broadway under the stage names Larry Laurence and Larry Stuart, he changed his name again an ...
"). 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 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
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
and
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
to ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' and ''
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 a NASA test flight accident, Austin is reb ...