Le Petit Ménestrel 'Blanche Neige' Read-Along Records (François Périer)

Le Petit Ménestrel (The Little Minstrel) was a children's record label founded by Lucien Adès in 1953. These were the first of the Disney "Read-Along" albums ("Read, Look, Listen") in which kids could follow along with a book. Several Snow White records would be issued, the first in 1955. Vinyl 8" disc, 33⅓ rpm. Spiral-bound book with b&w and color illustrations. Narrated story with a musical tone signal for the reader to turn page. Speaking roles for multiple characters. The recording is 25 minutes in length.

Narrator François Périer. Text by Lucien Adès. Shortened versions of the songs adapted by Yves Darriet. Cast: Jany Sylvaire (Snow White singing voice), Aimé Doniat (Prince singing), Lucienne Pacley (Snow White speaking), Roger Coggio (Prince), Ariane Muratore (Queen, Witch), Jacques Provins, Yonal Noël, and Joé Noël (Dwarfs).

1955 catalog no. ALB 9 (33 T).

White disc labels with blue ink.

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Another printing (possibly from 1956) with the catalog no. ALB 9 in upper left front corner.

White disc labels with black ink and full-color illustration.

Additional label images via discogs.com.

Sample pages

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1962(c.) reissue; catalog no. PM 9. Record only, no book. Format: 33⅓ rpm, 12" vinyl. White disc labels with blue ink. Listed on the reverse side of the album cover are several other Le Petit Ménestrel titles, including ALB 58, a 1962 Snow White recording with Dany Robin as the narrator.

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1973(c.) reissue; Disneyland Record no. DQ 1200 F. Yellow disc labels. Includes 24-page book.

Additional images via discogs.com

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1975 reissue; Disneyland Record no. 22.001. Two-record set includes Pinocchio and Snow White, both narrated by François Périer. Since the discs could now accommodate more playing time, they added songs after the story (on both records). For Snow White, these tunes were ones that had been recorded over a decade earlier in 1962 by Christiane Legrand (see next post). The four songs--With a Smile and a Song, Whistle While You Work, Heigh Ho, and Some Day My Prince Will Come--had all been released numerous times before this. The music was conducted by Jean Baïtzouroff.

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1983 reissue; Disneyland Record no. WD 10 524 F. A couple more Christiane Legrand songs were added--One Song and I'm Wishing.

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2010 reissue; RDM, no. CD349. Compact disc.

We probably haven't covered all of the reissues of this album, but we're close. It is also now available as a download from Itunes, amazon, and the like.

Special thanks to Greg Philip who deserves most of the credit for this and the upcoming French record posts. The majority of these image come from his collection, along with the detailed information on the recordings themselves.