Music Mondays: DISNEYLAND Records Release #10- "Pinocchio"

The tenth release from DISNEYLAND Record was the soundtrack to the classic Disney film Pinocchio.

 

The soundtrack featured the song most closely tied to DISNEYLAND Park- When You Wish Upon A Star, which plays when guests walk through Sleeping Beauty Castle. The well loved song remains a favorite classic.

Music Mondays: Wonderland Music Company

 

Music Mondays: DISNEYLAND Records Release #9: "Walt Disney Takes You To DISNEYLAND"

 

The ninth release from DISNEYLAND Records finally returned to the park, which had already become an institution. Guests were clamoring for souvenirs to take home and, more importantly, people around the world were dreaming of going there and looked for anything having to do with the park. This record was released to satisfy both groups.

Guests looking for music played in the park would have to wait a bit longer, however. The album featured suites of music from each of the five lands in existence at the time, but the music was more "inspired by" the lands rather than being the actual music played in the park. Most people probably didn't notice this, however. The album became one of the biggest recordings tied to the park and has been re-released twice in the last ten years.

Music Mondays- X. Atencio Writes the Songs

 

Music Mondays: DISNEYLAND Records Release #8: "Cinderella"

The eighth release from DISNEYLAND Records continued the company's commitment to re-releasing its classic soundtracks. This time it would be Cinderella.

 

This soundtrack series would prove to be very lucrative for the company, enabling it to produce new and experimental recordings.

Music Mondays: Jeopardy Week Answer

The un-copyrighted song that is believed to be the most played is:

it's a small world

 

Music Mondays: Jeopardy Week

 

(Check back tonight at 6PM for the answer.)

Music Mondays: Sunshine Plaza

When Disney California Adventure first opened, it was meant to depict the California of today. Nowhere was this more apparent than in its entry land named Sunshine Plaza.

 

The area was meant to be a place where guests could relax and people watch. Unlike other Disney theme parks, its architecture was supposed to be reflective of today instead of yesterday. To build up the California theme, the park featured songs tied to the Golden State. Eventually, the park decided to bring in a more nostalgic vibe and Sunshine Plaza  was remodeled into Buena Vista Street, which aimed to tell a story of California around the time that Walt Disney arrived in the state to follow his dreams.

The original Sunshine Plaza music loop was replaced, but here's the list of the songs it included:

California Dreamin' - The Mamas & the Papas

California Here I Come - Al Jolson

California Sun - The Rivieras

Avalon - Natalie Cole

Little Old Lady from Pasadena - Jan & Dean

San Fernando Valley - Bing Crosby

Surf City - Jan & Dean

San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair) - Scott McKenzie

Hooray for Hollywood - The Great Movie Ride

Route 66 - Natalie Cole

Do You Know the Way to San Jose - Dionne Warwick

California Girls - The Beach Boys

I Love LA - Randy Newman

Hollywood Nights - Bob Seegar

Surfin' USA - The Beach Boys

San Francisco Bay Blues - Peter, Paul & Mary

Twenty-Six Miles - The Four Preps

Music Mondays: Make Way!

Howard Stark, the international playboy father of  international playboy Tony "Iron Man" Stark is depicted as Howard Hughes-esque, right down to his appearance. 

 

However for Iron Man 2, we are introduced to a Howard Stark who was more of a forward thinking, optimistic genius. His Stark Expo was a way to bring together the great minds of the world to make the future a better place.

 

When looking for someone to write a theme song for the Expo, the producers turned to The Sherman Brothers. The Sherman Brothers had written what was widely regarded to be Walt Disney's theme song- There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow. The song was used during the 1964 New York World's Fair at Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. The song they came up with was Make Way for Tomorrow Today.

Make way, make way Tomorrow's heading our way 

Make way, make way Tomorrow's coming today 

Oh, a bright new morning is dawning 

Make way for tomorrow today 

Yes a new tomorrow's a morning 

To light up a great new day 

Oh the future's brimming with promise 

And the promise is heading our way 

So keep your eyes on that shining horizon 

Make way for tomorrow today 

Daring new devices will help us to succeed

 Better tools for living will meet our every need 

Incredible inventions through new technology 

Extending life's dimensions for all humanity 

Modern marvels rising around us 

Bring progress in dazzling display 

So keep your eyes on that shining horizon 

Make way for tomorrow today 

Make way for tomorrow today!

With this tribute, Howard Stark's character would take on a Walt Disney-ish trait.

Music Mondays: DISNEYLAND Records Release #7- "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"

 

The first major film soundtrack released on the DISNEYLAND Records label was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. After releasing Song of the South, which had content related issues with finding a distributor at the time, the label began releasing its movie soundtracks beginning with the first one. These releases would provide a steady income for the record label, which had also opened a storefront in DISNEYLAND.

 

Music Mondays: America Sings

 

Yankee Doodle travelled south,


a-riding on a riverboat

Played a tune and sang it out

it sounded like a billygoat.

Yankee Doodle liked the South


and sang their songs so dear.

Thought they were most elegant


For everyone to hear.

Music Mondays: DISNEYLAND Records Release #6- "Walt Disney Presents: People and Places- Switzerland & Samoa"

The next release by DISNEYLAND Records seems to be quite strange. Walt Disney Presents: People and Places- Switzerland & Samoa was not a random entry; it was actually a soundtrack to one of Disney's True-Life Adventure films. There were actually two separate featurettes that aimed to introduce viewers to the countries of Switzerland and Samoa. 

 

 

The packaging for the record featured shots from both films on opposite sides of the sleeve. Were one to flip the sleeve over, it would appear as though it was an entirely separate album. 

While DISNEYLAND Records was created because Walt Disney could not find a distributor to produce albums tied to DISNEYLAND, the People and Places series led to the creation of Disney's Buena Vista Distribution Company. Previously, Disney films had been released through RKO. RKO refused to distribute either the True-Life Adventure or People and Places films, which inspired Roy Disney to create the company's own distribution company.

Music Mondays: Mr. Disney's favorite song

 

Music Mondays: DISNEYLAND Records Release #5- "Song of the South"

For its fifth release, DISNEYLAND Records released the first of many soundtrack reissues- Walt Disney's Song of the South.

 

Originally released by RCA Victor, the Disney soundtrack albums were always big sellers. Since the idea of home entertainment was a distant dream at the time, the soundtrack albums were the only way fans could re-experience the films on demand.

Despite how lucrative these soundtrack releases were, neither RCA Victor nor any of the other large record companies were willing to release the DISNEYLAND Park albums in order to retain the soundtrack rights. Like so many others, they didn't think that DISNEYLAND would be successful and didn't believe Mr. Disney would end his contract with them over such a small issue. Besides, they figured, he'd need the revenue after DISNEYLAND failed. Of course, they were absolutely wrong. This release would be just the first of many reissues.

Music Mondays: DISNEYLAND Records Release #4: "Ukulele Ike Sings Again"

 

The fourth release from the DISNEYLAND Records label was Ukulele Ike Sings Again. The recording was made as a way to give Cliff Edwards, who performed in the 1920's as "Ukulele Ike" a needed gig. Mr. Edwards was the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio, singing Disney's best known song- When You Wish Upon A Star. By the late 1950's, however, he had become an alcoholic, cigarette smoking transient, living in flophouses and trolling the Studios for possible work. In his heyday, he had worked at MGM and Warners, but neither studio was willing to take a chance on him. Disney did take a shot, giving him work on The Mickey Mouse Club, where he both performed as "Ukulele Ike" and provided guidance to Mouseketeers as Jiminy Cricket.

This album was seen as a way to reintroduce his music to new audiences, letting him re-record his past hits. Sadly, this album didn't help him much and he fell further in the 1960's. Walt Disney, and later Roy, quietly paid for Cliff's medical bills and tried to assist him. In 1971, he fell out of contact with the studio, passing away at a charity hospital. His body went unclaimed, eventually getting sent to UCLA for use as a cadaver. Finally,Walt Disney Studios was notified and they sought to claim the body for proper burial. The actor's union, which was technically responsible for such things, ended up claiming his body and arranging proper burial. Roy Disney ended up paying for Cliff's headstone.

Music Mondays: DISNEYLAND Records Release #3: DISNEYLAND Band Concert

The third record released by DISNEYLAND Records was finally tied to the park- DISNEYLAND Band Concert.

 

The original reason for starting up the label was to release items such as these. The reluctance of outside record companies to release items tied to DISNEYLAND led to Disney taking full control of its record releases.

This album was the first to be recorded inside DISNEYLAND Park, featuring the DISNEYLAND Band led by Disney Legend Vesey Walker. Now why would people be interested in buying an album based on a band from a theme park? DISNEYLAND's proximity to Hollywood has always been somewhat of a blessing. Talented musicians who regularly played on the biggest hits of the day would take jobs at DISNEYLAND on their off days. This meant that even if they didn't fully realize it, DISNEYLAND guests were being treated to the best of the best. A perfect slate of performers for a record album. For this reason, the albums would sell better than the outside record companies had believed possible.

Music Mondays: DISNEYLAND Records Release #2- "Life of the Party"

 

The second release from DISNEYLAND Records was, like the first release, not directly tied to Walt Disney's theme park, though it possibly could have been played on DISNEYLAND's Main Street. Life of the Party was meant to be played at a dinner party, though whether it was intended to provide lively entertainment or chase away guests who had overstayed their welcome is left to the imagination.

The record didn't set the record buying world on fire, but that wasn't the intention. The company was building up the infrastructure it needed to begin distributing its recordings to the world.

Music Mondays: DISNEYLAND Records #1- "A Child's Garden of Verses"

In 1956, Walt Disney decided to build on DISNEYLAND's success by releasing a series of records based on the various musical acts found in the park. Up until then, Disney recordings were released on outside labels. When the company approached the outside labels, they were not interested, so Walt Disney decided to start up a new recording label. It was called DISNEYLAND Records, both to provide extra promotion for the theme park and as a back handed slap at the outside labels who would now see all future releases come out with the name of the theme parks who records they had rejected.

The first release had nothing to do with the theme park, but with the company's other big property at the time- The Mickey Mouse Club.

Based on Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses. Singers Frances Archer and Beverly Gile had performed in a popular segment of The Mickey Mouse Club. Mr. Disney felt that establishing the label with a non-Disney release would show that the public could expect more than just Disney from this new creative endeavor.

Music Mondays: "I've Got No Strings"

I've Got No Strings on Me is Pinocchio's big number in his film. Up until this point in the film, we've heard both Jiminy and Geppetto sing, but not Pinocchio. The Little Wooden Head has been sold to a maniacal showman named Stromboli, who forces him to perform in a traveling puppet show. Stromboli proves to be an abusive tyrant and Pinocchio can only escape his clutches with the help of the Blue Fairy who implores him to return to Geppetto's house immediately.

I've got no strings

To hold me down

To make me fret, or make me frown

I had strings

But now I'm free

There are no strings on me

Hi-ho the merry-o

That's the only way to be

I want the world to know

Nothing ever worries me

I've got no strings

So I have fun

I'm not tied up to anyone

They've got strings

But you can see

There are no strings on me

Music Mondays: "Meet Me Down on Main Street"

When Walt Disney planned out Main Street, USA at DISNEYLAND, he wanted to present an idealized version of his adopted home town Marceline. His plan was to make Main Street USA not just look like a turn of the century town, but also feel like one that could realistically be lived in.

To do this, he added various elements to make it feel like a real town, including musical acts. In addition to the DISNEYLAND Band, there was a barbershop quartet called the Dapper Dans, who performed several times daily at DISNEYLAND.

When DISNEYLAND Records decided to release albums tied to the Magic Kingdom, they chose famed quartet The Mellomen to represent the Dapper Dans on the album. Led by Thurl Ravenscroft, who would later become the voice of Tony the Tiger in the Frosted Flakes commercials, the Mellomen recorded an entire album of songs tied to Main Street, including Main Street's unofficial theme song- Meet Me Down on Main Street.

The Mellomen still entertain guests to this day- they're the grim grinning ghosts seen in the Haunted Mansion's graveyard- entertaining guests for almost fifty years.

Meet Me Down on Main Street

Main Street, Main Street

Meet me tonight on Main Street

‘Cause we’ve got a date tonight at 8

So meet me down on Main Street

Please don’t be late, don’t make me wait

Just meet me down on Main Street

We’ll take a ride on an old horse car

I’ll buy you a chocolate bar

And you’ll be the sweetest girl by far

Down on old Main Street

Oh, the firemen’s band is gonna play

So meet me down on Main Street

They’ll play ta-ra-ra boom-de-ay

Parading down on Main Street

We’ll pause a while at the popcorn stand

What an evening, ain't it grand?

Our little hometown is a fairyland

Down on old Main Street

Old Main Street