Cricket Records
| Company type | Label |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Predecessor | Voco |
| Founded | 1953-05-25 |
| Founder | Seymour "Cy" Leslie |
| Fate | Discontinued in 1968 |
| Headquarters | Long Island , United States |
| Products | Children's music records (singles and LPs) |
| Parent | Pickwick Sales Corp. |
Cricket Records was a children's music label run by Pickwick Sales Corp., a Long Island-based company commonly known as Pickwick Records, under the leadership of Seymour "Cy" Leslie. Pickwick oversaw multiple budget labels, with Cricket standing out as one of the final American labels to issue 78 rpm records during the format’s decline.
History
In 1952, Cy Leslie restructured Pickwick Sales Corp., evolving it from Voco, which had been established in 1946 and specialized in producing recorded greeting cards and multicolored vinyl discs. Cricket Records emerged as Voco's successor and launched simultaneously with Pickwick on May 25, 1953—coincidentally Leslie’s wife's birthday. This marked Pickwick’s inaugural product line. Leslie attributed the label’s early achievements to a licensing agreement with Eli Oberstein, who provided access to an extensive catalog that included children’s albums. This partnership initiated Pickwick's first licensing venture through Cricket. Initial releases were often credited to the "Cricketone Players," with approximately fifty records issued under Oberstein’s lease; later releases followed a less consistent pattern. Individual singles were priced at 49 cents apiece.
Cricket frequently employed vague or anonymous artist attributions such as "Cricketone Orchestra." Prominent performers featured on Cricket included Gene Autry, William Bendix, Smiley Burnette, Dennis Day, Eddie Dean, Leif Erickson, Ray Heatherton, Boris Karloff, Joseph Cotten, Maury Laws, Gisele MacKenzie, Norman Rose, and David Wayne. Cy Leslie himself led The Calypso Tones on the record C-85. The 6-inch series lacked artist credits but primarily duplicated content available on other formats.
Cricket Records was a strong competitor to the leading postwar children’s label, Golden Records; Leslie recalled that their exhibition booths were often placed side by side at record fairs. Unlike Golden, Cricket’s records were distributed via department store racks managed by rack jobbers rather than through conventional record shops. In the late 1950s, Pickwick shifted its focus toward lucrative low-cost licensing agreements with major labels like Capitol Records, Mercury Records, and RCA Victor, which required more attention. By 1968, both Cricket and its sister label Happy Time Records were discontinued, although remaining inventory stayed available for a short period afterward.
Formats
The primary formats for Cricket Records included singles issued as 7-inch 45 rpm and 10-, 7-, and 6-inch 78 rpm discs. The main singles series spanned from C-11 in 1953 through C-175 in 1967; a separate Christmas-themed series began at CX-6 and concluded at CX-19 within 1953. Every Cricket single was released with a picture sleeve, though these sleeves are frequently absent in surviving copies. The label introduced LPs in 1959, producing roughly 26 to 30 titles starting at CR-11 and concluding in 1961 with Bible story albums narrated by Leif Erickson. The Christmas LP offerings included CRX-1, narrated by David Wayne titled The Little Star of Bethlehem, and CRX-2, an uncredited album called Christmas for Children Only, both issued in 1959. In 1962, Pickwick created its Happy Time Records subsidiary, which primarily issued LPs repurposed from Cricket material, effectively ending the production of LPs under the Cricket brand. Cricket LPs were sold at $1.98 each.
Among Cricket’s most enduring formats were the 7-inch 78 rpm singles. Despite the broader U.S. music industry abandoning the 78 rpm standard by 1960, Cricket continued releasing these smaller-sized 78 rpm singles until approximately 1963. Stock remained on hand through at least 1968 to serve the niche market of children’s record players that operated exclusively at this speed.
A notable LP release featured two musical narratives—Once Upon an Orchestra and The Story of Celeste—both narrated by David Wayne.
Logo
Cricket Records consistently employed a distinctive visual approach, characterized by ornate record sleeves and densely packed label text, often featuring a cartoon cricket emblem. On their 78 rpm releases, the logo combined a stylized blue record with a cartoon cricket and the words "Cricket Records," though this emblem was omitted from the 45 rpm labels. The most frequently used logo showed the cricket facing right with a modest demeanor; subsequent versions placed the cricket atop the blue record, gazing upward, and incorporated it into various sleeve designs. Around 1960, the label's artwork was significantly streamlined, eliminating the cartoon cricket; this insect motif later reemerged in a simplified form reminiscent of a bug.
Tie-ins
From its inception, Cricket focused on collaborations with well-known toys and television franchises, despite seldom featuring original voice actors or production staff. According to Billboard in March 1956, Cricket was outperforming the previous year by roughly 30 percent, with about 30 percent of its output dedicated to toy-related records. The company secured agreements for popular TV toy licenses and planned an extensive Christmas marketing campaign alongside toy manufacturers. Exclusive rights to characters such as Robert the Robot and the Betsy-Wetsy Doll were obtained through partnerships with Ideal Toys and Fisher-Price, with record promotions integrated into TV segments showcasing these toys. A rare instance involving original performers was the 1958 licensing arrangement for Joe Oriolo's Felix the Cat, which produced an album blending authentic soundtrack content with narration. Additional licensed properties included Woody Woodpecker, Popeye the Sailor Man, the Romper Room series, and Lassie.
Legacy
Cricket Records is believed to have issued some of the final regular 78 rpm records in America, exemplified by C-166 ("Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious/Scarlet Ribbons") released in 1964. The label's last release was C-175 ("Born Free/Neverland") in 1967. By 1968, Pickwick discontinued new Happy Time Records production but continued to manage the catalog until 1972 before consolidating its children's music under the Mr. Pickwick brand, which had been successful in UK markets since 1966. Founder Cy Leslie sold Pickwick to American Can Corporation in 1977; two years later, American Can transferred ownership to PolyGram. Presently, U.S. rights to Pickwick belong to Universal Music Group, while the UK branch became independent as Pickwick Group Ltd. in 1977. Neither PolyGram nor Universal has reissued any Cricket material.
Collectors often dismiss Cricket and Pickwick vinyl as low-grade "junk," although there remains sentimental appeal among baby-boomers and enthusiasts of children's records. Nevertheless, locating Cricket Records in good condition with original sleeves intact is quite rare.
Cricket Promotional Record
Cricket Records issued a novelty adult-oriented promotional 7" 78 RPM disc featuring bright yellow labels. One side, titled "This Is Cricket", presented a cheeky dialogue between a man and woman that highlighted Cricket’s product range and features such as "Bonus Play," directing orders to Cy Leslie at Pickwick Sales. The reverse side, "This Is Not Cricket", was a love song containing one explicit lyric. This track has appeared on various compilations under different titles.
See also
Cricket Records artist lineup
Singles initially featured a "C-" prefix; the Christmas collection used "CX" (represented here as "X"), while LPs carried the "CR" prefix (shown here as "LP"). Catalog numbers 201–224 displayed various prefixes but are presented in sequence.
- Gayanand Patel 99
- Maxine Adams 98
- Candy Anderson 152–154
- Lori Ann X7.2
- Anonymous 131, 169, 201–224, LP17
- Authentic Effects 75
- Gene Autry X6.2
- William Bendix LP30
- Carol Beth 14–15, 19–23, 25, 27–30, 43, 51, 59, K101-116
- Berlin Symphony Orchestra 12
- Edmond Blakeman 13, 134
- Bix Brent 31, 33, 93
- Smiley Burnette 113, 119, LP11
- Jerry Bruno 46
- The Calypso Tones 85
- Marge Cameron 53–58, 87
- Ellen Carol 64, 67
- Reginald Carol 11
- I. Cervone 121
- The Charleston Cricket 147
- The Charleston Trio 165
- Children's Choir 120
- The Christmas Caroleers X7.1, X10, X14
- Circus Band 121
- The City Singers 167
- Bobby Colt 104, 106, 108–111
- The Cordials 88–91
- Joseph Cotten LP34
- Cousin Cricket 30, 42
- The Cricket Children's Chorus 122, 163–164
- Cricket Choral Group X11-X12
- Cricket Community Singers 79
- Cricketeer Marching Band 123, 125
- Cricket Polka-Tone Orchestra 1274
- Cricket Symphony LP22
- Cricketone Children's Chorus 130,137-142n X17
- Cricketone Chorus and Orchestra (various releases including LP15, LP19-21, LP30, LP38)
- Cricketone Players and Singers (multiple issues)
- The Cricketones and The 4 Cricketones (several releases)
- Dennis Day (112,118, LP12, LP21)
- Eddie Dean 133
- Toby Deane 42–44,84
- Paul DeWitt numerous singles including 52,91,95-99,101-102,107
- Bob Downes and Cowboy Gabe Drake & The Woodsmen
- John L. Eastman LP16, LP22
- Leif Erickson LP201-LP208
- George Fishman Singers and Roy Freeman
- Full Symphony Orchestra and Todd Fuller Orchestra
- Hanky Pank Players and The Happy Crickets
- Ray Heatherton multiple releases including LP24
- Ken Jay and Judy James
- Rosemary Jun and Boris Karloff LP32
- Bernie Knee and Maury Laws (49 as "Maury Lewis")
- Bobby Leslie and Cy Leslie
- Ralph Lowe and Kenneth Lynn
- Buddy Mackenzie and Gisele MacKenzie
- Bill Marine and Ron Marshall
- Norinne Masters and Slim Moody
- Bob Newcombe and Betsy Norman
- The Overtones and Captain Paul and The Seafaring Band
- Al Pellegrini and Orchestra and Mac Perrin
- Hal Phillips CX6.1
- Playhour Players LP19
- The Playmates (45–50,174)
- Johnny Poi & His Oahu Islanders and Jim Pollack
- Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus (121, LP14)
- Ricky "Road" K101-116 (likely Ricky Rood)
- Jerry Rood and Ricky Rood multiple releases
- Norman Rose several singles including12,16,24 etc.
- St. Margaret's All Boy Choir X7.1,X9,X15; Santa's Friends X10; Savoy Arts Players; Dorothy Season; Betty Shepard; Jeff Smith & the Smith Brothers; Kate Smith; The Songsters; Michael Strange; Sherry Sue; The Super Dupers; Van Talbert; The Three Pirates; The Tinkertones; Margie Van; Warren Vincent; Toni Waiman; David Wayne; Betty Wells; Ryan Robinson; Chris Gayle (333,175,215)