Frank Luther - Children's Records

Children's Records

Frank Luther's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame represents what was to become his chief claim to fame. Early in his recording career, he made some 7" shellac records for children. Several sets were made for Victor in 1933. In 1934, however, Jack Kapp signed Frank to record for the new 35-cent blue label Decca company. He began by making a series of hillbilly records, but did two 78rpm albums of songs for children a few months later. "Mother Goose Songs" and "Nursery Rhymes," the first two albums, featured Frank's tenor voice in brief interpretations of traditional children's tunes, tied together with gentle and pleasant narration. At one point in the Decca set, Luther introduced a lullaby by calmly saying, "Mother tucks you in, kisses you, and leaves you in the nice, friendly darkness. Mother's so wonderful, isn't she? Love her every day you live. She loves you so much." Two pediatricians told Luther that they had used his record to calm small children who feared being in the dark. Child psychologists began to endorse the Luther recordings. The first two albums sold in enormous quantity, and were pressed numerous times.

Frank Luther's country music days came to a halt, and he did fewer dance band vocal choruses. He was now in demand as Decca's performer of children's songs and stories. Selling even better were the classic "Winnie-the-Pooh" and "Babar the Elephant" sets. A Luther-composed "Alice in Wonderland" album, a true-to-the-original album of songs from Disney's "Snow White, "Tuneful Tales," "Manners Can Be Fun," "Raggedy Ann Songs," and hundreds more established Frank Luther as the dean of children's recordings. Decca claimed, in 1946, that 85% of the records for young people sold in the English speaking world were Luther's.