From the personal website of John Frame, Brisbane, Australia – last updated 1st
December 2021
A select few late 50’s vinyl records for children which I loved as a
child:
reading
and singing selections from A.A.
Milne’s “When We Were Very Young” (World
Record Club Childrens Series)
reading
and singing selections from A.A.
Milne’s “Now We Are Six” (World
Record Club Childrens Series)
and also reading
and singing selections from “Hans Christian Andersen” (World Record Club Childrens
Series)
“Capt
Burl Ives’ Ark” (1958 Decca vinyl LP) and the 78rpm single from that album: “Quack, Quack, Paddle-Oh! /
Bongo And His Baboon Drum”.
See below for details of
cover art, sleeve notes mp3 track selections and access to the full mp3’s of my
carefully restored transfers from vinyl.
Read the appreciative comments for assurance that this is a safe
page and genuine information.
David Tomlinson reading and singing “When We Were Very Young”
World Record Company 45rpm
E.P.
This record is
one that was a favourite for my mother, as well as
for myself and most of my siblings.
In December
2002 my mother commented that she really would love to hear this record again
(our copy had been lost to a roadside cleanup by an overzealous father). This
is an exceptional recording that should remain available to future generations
– and enjoyed by everyone with a taste for romance and whimsy.
I had checked
everywhere on the internet and the only reference I found was where I was
fortunate in purchasing a quite good condition copy (from
I’ve used my
best digital skills, and put in about 60 hours of work, to clean up the
recording and it sounds marvelous. Click
here to listen to “Buckingham Palace” as a 128kbps mono mp3 (1minute 45
seconds, 2mb).
I’m happy to give the complete recording
to anyone who is keen (email
me and request the URL for downloading the 11mb 128kps mono mp3 ). Nearly
everyone who looks for this recording is doing so because it is a distinct
joyful memory from their childhood, and I’m especially interested in knowing
why people want to hear it, as well as how they have responded to hearing my
restoration. To me it’s a memory trigger as effective as eating a favourite food from childhood. Further below I’ve included
kind comments from people around the globe who’ve enjoyed hearing this record
again (or for the first time).
Click each
image for 200dpi full size images (approx 100k each)
Full Cover text (with the name of composer H Fraser Simson corrected):
WHEN WE WERE VERY YOUNG
Poems by A.A.
Milne – Music by H. Fraser-Simson
Featuring DAVID
TOMLINSON,
With the
Conducted by
Cyril Ornadel
SIDE ONE
Halfway Down
Politeness
Hoppity
The King’s Breakfast
SIDE TWO
Disobedience
Jonothon Jo
Happiness
Vespers
Featuring DAVID
TOMLINSON. With the Westminster Concert Orchestra, conducted by Cyril Ornadel.
Musical
Arrangements by John Gregory.
Music by H.
Fraser-Simson. Lyrics by A. A. Milne.
A.A. Milne’s
verses occupy a very special place in the affections of all who are young in
heart— and never more so than when matched with the delightful music of H.
Fraser-Simpson. This record of nine of the best-loved poems and songs is the
one that was hailed in the British press as one of the finest children’s discs
ever made. It is one of the World Record Club’s exclusive series that won the
London Evening News’ special award in open competition in the children’s class.
This is a
simple, gentle, bedtime recording, beautifully spoken and sung by David
Tomlinson, well-known British film actor and comedian. A father himself,
Tomlinson has the rare ability to talk intimately to small children on their
own level without appearing patronising.
On this disc,
H. Fraser-Simson’s famous music has been specially re-arranged by John Gregory.
The accompaniment is by the full-sized Westminster Concert Orchestra, conducted
by Cyril Ornadel, who is musical director of the
famous London Palladium.
ANOTHER WORLD
RECORD CHILDREN’S SERIES
With Dick Bentley and John Gregory and his Orchestra
The Children’s Record Guild of Australia
E.P. SPEED 45
CG7
In June 2010 I bought a near mint Australian pressing
of this vinyl from Vinyl Solutions in Melbourne and then spent about 40 hours
in digital restoration fixing each of the thousands of extraneous noises. I had
never heard this record before, but it is a truly wonderful performance and
production. Hear a sample track, my immediate favourite, “The Knight Whose Armour Didn’t Squeak” as a
128kps mono mp3 (3minutes 14seconds, 3mb).
I’m happy to give the complete recording
to anyone who is keen (email
me and request the URL for downloading the 14mb 128kps mono mp3 ).
Total duration:
14m 14s
Click each
image for 200dpi full size images (approx 400k each)
Full Cover text:
“The Best Of A. A.
Milne”
With Dick Bentley and
John Gregory and his Orchestra
The Children’s Record Guild of Australia
E.P. SPEED 45
CG7
Side A:
1. The End (0:35) (poem)
2. Twice Times (2:10) (song)
3. A Thought (0:24) (poem)
4. The Emperor’s Rhyme (2:33) (song)
5. The Friend (1:23) (song)
Side B:
6. Sneezles (1:51) (song)
7. Wind On The Hill (0:38) (poem)
8. The Knight Whose
Armour Didn’t Squeak (3:14) (poem)
9. Furry Bear Song (1:23) (song)
The secret of A. A. Milne seems to be his unerring
instinct for reaching the very heart of childhood. His characters, from Pooh Bear
onward, act, talk, think and react just as children expect them to do… with a
devastating logic and candour that only children seem to possess – and only too
rapidly lose!
Even the characters (not even excepting
Christopher Robin) who seem at times inconsequential; or those who seem much
too subtle for children to appreciate, awaken a ready response - and this above
all is a measure of Milne’s genius.
In this recording, Dick Bentley sings his favourite
songs, and tells his favourite verses from Milne’s “Now We Are Six” – with
original music written by John Gregory, and with an engaging commentary between
the items that makes the record very much more than a mere recital. Dick
Bentley’s voice and personality are ideally suited to the purpose – warm and
confiding – and there will be few children who do not come to cherish this
recording as one of their best-loved.
Previous recordings of A. A. Milne’s works: “The Hums
of Pooh” with Norman Shelley; “When We Were Very Young” with David Tomlinson;
are available from World Record Club on R.4 and R.53. Items on “When We Were
Very Young” include: They’re Changing Guards at Buckingham Palace; The King’s
Breakfast; Disobedience; Jonothan Jo; Vespers etc.
The Children’s Record Guild of Australia sponsored by
World Record Club Pty. Ltd., 330 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, Australia.
Dick Bentley reading and singing “Hans Christian Andersen”
World Record Company 45rpm
E.P.
My great thanks
to Alice Lamy for bringing this fine record to my
attention at a time when a near mint copy was still available from the same
source in
I’m also happy to give this complete
recording to anyone who is keen
(email
me and request the URL for downloading the 11mb 128kps mono mp3 ). Further below I’ve included kind comments
from people around the globe who’ve enjoyed hearing this record again (or for
the first time).
Click each
image for 200dpi full size images (approx 400k each)
Full Cover text:
Hans Christian Andersen
With DICK BENTLEY
The Four-in-a-Chord Vocal group and Orchestra,
Specially arranged and conducted by John Gregory.
Produced by Cyril Ornadel.
Interpreted by Dick
Bentley
The World
Record
EP Speed 45
CZ51
SIDE ONE
“I’m Hans Christian Andersen”;
“Thumbelina”;
“The King’s New Clothes”.
SIDE TWO
“The Ugly Duckling”
(hear a 128kps mono mp3 of this song);
“The Inch Worm”;
“Wonderful Copenhagen”.
Andersen – Teller of Tales
In the golden
days of childhood, when the world was a place where everything was probable and
nothing impossible, the Danish shoemaker’s son, Hans Christian Andersen, wove
his magic web of words end conjured up the Ugly Duckling, the Snow Queen,
Thumbelina, Inch Worm and the King who wears invisible clothes.
A few years
age, Samuel Goldwyn, one of she great names in film
production, decided in make a movie about his
childhood hero — Hans Christian Andersen — with Danny Kaye in the title role.
And one of
Dick Bentley,
the Australian entertainer who has become one of the greatest stars of B.B.C.
variety, both in radio and television, has been chosen as the ideal interpreter
for the fascinating songs on this Club release. On his way from
Later, with the
remarkable success of the B.B.C. comedy show, “Take It From
Here”, his name became a house-hold word throughout the English speaking world.
The Four-in-a-Chord singing group which features in the special vocal
arrangements on this disc is a combination well known in British radio and television.
They are talented, they are versatile, and, as these songs demonstrate, they
have just what it takes for child entertainment.
Children’s records deserve the finest artists. For this reason, the World
Record Club release of “Hans Christian Andersen” presents not only top-tine
vocalists but also uses an orchestral backing from a full scale theatre
orchestra, the Westminster Concert Orchestra, conducted by brilliant young
musician John Gregory. And the whole production is supervised by Cyril Ornadel, the best known musical director in the British
stage world today.
The
Club’s series of children’s recordings, of which “Hans Christian Andersen” is a
first class example, won an award in open competition for recordings of the highest
merit in child entertainment.
“Listen To The Wind” by Dick Bentley and
others
World Record
Club Childrens’ Series (Australian pressing) # CH2
(released 1956)
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Click each small image of the front and back of the
ep cover to view a detailed 200dpi 12cm x 12cm jpg file:
Here’s the
full text from the back cover:
E.P. Speed 45 CH2
LISTEN TO THE
WIND
A
musical play for children, with lyrics and music by Vivian Ellis.
SIDE ONE I’m
a Naughty Gale Bird
Twinkle,
Twinkle, Little Star
Timothy’s Under the Table (hear this song as a 128kps mono 2Mb 2
minute mp3)
SIDE TWO When
I Grow Up
The
Bread and Butter Song
Listen
to the Wind
Featuring
Dick Bentley, Vanessa Lee, Virginia Somers and Joan Hovis.
Orchestrations and Vocal Arrangements from the original West End, London,
Production. Conducted by Cyril Ornadel.
“Listen
to the Wind” is the children’s own musical, with lots of simple and gay tunes
and lyrics by Vivian Ellis, who wrote such famous stage shows as “Bless the
Bride”.
Recounting
the story of its success, Vivian Ellis recently said: “When my old friend and
collaborator Ronald Jeans told me his daughter had written a children’s play,
and could she send it to me with a view to writing some songs for it, my heart
sank. But not for long! The play duly arrived, and I was enchanted with it. It
was first performed at the Oxford Playhouse and was immediately bespoken by three West End managers. Eventually it was
acquired by the London Arts Theatre, and became a hit-show overnight.”
The
London Star’s famous theatre critic Robert Wraight
wrote of it: “Move over, Peter Pan, Cinderella, St. George and the Dragon! You,
too, Noddy! Make room for your newest rivals, Emma,
Harriet and Jeremy—a youthful trio by whose adventures you can’t fail to be
enthralled!”
The
three children are among the most delightful characters you could wish to meet.
The story tells how they were kidnapped, with their grandmother, from their
home in East Anglia, rescued by the Gale Birds, and taken to the Kingdom of the
Winds. There, they are captured by Thunder Cloud, but eventually are rescued
again and finally restored happily back to their family and home.
That’s
all you need to know to be able to listen to the delightful songs on this
record. The Gale Birds— messengers of the winds—are summoned up by the youthful
adventurers by a twice-chanted “Listen to the Wind”. But one of the birds (a
squadron-leader, at that!) falls into disgrace because he contracts cramp.
Hence the catchy song “I’m a Naughty Gale Bird”.
“Timothy’s
Under the Table”, “When I Grow Up” and “Listen to the Wind” itself have very
strong melodies—which, of course, is just right for children, who like a tune
that they can begin to sing immediately.
The
orchestra on this lovely little disc is conducted by Cyril Ornadel,
which in itself is a guarantee of quality.
ANOTHER
WORLD RECORD – CHILDREN’S SERIES
World
Record Club – Finest On Record
World Record
Club Pty. Ltd., 330 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, C.1., Phone MB5114
Burl
Ives childrens records from 1954 and 1958:
As a young child
my parents bought us the 1955 Australian pressed 78rpm single "Bongo And
His Baboon Drum / Quack, Quack,
Paddle-Oh!", which was my favourite 78rpm. In January 2005 I bought an
average condition, yet listenable, Australian pressing on the “Columbia” label (#KO-1017) of the
78rpm 10” shellac “double A Side” single
by Burl Ives with orchestra conducted by Jimmy Carroll:
Bongo And His Baboon Drum” (Susan Otto and William R Mayer - Columbia Control)
Hear a pristine 128kps
mono 5mb mp3 of these two songs, taken from my carefully restored transfer from a
near-pristine imported USA pressing of the 17 track 33 1/3 RPM vinyl LP “Capt. Burl Ives’ Ark” (Decca DL8587)
which I imported in January 2007. I've put a lot of work into make it sound as
perfect as possible, and it is a true “High-Fidelity” record. Capt Burl Ives'
Ark has never been released on CD, and is almost impossible to find on vinyl.
To hear my 128kps
mono 40mb mp3 of the complete restored Capt
Burl Ives’ Ark record, then please email
me requesting the URL.
I have included
further below the complete text from the back of the LP, and also scanned
images of the album cover art - click each of these small images to go to a 12cm
x 12cm 200dpi jpg file:
Full text from the back cover
of the LP:
Decca Records
DL 8587 LONG PLAY 33 1/3 RPM
Capt.
Burl Ives’ Ark
FOLK SONGS WTH
GUITAR
SELECTIONS INCLUDE:
Side One
1. THE SQUIRREL Schmertz
1. THE BESTIARY Arr: Burl
Ives
Burl Ives’ appeal to
children is so well known, that
we need not comment. In these 17 songs,
Burl has made a selection of
a wonderful miscellany of animal stories and songs. He has picked them from 3
sources — some are of today’s vintage, written by some of the best writers in the
children’s field — merry and gay, with
the sound of contemporary music. Some are from the pen of Burl Ives
himself — Some
are Burl’s versions of the old classics.
The songs to
which Burl Ives wrote both words and music are THE TENOR DOODLE-DOO, OLD MOBY
DICK. MY OLD COON DOG and
MISSOURI MULE.
Burl wrote the
music for, and arranged in poetic form, the list of animals in THE BESTIARY.
PROPER CARE OF THIS RECORD will prolong its life and
increase your listening enjoyment: Keep in special protective polyflex envelope when not in use; avoid handling playing
surface; wipe with soft, slightly damp cloth; set phono for proper needle and
turntable speed; check needle frequently for wear – if defective it can
permanently damage record.
This DECCA Long Play Microgroove Record can be played only
on 33 1/3 RPM instruments.
“Decca”, “D” symbol, “Gold Label Series”, “Deccalite” and “New World Of
Sound” are the registered trademarks of Decca Records, Inc. Printed in U.S.A.
Comments from the small band of passionate folk from
around the world who determinedly sought out these recordings which are not
only key audio mementos of their own childhood experience, but also valued gems
which they hope their grandchildren will as lovingly embrace:
James Tomlinson (youngest son of David Tomlinson, to whom I had posted “hard copies”
of my files on CD, by request) on 23rd February 2013 wrote:
Dear John
Your fabulous
package arrived quite some time ago but I have been away so much.
Brother David
is mentioned in the recording as you know.
My Mum told me
that Dad recorded it very very quickly!
It is the most
remarkable work that you have done.
Thank you so
much and thank you for taking the trouble to send me the copies.
Kind regards -
James
Brian Sibley,
(England, UK) – 4th June 2012
(Brian is an acclaimed and prolific BBC radio author,
producer and presenter as per: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Sibley
). He wrote:
Hi, John,
Thank you for all these! The Tomlinson is total joy!
Just for your information, the sleeve credit is wrong
in that Harold Fraser-Simson spelled his name without a 'p'. I have just taken
part in a programme about HF-S that is to be broadcast later this month.
Also much enjoyed the Bentley recordings – as a child
I used to listen to DB in the BBC radio comedy show, Take it From Here. The
restorations are fantastic.
I was also very pleased to have the David Davis/Norman
Shelley recording… DD ('Uncle David') had a wonderful storytelling voice that I
loved from my childhood listening to what was then a daily radio show on the
BBC called Children's Hour. My very first radio programme was a 50th
birthday celebration of Winnie-the-Pooh (1976) and I had the privilege of
working with Norman Shelley who provided the voices of Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore
for me.
Thanks also for the Bentley HCA, the Juliet Mills
Alice (within Addinsell's charming music) and Burl
Ives fab animal songs.
Anne Okkerse on 9th August 2021 wrote:
Dear
John,
It is even better than I hoped for! I sit here with tears in my eyes, listening
to his lovely voice. It’s so tranquille and reassuring.
The quality of the recording is fantastic. And with astonishment I read your
account of the work you did.
It just sounds
perfect and very clear without cracks. I'm looking forward to sing along
with my child in the future. I feel I'm ready for the next generation!
I'm now going
to listen to 'The Best of A.A.Milne'.
I don't know how to express how happy I am with this. But believe me I write
this with a huge smile on my face.
Many greetings,
Anne
Susan
Hirschfield (of Vermont, USA) on 11th December 2020 wrote:
Hi
John,
Thank
you so much!
I
managed to download the MP3 and burn it to a CD (no small feat for me, my first
time trying to do this!) The sound quality is amazing, and it is just as I
remember it, although the recording we had also included the poem Disobedience
sung in a song.
I
do hope my granddaughter will enjoy it as much as my son did!
Thank
you again. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your quest to find this
recording and making it available to others who share the fond childhood
memories of listening to this.
Sincerely,
Susan
Hirschfeld
Kirsten Diack (of New Zealand) on 8th November 2020 wrote:
Hi!)
I have stumbled across your page while I have been looking for an audio version
of my favorite record as a child. As a child my father (very tech minded) had
speakers installed in my brothers and in my bedrooms and we would get to
request a record to be played at bedtime. I’m sure this was done to save my
parents from having to read to us.
My favorite was
always A.A.Milne. And listening to the couple of
recordings you have put up I know all the words. We had (and I still have) the
record. Side one had When We Were Very Young AND now We Are Six, with side two
having The House at Pooh Corner and The Hums of Pooh. I don’t ever remember
listening to that side of it.
Anyway, fast
forward through my childhood and teen years, I had children (and the record),
and it became their favorite to listen to as well. I have very few records left
but I have always kept my A.A.Milne record with me.
Alas I now don’t own a record player, so can’t even copy it nor do I know what
the quality of the record would be now.
And now my
daughter is having a baby. We were just singing the songs around the table the
other week after I dug out my A.A.Milne poem book to
add to the babys bookshelf. But I cannot seem to find
anywhere a copy of the songs, only the spoken versions.
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to get the URL to be
able to download it as a gift for my daughter.
On 9th November 2020 Kirsten
added:
OMG! I ate breakfast this morning singing along to
these! How absolutely amazing that you did this. I had sent my daughter a link
to Buckingham Palace song late last night and she replied this morning very
excited that I had found it. I explained that I hadn’t, only that one song but
I had emailed you.
To be honest I wasn’t expecting a reply, but now thanks to you I have the whole
album plus others! Super excited!
The music you sent through is franticly being saved to add to our Apple music
apps despite the husband having no clue what I’m so obsessed about. My daughter
thought everyone “old” had listened to it when they were young, but when she
has talked to people at work and their clients, no one has a clue what she’s
talking about. I’m so pleased you took the time and effort to do this so future
generations of children get to enjoy the brilliant work by A.A.Milne
and everyone that worked on the record. Such an amazing piece of work that is
miles away from the mass produced rubbish put at these days. It’s so
heart-warming and harmless fun that you don’t get to see in today’s world.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Kirsten
LaDonna Winner (of Indiana, USA) on 17th November
2019 wrote:
Dear Mr. Frame,
Thank you so
very, very much for the opportunity to have this recording again. I lost my
copy years ago and bits of the wonderful songs have been crooning around in my
mind ever since. I am 87 years old and I brought my four children up on this
record and they still, in their graying years, refer to it. Now I have a chance
to share all the songs with them again and I am sure we will have a terrific
sing-a-long! And, oh, yes, a great-grandchild is in the future and will
certainly hear what will be unforgettable. Please tell me what I have to do
next to receive the music.
On 20th
November 2019, after receiving my reply, LaDonna
wrote:
Dear Mr. Frame,
Many thanks for
the so welcome information you sent me and many thanks for the work you did to
save and gift this “When We Were Very Young” to all who loved it who are lucky
enough to have found your page. Finding it turned out to be work, too,
buried under all the Disney. But what a thrill when I did find it!
Now I will be working to use the mp3 file.
Sincere thanks,
LaDonna Winner
Penny Clark 4th October 2017 wrote:
Dear John,
What an amazing job you have done
on these recordings. I can well imagine they took hours to do. They are just perfect
and the songs such a joy to listen too. I'm really delighted to have them. I'm
going to see my granddaughter today and will play them to her. Thank you so
much.
I had no problem listening to them
on the URL. I'm making my way at downloading them onto the computer so I can
play it without being connected to the web. I've done the first one ...not
quite sure how I did it as I'm struggling with the second one but it will come
back to me....or I'll get my son to help.
Anyhow many thanks again.
Penny
Nerida
Farmer 5th February 2018
wrote:
Hello John
Just writing to say thank you again for
your generous sharing of your work. It's taken me a while to get back to you,
as I was using an old version of windows and couldn't download the files. I have
them now and it was lovely to hear in particular the David Tomlinson
recordings.
I look forward to playing to my
granddaughter.
Regards
Nerida
Sarah Crossbrook 9th
December 2018 wrote:
Thank you so very, very much for
this terrific recording!
I will treasure it!
All the best,
Sarah
Maggie Brady on 29th September
2017 wrote:
Thank you so
much!!! It's truly a marvelous recording. The sound quality is amazing. What a
treasure for his family - I hear him mention another son, David, on the record too.
He must have been a very affectionate father. I'm so excited to share this with
my mother, it's so wonderful! Thank you again!
Maggie B
Angela Rodd (Melbourne, Australia) on 4th
June 2017 wrote:
Hi
John,
How
wonderful to find this album again! My little brother, ten years younger than
me, used to adore all the songs and the whole family knew them by heart. He will be 60 at the end of July and this
will be a surprise gift. I can see us
now, singing along with David Tomlinson.
I agree with your correspondent who regretted the lack of musically
interesting songs for children these days.
Don't get me started on The Wiggles....
With
best wishes and warmest thanks for making "When we were very young"
available again.
Angela
Rodd
Melbourne
Alison Morrow on 1st June 2017
wrote:
Dear John,
I have been searching for this record for years.
The eldest of six children brought up listening to it most Sundays, it is an
edible memory of our childhoods – but one we thought was gone forever.
Our mother loved AA Milne and this record was bought for us when our parents
could barely afford it. It somehow disappeared years ago. We all
hanker to hear it again and pass it on to our grandchildren.
I can’t believe your generosity in repairing the sound
and passing it on. Our mother has recently died, so this sound file will
rain down a deluge of joy on us all.
Alison Morrow
Stephen Harrap (Melbourne, Australia) on
15th March 2017 wrote:
Dear John
Tonight my 4 month-old
grandson sat listening to your recording. There was that undefinable something
about the mellifluous voice and the gentle music that captured his
consciousness I'm sure, however transiently. My 30 year-old daughter was
transfixed and transported to her own childhood.
Kind regards
Stephen Harrap
Greg Predmore (USA) on 29th July 2016 wrote:
Years ago I'd emailed you requesting the URL for David Tomlinson's
"When We Were Very Young."
It is definitely, as you say, a distinct joyful memory of my childhood. I'd put
it on a CD for my granddaughter who is now 8 and can still sing some bits of
some of the songs. Alas, the CD is gone, and the files are in an external hard
drive that has died.
By any small miracle is it possible for you to send me the URL again? I can
still recite most of "Disobedience" to my mother who is well into her
80s. Our dog likes to sit on the landing between the downstairs and upstairs,
and so I sing that to my granddaughter when we are sitting there petting the
dog.
I wish that children's records of this caliber were still being made. It
bothers me that somehow children are supposed to go directly from Raffi, et
cetera, to top 40. It seems that they ought to have a bit more of a childhood
in song.
Thank you so much for the work you put into it.
All
the best,
Always!
Linden Hall (Perth, Australia) on 12th July 2016
wrote:
Hi John
Just had to let you
know that my brothers and Mum are sitting here tonight having just listened to
this album for the first time in 40 years – and we still knew all the words!
Hard to believe that so many happy memories could have come from just 10
minutes 57 seconds. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
Regards
Linden Hall
Geoff Pitts (Australia) on 19th
June 2016 wrote:
Thank
you John. I have downloaded the recording as an mp3. It was great to hear the
whole thing in such clarity. I certainly appreciate your work.
Regards,
Geoff
Chris
Ryan on 28th May 2016 wrote:
Thank you John
I can appreciate the work you put into this.
I used to listen to this when I was a child. Listening to
it now I don't think I've missed a word yet!
Something I would like my grandchildren to listen to
also.
Thanks again
Catherine Nicolson on 8th April 2016 wrote:
Hi
John - many thanks for sending me the mp3 of 'Listen to the Wind' music.
I've thoroughly enjoyed listening to it, and it's much closer to my musical
memories of the live performance that I watched when I was a child. You've
done a brilliant editing job too. I've only been looking for this music
for the past thirty years, so many thanks again for enabling me to hear it, in
such a lively rendition. It doesn't seem that modern singers and actors
can put across a song in the way they used to do! The variety of
interpretation, the dynamics, clear diction and recording quality are
absolutely right for the material.
All
the best,
Catherine
Beverly Chieffo on
15th March 2015 wrote:
Dear
John:
I
am so grateful for your generous offer to download the A.A.Milne
works from your mp3 files. I received your letter and felt unsure of the
downloading process so I called upon my dear granddaughter, Hannah and sent her
the URLs. She then made a CD for me with the selections and I finally got it
and played it! I enjoyed them all, but the one that really warmed my
heart was the David Tomlinson “When We Were Very Young” record.
I
can’t tell you what this means to me to be able to hear once more the delightful
renderings that charmed my sons so long ago and will now delight any young
person who comes to visit me. I thought it was going to be impossible to ever
have these songs again, but now, thanks to your ingenuity, hard work and
generosity, I will continue to enjoy them forever.
What
a wonderful service you have provided for those like me who remember with
nostalgia, these enchanting poems and songs. You are a very special person and
I can’t thank you enough.
Most
sincerely,
Beverly
Chieffo
Jeneva Storme on
25th January 2015 wrote:
Thank
you so much, this takes me back so far, to a very happy part of my
childhood. My daughter is going to be thrilled as well because she
enjoyed these as a child as much as my generation and the one before me.
Alex Lobo,
(Spain) on 12th May 2014 wrote:
Dear
John,
Thank
you very much for your generosity. I did receive the mp3 file attached to your
email and I love the record. Besides, the sound quality of your remastering is
striking.
Best
regards,
Alex
Lobo
Penny Sowter, (Australia) on 16th
July 2013 wrote:
Dear John,
Thank you so much for these wonderful recordings, which certainly do bring with
them a buzz of reconnecting with fond childhood memories. I have
listened, spellbound, to When we were very young, and it filled me with
that pure delight of my three year old self, eager to sing and talk along with
David Tomlinson, march with Christopher Robin, Alice and the soldiers, moo out
"I didn't really mmmmmmmmwean it!" and
pretend to slide with the king down the bannister. Having drunk in the whole
fabulous lot, I couldn't wait to replay it....again, just like the old days. My oh my, what a treasure!
This has obviously been a labour of love for you and I, along with many others,
am indebted to you for the painstaking hours you have devoted to recording,
resulting in amazingly good sound.
I agree that there is a magical quality to genial David T's performance and
it's a wonderful thing you have done in capturing that in mp3 form, sharing it
with like minds and helping to preserve it for future generations.
With smiles of gratitude,
Penny
Carl Smith, on 9th
June 2013 sent two requests:
I'm
55, and my Mum bought me this copy when I was 6! Now I'm teaching Literature, and my copy has
gotten lost over time, would it be possible to download this from you?
would be extremely grateful,
Carl Smith.=
Yep, another
request. We used to live in the country,
Dad was a Principal/teacher, had 16 kids between Grade 1-6' (including me), and
Mum had found ordering via mail to be quite good. This is the second one I remember, if I'm
correct, the last song 2nd side (furry bear song) used to have some deep notes
in it, and I used to cry every time, didn't stop me from wanting to hear it
again, tho'.
Which I'd love
to again, I can't believe you have a copy, please please
let me know the address to DL this, it'd be great to hear it again!
Regards,
Carl.
'=
Susan Edmond,
(Australia) – 29thMarch 2013 - wrote:
Dear John,
Thank you so very much for your prompt response to my email. I am overjoyed and
have sat listening and singing along to this beautiful recording. Such gorgeous
memories. I will now be able to play it to my granddaughter. It is so very kind
of you to share your hard work with people such as myself. Wonderful that you
could send a copy to the Tomlinson family. David did such a warm and endearing
recording, I simply adore it.
Thank you again John, much appreciated,
Cheers,
Susan Edmond
Marissa Walls – 18th
September 2012 - wrote:
Dear Mr. Frame,
It's nice to find that someone has this copy. I
recently found it on Ebay, but I was too impatient to
wait for it. It is difficult to find anything on David Tomlinson, except
for Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and The
Love Bug. I am taking a World Cinema class at my local college and I am
glad that I found this copy of When We Were Very Young so I can use it in my
project that I am doing on David Tomlinson. This is an awesome copy.
It's very clear to listen to and I love it a lot. I am also using
it to help my 2 year old son go to sleep and it's helping too. Thanks for
making it available for many people to enjoy. Feel free to post this in
your comments section.
Sincerely,
Marissa Walls
Leslie Evers,
(USA) – 17thJune 2012 - wrote:
Dear
John,
It is
marvelous. What a rush of memories this has brought
back. Passing it on to the children of my friends and children of my own age as
well.
Thank you so
much.
Leslie
Evers
Jo Morrish, (England, UK) – 9th
May 2012 -
wrote:
Hello John
Your images and downloads have brought tears to my
eyes. I have been trying to track a copy of Dick Bentley’s ‘When we were very
Young’ for such a long time to share with my own children as my parents did
with me. I have old vinyl copies of these records and would love to get hold of
a copy of all of your downloads.
The sound coming out of my speakers, sent shivers of
excitement down my spine and seeing the images of the records was quite
haunting as I remember them all with such fondness and love.
The Burl Ives records I would love to listen too as
well if you don’t mind. Again, his voice brings back such beautiful memories of
childhood that I would love to share with my own 3 boys.
If I am being too cheeky in asking for all downloads,
I will not mind at all. However, listening to Twice Times again would be quite
special.
I thank you with all of my heart in anticipation.
Jo Morrish
Emile Pandolfi,
(USA) –
27th June 2011 - wrote:
Thank you, John,
Yes i got the files and was
able to save them. How kind of you to share hem. The sound quality is gorgeous
- I know that took a good deal of careful work, and the result is lovely.
Thanks again. I shall enjoy these with my grand
children.
emile
Sue Mathews,
(UK) –
31st May 2011 - wrote:
Dear John,
Thank you so much for taking time to do this. I am so
grateful. Saving using Internet Explorer was absolutely no problem.
Its about 60 years since I heard these
songs. As a child I used to have them on 78 rpm and i
would play them endlessly. I don't think it was Dick Bentley or David Tomlinson
on my original, but the sounds/songs and tunes sound very very
similar.
Now children and grandchildren can benefit.
Many many thanks,
Sue
Christina Hall
– 8th
May 2011 - wrote:
I
loved this as a kid and just seeing the cover art made my heart skip a couple
of times after all these years. If you have a chance please send the url so that I can download the whole
EP and share it with my kids. The David Tomlinson rendition is by far the best
and I especially liked 'Disobedience'.
Thank you!
Sandra Fairbanks,
(USA) –
6th May 2011 - wrote:
Thank you so
much! I am very happy to hear the songs again!
Sandy
Eric Julien,
(USA) –
1st May 2011 - wrote:
Dear John,
Thank you so much for these files! My mother, who
passed away three years ago, dearly loved A. A. Milne poetry and read it to me
as a child. She gave me the record by David Tomlinson, which I accidentally
melted under a hot desk lamp. I romanced my wife by taking her out for a picnic
in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and recited poems from When We Were Very
Young and Now We Are Six. Both of my children grew up with the poetry, because
I recited it to them at bed time.
Your careful restoration of the David Tomlinson
recordings are truly wonderful. They are extremely clean with no hint that they
were once on vinyl. I must confess that the Royal Wedding on BBC got me singing
"They're Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace" to my wife. I went
online and looked, very hopefully, tried to find a way to recover the lost
music when I found your site. The music is playing as I write this to you. A
control-click on my Macbook Pro gave me the option to
send the file directly to iTunes. Clean, simple and very easy.
Again, thank you, thank you, thank
you!
Eric Julien
Blanchard Weber,
(USA) –
27th/30th April 2011
- wrote:
Greetings, and
many thanks for maintaining this valuable site.
I grew up listening to (and singing) Milne's poetry and Fraser-Simpson's
musical settings and would love to accept your kind offer of the URL(s) for
downloading "The Best of A. A. Milne" and "When We Were Very
Young".
….
Many thanks,
John!
The recordings are just what I was looking for and technically above reproach
as well.
They will be duly burned to CD and saved for posterity.
(Let's hope that CD technology doesn't soon go the way of 78s and LPs.)
May you and all the others who preserve important bits of culture be eternally
rewarded!
Best regards,
Blanchard
Carole Michie, (NZ) – 3rd/4th April 2011 - wrote:
Hi,
these
bought back memories for me and my 8 year old has just fallen for AA Milne in a
big way, so I’d love to share them with her. If you could link me to the URL,
I’d be very grateful.
…
Hi John,
completely
fabulous. Thank you very much for bringing me back such treasured memories and
allowing me to share them. You are a hero.
Carole
Roland Verhoven, (UK) – 14th March 2011
- wrote:
Dear
John
I
have just come from singing Vespers to my 7 year old daughter and she asked me
about how I learnt it; I have a copy of the
original record on your site, but alas it was accidentally stepped upon by my
father many years ago and though I have kept it, I cannot access the wonderful
music therein.
I
would be grateful if you would let me have the url to download the tracks from 'when we were very
young' as I am sure even the older kids will enjoy hearing these songs in the
format that originally enchanted me.
Many
thanks.
Kind
regards
Roland
“Nahantjen”, (USA?) – 15th/16th
February 2011 - wrote:
Hi,
I found online that you had converted
these songs to MP3 format. I wanted to know if you could send them to me. My
father used to have this album when he was young and I wanted to have it for my
children to listen to.
Thank You Again,
…
Thank you. It will be priceless to see my
Dad's face when the kids know the same songs he listened to when he was young.
Steven Eiler, (USA) – 3rd February 2011
- wrote:
Might I have a
copy of this recording, please? Milne's Pooh books are my favorite children's literature, and I'm just now
discovering that there is music to go with them, too! I am a composer (and
specifically a songwriter) myself, and would very much like to hear how such
songs have been arranged and performed. Thank you for putting in all the time
to make these recordings available!
-Steven Eiler
Claire Clorie, (Minnesota, USA) – 1st and 2nd
February 2011 - wrote:
Hello John,
I’ve just come across this website and am absolutely
thrilled! My younger brothers and I listened to these records back
in the wonderful 50’s. They bring back very fond and happy memories,
especially of rainy days and of the long snowy winters of Minnesota when
we always had the records going while working puzzles or playing with paperdolls. I’ve been looking for these for over 7
years, when the grandchildren started coming. Halfway Down the Stairs, The Christopher Robin lullaby, and of course, “I only
want a little bit of butter for my bread”, which always confounds the
people around the table when I ask to pass the butter. This is an
amazing, wonderful gift and I thank you deeply.
I pray you and yours are surviving the devastating
flooding and cyclone threats and that the sun will shine soon.
….
Oh John - they're perfect!! Thank you, thank
you, thank you! I just sent them along to my
little brothers in Minnesota. The yougest one
used to sing 1/2 Way to his kids when they were little. I know they never
expected in a million years to ever hear these wonderful gems again. I
can't wait to hear back from my brothers -Â Â they're not going to
believe it.
…
You have absolutely made my year!
Gratefully Yours,
Claire
Megan Crowhurst, (Texas, USA) – 22nd and 23rd
January 2011 - wrote:
Greetings,
I grew up on David Tomlinson’s recording of “When We Were Very Young”. It
was such a family favourite that it was the only recording that survived our
emigration from Oz to Canada in 1968. I enjoyed hearing
Buckingham Palace again, and would very much like to
have access to your recording, if possible.
…
It DOES sound great! Loved to death indeed. In the mid 60’s when I
was about 4, my mother often put me in what seemed then to be an enormous
stuffed chair in the lounge room and played this record. I’d sit
enraptured, listening to it, looking at the cover. Thank you so much for
this tremendous gift. I also enjoyed looking at the queer radio site;
nice to see how the younger set are carrying the torch.
All best,
Megan
Shari Steinberg,
(Philadelphia, PA, USA) – 20th January 2011
- wrote:
Hi John!
How perfectly amazing that we are on opposite sides of the world, and we both
love AA Milne and want to share what we can. It is past 2 am, Thursday, Jan
20th, and I can barely go to bed, wanting to stay at my computer to listen and
sing along with the gift you just sent so generously.
I will share it onward to a friend for his 60th birthday tomorrow.
He is a wonderful baritone and might like to sing along too.
I hope that your countrymen can recover from the horrible floods. How can there
be such delight in one place, and such devastation elsewhere at the same time
too?
Again, thank you for your splendid work and the joy in bringing the world the
wonders of a 'hoppity hop' for our reminiscing and
amusement.
"Little boy kneels," and maybe I'll go off now too.
Thank you so much!
Shari
Ted Martin – 10th January
2011 - wrote:
Hi
I
came across your site and nearly fell out of my seat. This was one of my favorite
albums when I was a kid. I still know
all of the songs by heart and sing them to my daughter, I would love to be able to download
the album and let her hear those songs as I did.
Thank
you very much
Ted Martin
Gerard Wong,
(Singapore) – 10th January 2011
- wrote:
Dear
John
Hi, I'm Gerard from Singapore.
I chanced upon your website and was delighted to read that you have just the
recordings that my mother-in-law has been hunting for.
I would like to ask if you can send me the link to the two records ie
1. David Tomlinson's "When We Were Very Young" and
2. Dick Bentley singing 'Hans Christian Andersen"
I can't wait to put the recordings on a CD and then watch my mother-in-law's
face when I play it as a surprise for her.
Thank you so much in advance.
Yours sincerely
Gerard Wong
Isobel Clowes, (New Jersey, USA) – 3rd January
2011 – wrote (nearly a year after my
first reply):
Dear John
Your email has been sitting in the
in box since you were so kind to answer my inquiry Re the songs. So this
morning at the crack of dawn. I opened it again! The recording
is wonderful!
I would absolutely love having a copy. I
thank you for your kind offer and hope it still stands after all this
time!
My now 6 year old Granddaughter,
Madison, and I used to descend the stairs each day, when she was learning
to come down sitting, singing the Stair
Song--she was "very young" too. She knew all the words and
started singing as well. She is the last and fourth of my two children
and 2 grandchildren to have enjoyed these songs. But I am forgetting the
early days of my teaching when I first discovered Christopher Robin Saying his Prayers in sheet music which I
taught to my classes in Quebec just after the War. I still have that!
When I thought that we had lost the
music book, I went online a found early editions to replace it. Priceless to
me. As the years went on, she had her favourites for me to sing--my old
voice barely able to do justice to them.
Isobel Clowes
Adam Wilson,
(Australia) – 2nd January 2011
- wrote:
This was my favourite record for bed-time as a child. I have spent
weeks searching for it – and have now found it. Thank you for posting The
Knight Who’s Armour Didn’t Squeak – I would
appreciate the link to the full publication. My memory tells me that he (or an
actor with a similar voice – perhaps Ian Carmichael), also recorded the
Winnie-the-Pooh stories – do you have those too?
Best regards
Adam
Anne Marie Whittaker, (USA) – 1st December 2010
- wrote:
G'Day!
I'm writing from Alexandria, VA USA (I'm just a few
miles from Washington, DC).
I would very much like to have the URL's for the
records and God bless you for offering this; it shall be my Christmas present
for myself!
Hope you are enjoying your spring and have a very
happy holiday!
Anne Marie
Whittaker
Dan Hamill,
(USA) –
27th/28th November 2010 - wrote:
Hi,
I
listened to David Tomlinson's "When We Were Very Young" and Dick
Bentley's "Hans Christian Anderson" when I was young. I have been
looking to find these to play for my grandchildren.
Would
you please forward a link to download these recordings.
…
Thank
you very much. I listen to these and I'm 6 again.
Dan
Reg
Gillard, (Australia) – 22nd October
2010 - wrote:
John,
Thanks for the feed.
We have a meeting of oldies tomorrow and we are
reliving some of their earlier Years.
Regards,
Reg
Barbara Schultz,
(USA?) – 23rd July 2010
- wrote:
My sisters and I listened to
this album again and again as children. I recently remembered singing Halfway
Down while sitting on my grandma's curved stairway and began to look for the
music. I would so appreciate sharing it with my grandchildren. Thanks for your
willingness to share!
Barbara Schultz
Karen, (USA?) – 22nd March 2010 - wrote:
I saw your website and am deeply appreciative for your
hard work restoring the record. I would love to have this recording for
my grandchildren. I loved it as a child and played it for my children
until the record was broken, sadly. It was the most beautiful
of all works written for children and I am hopeful to continue the tradition!
Thanks,
Karen.
And on 16th June 2010 she wrote:
Many thanks John...I so enjoyed hearing them all
again. I did notice some changes to Disobedience from the original
recording we had, but it just seemed like a slightly faster version. It
is incredible that I remember all the words from my childhood...this is amazing
work and God bless for sending this out! I plan to share this with
others so that it can be remembered always. Karen
NB: I had told Karen that the only embellishment
I added was to enhance one “s” sound in the last poem Vespers – in the line “and nobody knows that I’m there at
all”. My Luxman turntable has a stroboscope pitch
control and I made sure the pitch was perfect while I recorded both sides of
the record.
Oh you are so wonderful and generous to make these recordings available and for free!! I would gladly pay for them. Would you please send me a link for both When We Were Very Young and Hans Christian Andersen?
I too listened to them as a child in Vermont in the 1960's and don't think I have heard them for 35 or 40 years and still they are fresh and funny and still make me want to listen. What a shame that they are not in production. Your sound is amazing - probably much clearer than I ever heard on our little phonograph in the upstairs hall playing our old scratched records. Thank you for your truly monumental labor of love. I shall pass them on to my sisters and their children to listen to and hopefully help create another generation of children who loves something other than the Disney versions of stories and fairy tales.
Yours
Gratefully,
Thea in
Peter Wilkes – 1st February
2010 - wrote:
I
was delighted when searching the web to find this superb record on your site.
This was a firm favourite in our home when I was
young. Myself and my two older brothers elder brothers used to march around the
house to
Now that we are all grown up (58, 55 and 46) I thought it would be nice to have
a copy of the recording for my own son. I would like to let him enjoy it to.
Please can you email me the link so I can download it, and share this superb
experience with him.
…
What can I say? Superb! Excellent quality on both recordings, I'm sure we will
have many hours of listening to these, me reminiscing, my boy laughing and
gurgling along, can't wait!
Many many thanks again,
All the best
Pete Wilkes
Valerie Clowes,
Hi there,
Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I tripped over your
web info about “When we were very young” –someone put a link to it at
Mudcat.org. Our family had this record when I was a child. My mother also
played piano and sang several songs from (her mother’s) book by the same title,
and also from Now We Are Six. I have the books now, but don’t play piano.
If the old recordings are available for download I
would truly love to hear these again!
Still shaking head in amazement,
And with a goofy grin on my face,
Valerie Clowes.
Paul Freeman,
I'd
be very grateful if you could send me the link for this. I work at a Montessori
school & the theme this term is Celebrations & we'd like to mark A. A.
Milne's birthday on Monday.
Paul
Freeman.
…
You're
very kind. We had them singing along to '
Thanks
again,
Paul.
I replied
:
Hi Paul,
Glad to hear you all had a
good time. After growing up with these AA Milne recordings I can't
read them and imagine them working in any other arrangement. On the technical
side, here's how I processed my recordings of these vinyl records:
I used a Luxman P284 direct drive turntable with Shure M92E
cartridge, connected to a Luxman L30 integrated
circuit amplifier. All "vintage" 1970/80's HiFi
gear. The audio was transferred to PC via Line In and edited using the
CoolEdit2000 software program.
"CoolEdit2000"
was designed by Syntrillium as a very good quality
and low cost (~ US$100) version of their professional program "CoolEditPro". Adobe acquired Syntrillium
in 2003 and did away with the lower cost product, renaming the
professional product as "Audition" (now US$350).
CoolEdit2000 was sold
as a basic single stereo file editor, but with the option to buy add-on
packs for multi-track editing (up to four simultaneous stereo tracks) and for
noise reduction. For both of these records I used the noise-reduction features
extensively - especially the option in the "Click/pop/crackle eliminator"
to carefully fix each individual noise (pop, click etc - and there were
several hundred on each), without damaging the integrity of the original
recording.
These are mono records
which were played using a stereo cartridge and sometimes a noise is only in the
left or right channel, and to fix it you copy the audio from the clean channel
to both. At other times you can copy the split second before the unwanted
noise and paste it over the damaged area. It's a small victory to fix a
glaringly obvious noise to the point where no-one could ever tell it existed in
the first place.
Most (if not all) of the
automatic audio cleaning programs are quite indiscriminate - they cannot
accurately distinguish between the range of unwanted noises and the audio
which was meant to be there, and if you do adjust the program to
automatically eliminate all of the audible noises, the end
result is often unpleasant at best.
Martin Griffith – 1st October
2010 - wrote:
Hi John,
Thank you so much for the files. You have done an
excellent job with cleaning up the files. My parents were members of the world
record club and we had the 7" disks. When I sing these songs or recite the
poems I always remember the extra bits from the records. When my children
were little I used to sing the songs to them myself. I did have one of the
disks which had survived but it was not in great condition. I am very pleased
that someone has taken the time to restore them. Using a book is not the same
because half the fun is singing the song version.
To download the files on the Mac it is exactly the
same. ie. right
click (They may look like a single button mouse but the current ones are not.
People with older single button mice should simply hold down control while the
click) The files can be imported to iTunes or Quicktime.
I thought there was also a red disk which had some
Winnie the Pooh songs. I was wondering aloud "What did happen on
Friday?" to my daughter and her 4 week old son today. Oh bother, I
remember it well and I think David Tomlinson say it too.
Regards
Martin Griffith
Carol Hardiment,
Hi
I am living
with my Granddaughter, her husband & 2 Great Grandchildren and I would love
to have the complete record of "Dick
Bentley - Hans Christian Andersen". I really would appreciate the link and
if possible, also the link for the record "David Tomlinson - When We
Were Very Young".
Thank you so
much for your help and co-operation
Kind Regards
Carol
Esther Howe,
Hi
there,
I would love to download this album. I listened to it as a child and would like
to share it with my kids. :)
…
It's
a lovely recording. Thank you very much for all your work cleaning it up and getting
it into digital format.
Best,
Esther
Esther Howe
Kay Russell – 5th January
2010 - wrote:
Dear
John,
I
have been searching for ages for the records from the World Record Club that we
listened to as children. Tonight I stumbled upon your work and am delighted,
no, thrilled to find it. Please send me the URLs for When We Were Very Young
and also for Hans Christian Anderson. Do you have any others? In particular I
remember records on the lives of Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin.
Waiting in excited anticipation, Kay.
PS. I have never downloaded or listened to MP3s so if there are any
instructions I need to follow please let me know. Thanks.
Pat Griffin,
Hello,
Wow,
I’m so lucky to have found you! I am 52 years old and *still* have
these songs in my head.
I had the 33 album in the
US
as a child, with the Hans
Christian Andersen songs on one side and the Milne songs on the
other… I would so appreciate
you forwarding me the links to both of these!
....
Wonderful
- thanks so much! These are the exact recordings of my childhood, with
even better sound quality!
Your
hard work in restoring these recordings is much appreciated!
Happy
Holidays,
Pat
Maggie Kent – 16th November
2009 - wrote:
Dear John
Thank you so much for your incredibly
prompt response and fantastic recording. I can barely believe that I now have a
copy of a cherished childhood memory and can share the wonderful recording, not
only with my own children, who are now teenagers, but with my new pupils at
primary school. Know that through your careful work and generous gift a whole
new generation will be able to enjoy these poems and stories afresh.
Very many thanks and best wishes
Maggie
John,
Thanks
for the reply! So here is the deal, I was using IE, not firefox but for some reason the Save Target As was not
available from the email. Quick time player set itself as the default
player for those files and I think that may have had something to do with it.
I opened Windows Media Player and selected File… Open URL and pasted the link
in there. It started playing and as it was playing I could choose file
Save As in Media player and got it to save locally! Wanted you to know in
case someone else runs into eh same problem.
This
IS the record I had as a child and I LOVED it. Not sure if you are gay,
but I am guessing so from the Queer Radio website (great stuff), but I am, and
grew up to be a performer in Musical Theatre. I listened to and sang
along with these albums constantly as a child. When our family home was
sold, this is one of the records that got given or sold away. At the time
it was no big deal but now that my husband and I have a daughter (3 ½) I have
been hunting for a copy of this album since the day she was born. You
have NO idea how many thrift stores I hunted through!
WHAT
A JOY to be able to share this with her and tell her daddy used to listen this
when he was young. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
All
my best!
Christina and Denis Daly,
Dear Mr Frame,
Thank you for the links. Your generosity
in putting in all the hours of work and then passing it on freely to others is
much appreciated and will no doubt produce a ‘ripple effect’ that will
delight many children in years to come.
I loved hearing ‘The King’s Breakfast’
again with David Tomlinson’s wonderful character voices, and my other personal
favourites are ‘Disobedience’ and ‘Halfway Down’.
The Hans Christian Anderson songs are
great fun and very uplifting.
My husband has just gone off to post a CD
of the songs to our little granddaughter Tilly (Matilda), and we have included
a note saying how special these are, with an outline of all the work you have
done to make these available.
Hopefully she will love listening to them
as well.
Thank you once again,
Christina
Carolyn Schlemmer, Ohio, USA – 20th September 2009 - wrote:
Dear
John,
When my sister and I were very young, we listened to this exact recording (in
vinyl of course) and it turned both of us into lifelong raging
anglophiles. I have hunted and hunted for it for my grandchildren.
Listening to "Changing Guard at
Carolyn Schlemmer
Sheila Wilner,
NY, USA –
31st August 2009 - wrote:
Dear
John,
Thank
you for such a speedy reply and accompanying treasure! My mother read me
these poems when I was little and 65 years later, I love them just as
much. The music is absolutely charming and the artists are perfect.
If only there were more such offerings for children of all ages.
Congratulations
on your magnificent endeavors.
(…)
I'll
never get to sleep........I've been singing Hans Christian Anderson all
evening!
Thank
you, thank you, thank you!
Most
sincerely,
Sheila
Laura P. Fernández,
Dear Mr. Frame,
You have made a
dream come true. My sister and I have been looking for this album since
forever. She is an avid Mudcatter and just sent me
your link.
Those songs go
so very far back in our lives (I'm 61) and they float in and out of my mind.
Thank you for making this "whimsy" available. I would be grateful if
you could send me the attachment of the file.
(…)
Thank you so
much for this very speedy reply. I have saved the files and am enjoying them
already.
I also remember
the Danny Kaye record very clearly. Sadly, all these treasures had been lost
along the way, until now.
Thanks again
and best of luck in your endeavors.
Laura
Matt Hamlin (UK) – 21st July 2009 - wrote:
That's so kind of you John, And
it IS a very good piece of restoration! I don't do any restore work myself ( my wife does photos) but I am a network engineer so
appreciate what you're up against. I don't think the original record was
as clear when it was brand new!!
My wife has a childhood book of AA Milne poems so I
couldn't wait to play her this! I used to tell her about it but I don't think
it sunk in until now.
…
My family also had a World Record Club Hans
Christian Anderson record - it had the "I'm Hans Christian Anderson"
song on it. You know I can't remember the others! I think this record became
unplayable when I was old enough to hear it ( I'm the
last of 5 children so I think my siblings wore it out ).
There was also a 45RPM ( World
Record Club? I don't know?) called Songs Of The Sea.
Don't know if you know it.
Don't know if you're interested but a family friend
used to buy me the Thunderbird and Stingray records. It is to my regret that
they are no more. Nevermind I guess. You may remember
how expensive records used to be. Phew! They were some presents!
Good luck with this restoration but I don't think you
need any luck given the quality of this.
many thanks again - you really have
resurrected this work for another generation and probably more..
Matt
Heather Doyon (Australia) – 16th July 2009 - wrote:
Dear John,
Please oh please send me the file for When we were very young. It has been so many years since I
have heard this. It was a prized possession of mine that vanished from home.
Mum must have had a clean up! Listening to
I can’t wait to get it. I am so excited tonight.
…
Thank you so much it’s a wonderfully clear recording. It
takes me right back to growing up in our house of 7 kids where we didn’t
have much but you could play a record over and over again for free. I have sent
it to my mother and sisters already.
Many thanks
Heather Doyon
David Mellonie
(Australia) – 12th
July 2009 -
wrote:
Hi John.
What a surprise!
I've recently moved house, and am unable to find my record
of When we were very young – I assume it's in storage (I hope), but I can't
find it.
I would really like to be able to play the recording
to my grand-daughter, who loves music, and I think she would get as much
enjoyment from it as I always have since my father bought it for me, and as my
daughter has.
If you could send me a digital copy, that would be
fantastic, and I'll hopefully be able to burn it to a cd sometime.
Wonderful that you managed to spend the time recording
it for posterity!
Kind regards
David Mellonie
Cristie
Hutchison (Australia) –
22nd June 2009 - wrote:
Hi
John,
Thank
you so much for your speedy reply. I must apologise
for my lack of niceties in my email yesterday. My mother and I were so excited
to find your file that I just quickly shot off that email before I served up
dinner. Later I realised that it was very abrupt, I'm
sorry.
I
grew up listening to my mother sing these poems (my favourite
is "Halfway up the stairs" and "James James
Morrison Morrison") and it was only recently that I asked how did she
learn the tunes? And she told me it was a very fond memory from her
childhood of her grandmother getting out the record. So in this amazing day of
everything at your fingertips I hopped onto google. Unfortunately I was not
getting any joy. I saw a record in
I
agree, it does seem remiss that no record company has released a digitally remastered
cd, when you walk past the bargain bins I can't believe some of the stuff they
waste their time on!
Thanks
again.
Kind
regards Cristie Hutchison
John - thank
you so much!! Listening to this brought so many memories back. I'm sure my
daughter will love it too. The Kings Breakfast is one which I quote often. It
still gives me a hunger for a thick slice of toast with butter and marmalade :)
Thanks for making this available - I'm sure it would otherwise have disappeared
altogether.
Tim
Alice Lamy,
France – 16th
June and 23rd July 2009 - wrote:
Hello!
I
found your page via a lyrics site forum. When We Were
Young is a record that I have been searching for about 2 years! I
didn't get very far, as I didn't know the name of the man who narrated and
sang, or the record company, much less!
I
perfectly remember each song and the fact that the singer had an English accent
and that there were choruses on certain songs and an orchestral type of arrangement.
So...........all
to ask - would you send me the URL for the entire recording? That would be very
generous of you, as my sister has kept equally fond memories of this record.
We
are American, and both our parents were very musically inclined.
We
must have listened to this record around the age of 8 or 9, say, in '64 or '65,
and much longer.
I'd
really appreciate it ! I would love to find an
old copy of the record, as you did, but I'm not really counting on it.
Thank
you very much!!!!
…I love the
Tomlinson record - it's just just
so - neither maudlin nor ridiculously child-pandering, as so often
children's records can be. It is charming poetry sung to charming
melody. My children are 25 and 23 and were brought up in
Once again,
thank you for offering your recording - it IS a good copy. Good job!
And on 23rd
July 2009 Alice wrote regarding the Dick Bentley “Hans Christian Andersen”
record, which I only found because of her passionate prompting:
Hey, John,
Thank you for sending me a version you've pampered so
lovingly! and with obvious technical skill. It's good
to have such a passion.
Fabulous!
regards,
Rae and Mike Huston,
Dear John,
Thankyou so much for your kindness in
sending this to us. Our daughter and her husband were with us for lunch today
and she and her Dad started reminiscing over childhood rhymes and they both
started reciting all of When We Were Very Young. It was lovely. Our daughter is
thirty three and pregnant with her first and they are twins (much excitement).
The record that we have was my husbands as a child and he knew it backwards and
forwards, and when our daughter was born he played it to her and the two of
them recited it from it seems day one. She will be thrilled that there is now a
copy of this loved piece that she can play when her little ones are born. This
is the “stuff” that makes for traditions and creates the magic of childhood.
Thankyou again so much for your kindness.
Very best regards,
Rae
and Mike
Joanne MacLaughlan,
My
dear Mr. Frame,
I am listening to the album as I write to you to say thank you.It
is fantastic! Exactly how I remember it but your copy is far better
than the one I listened to as a child in
My mom exposed my sisters and I to poetry and music as
children and was surprised I was still looking for this album. When my
children were young I read A.A.Milne to them but they
missed out on this great audio which I couldn't find.
For years I thought Danny Kaye was the artist who read and sang
these poems. David Tomlinsons' voice was
and still is enchanting to listen to.
I can't thank you enough for sharing not just the music but the memories
this album brings back!
Peace Love and Laughter
Joanne MacLaughlan