Scotty MacGregor - A Message from Santa Claus - 78RPM cardboard record

Long story below, short story here: 78RPM cardboard record from the 50's, santas head was broken off, Ive combined both sides into one track (spoken + music).


Last christmas, I went to an antique mall and was immediately confronted by the
owner with "Anything I can help you find??"

I said records, he paused a moment, said "Cant help ya". We small talked and I
prepared to leave, when he had a second thought.

"Hold on, I got a couple records , but I doubt its anything youd be interested
in". I said "Dont let my age fool you, You'd be surprised what Im looking for".

So he took me to the back and brought a small stack of maybe 15 records out.
Among the stack was a Bugs Bunny 78RPM album set, a Rudolph 78RPM album set , and other great 78RPM kiddie record sets and
the BEatles Abbey Road LP. I gave him $20 for the whole pile.

But when he first brought them out, He opened up the rudolph set and the
cardboard record pictured fell out. He mumbled something to the affect of 'Whats
that doin in there, I dont even know what that is" and took it and threw it
away.

NO NO NO! Ill take that. Ill take anything like this you have. He didnt even
know it was a record! Just goes to show you how much stuff is simply thrown away
sometimes by people who arent even paying attention.

Anywa, Sadly, Santas head was cut/broken off of the record, but it still plays
prety good considering. There is little to no info about it, other than hat you
see "A record from Santa Claus", "Words and music arranged by Scotty MacGregor,
A Pat Conley Production. Phonograph records, IN, woodside NY"

Thats it. Both sides are identical in appearance, but one side has a spoken word
from santa and the other a brief, catchy little tune. I have combined them into
one track. Enjoy! Sorry, there is a skip in the song near the beginning. I named
the track "Thats Santa Claus", though I dont know if thats the actual title...I
would assume it is.

http://www.answers.com/topic/scotty-macgregor


One of the most nonconforming children's artists ever to get national airplay,
Scotty MacGregor stayed true to his own vision for six decades. Although better
known as a pop songwriter and radio producer, MacGregor also created unusual
songs for children that still have relevance today.

MacGregor grew up in the Philadelphia area, and it was there that he did his
first performing, as a disc jockey, recording engineer, and singer/guitarist.
MacGregor played Scottish, folk, and novelty songs, with an occasional
children's song thrown in. After setting up a radio station in Daytona, FL for
Army Special Services, MacGregor returned to help with the birth of television
in New York City. He was the master of ceremonies and performer on a children's
program called Scrapbook.

About this time, MacGregor produced about 200 novelty records, such as A Record
from the Easter Bunny. The recordings were produced on cardboard acetate and
sold through the Woolworth variety store chain for 25 cents apiece. MacGregor
joined ASCAP and composed numerous pop ballads as well, recorded by Rosemary
Clooney, the Four Aces, Teddy Wilson, and others.

In the early '70s, MacGregor created three albums. The simple guitar and voice
recordings were outshone by the wacky lyrics within. Volume One, called Folk
Songs for Kiddies, had a note on the back that said "This record was produced by
Martin Braunstein because of a firm belief that it unquestionably could become
the most precious album in any collection." With songs like "Sneezy the Polar
Bear" and "Big Storm in a Bathtub," the album was nothing like the saccharine
productions of the major labels. Volume Two, Tops in Pops for Kiddies, contained
such gems as "Three Jolly Apes," about primates who create a nut famine, and
"Old Fat Froggie," who bounces apples off the heads of kids. The third volume,
Command Performance for Kiddies, contained another dozen original songs,
including "There's No Room in the Toy Box Anymore" and "Don't Shoot Those Guns
Anymore." MacGregor's strong feelings about commercialism and violence in regard
to children were gently stressed through his songs. From his point of view,
"Looked at from the perspective of the younger generation, the world around them
bears little resemblance to Disneyland."

Although not widely distributed, the three volumes still received airplay
nationally on public radio stations. In later years, MacGregor worked to
re-release these albums (as well as many of his singles) on cassette, and kept
track of a large collection of classic children's albums. ~ P.J. Swift, All
Music Guide

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Scotty
• MacGregor
• message
• from
• Santa
• Claus

[CorbyAnderson]

Wow, my Uncle Scotty, truely a man before his time! I miss him very much! A long life well lived! Thank you posting this piece of his work!

Hoot Mon, your best Uncle!

Corby

[78Revolutions]

@CorbyAnderson Thanks Corby. If you didnt notice.....look at the sidebar -----> the top video , by user 'sideshowtink', shows this record with santas head still on!

[RaymondTVinyl]

Yay!! Considering I collect Santa heads...I might just have this in the collection!! Thanks so much for all the info on Scotty! I definitely want more records from him!! And, now you know that you guessed correctly on the title of the record!! Double Yay!! Happy Holidays!!

[78Revolutions]

@RaymondTVinyl Hooray indeed! When i first found this record I couldnt find ANYTHING about Scotty online, and now I found the enclosed article and your record and there is another vid of THIS record (the cardboard shaped disc) on youtube right now. Just awesome. Id love to dind more of these 25 cent woolworths records!

[aldiakaroofus]

I can totally understand why a kid would cut Santa's head off. My very first record was a cardboard record from a Post cereal box. It was square and my 5-year-old little brain wanted it to look more like a real record so I cut off the corners to make it round. I cut too close to the edge of the groove and ruined the first of the 2 songs.

[78Revolutions]

Haha....Not me. Even as a kid I wouldnt have...though I can also say I would have left it on the floor and walked on it etc and probably BROKEN his head off accidentally!

[ashleylong12340]

happy holidays.. :)

[snit33]

Yep. "Scotty" was my dad. I actually sold some of these Santa records around the neighborhood when I was a kid! Although I can't find any of them in my record collection, I still have dozens of his albums and hundreds of his "home made" tapes. Hopefully I'll get around to dubbing them to DVD one of these days. Thanks for putting this old memory on YouTube!

[manofmanyinterests]

I also own this record...intact. Thanks for posting!

[31lasallle]

correction ..I meant to say he was a good person..and misspelled scotty

[31lasallle]

thank you for putting this on facebook..scottie macgregor was my uncle..he passed away in 2007 at the age of 92.you made me check my old records and i discovered i still had one of his albums titled "folk songs for kiddes".as a kid i had that santa record but lost it over the years.He was a person and lived a long and good life and was still writing in his ninetys

[rylandheights]

Oh my! On some kiddie turntables... maybe there wasn't room for the head to spin around without hitting the tone arm base?