Bare Necessities - Steve Tyrell

Next up on our spotlight on Disney orphans is the boy raised by wolves, Mowgli, from The Jungle Book.

There are three types of Disney orphans: The street-smart orphan who has learned how to survive on their own (Aladdin), the bratty orphan who has turned his back on the world because they think the world has turned his back on them (Peter Pan), and the clueless orphan who can't think for themselves and is used mainly as a plot device (Penny). Mowgli falls into the third category.

Even though he was raised by wolves and therefore has 'parents', he still lacks a lot of the social skills and independent thinking that comes with growing up as a human. Throughout the whole movie he is just pushed around from place to place to be influenced by whomever is nearby. The only time he ever does something for himself is when he fights Shere Khan with fire.

Today's cover song, Bare Necessities by STEVE TYRELL, is one of the many examples of Mowgli being influenced by whomever is nearby. Almost immediately after singing this song, Mowgli is taken to King Louie who dazzles Mowgli with a new song, making him forget the song that he just sang with Baloo. Even thought the sequel is not as good, Mowgli has much more character in Jungle Book 2.

Bare Necessities Steve Tyrell 2006

One Jump Ahead - Michelle Nicastro

I thought it would be fun if this week's cover tunes all had to do with Disney orphans. Disney has a long list of orphans because they tend to make good heroes. They are determined because they've had a long life and they are always trying to prove themselves. They are not all like this, but you'll find out more about that in the coming days.

Aladdin is the perfect example of a Disney orphan. He leads the pack as one of the best orphans ever to be animated in a Disney film. And it just happens to be the birthday of the singing voice of Aladdin! BRAD KANE turns thirty-five today and to celebrate I am posting a cover of his feature song from Aladdin, One Jump Ahead.

Brad Kane started acting when he was three years old. By eight and a half he was sing on a Broadway production of Evita. He has been in many commercials and has been a guest star on many TV shows, but his most well-know role has to be Aladdin, which he provided the singing voice. Kane also sang as Aladdin in The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

This cover is song with gusto by Broadway singer MICHELLE NICASTRO.

One Jump Ahead Michelle Nicastro 1995

If I Didn't Have You - Emily Osment & Mitchel Musso

To follow along the Pixar theme that has been happening the past few days and to tie in to Obscure Disney Song Friday, I am posting If I Didn't Have You from Monsters, Inc, by Hanna Montana co-stars EMILY OSMENT and MITCHEL MUSSO. The song can be found on DISNEYMANIA 6.

Emily, the younger sister to Haley Joel Osment, hasn't quite reached the same sort of fame that her brother did by her age, but she is working hard acting and singing and making a name for herself. She won many awards for her role as Gerti Giggles in Spy Kids 2 & 3 as well as her role as Lilly Truscott on Hanna Montana.

She plans to release her own album soon, departing from the usual Disney poop pop and turning to a more indie rock sound. That should be interesting.

Mitchel's first acting gig was in Secondhand Lions where he first met Haley Joel Osment. Who knew that years later he would be working on Hanna Montana with Osment's younger sister? Aside from live action, Mitchel has had a few voice acting gigs. He voiced DJ in Monster House, which was more than just voice acting since the movie was motion capture, worked on Phineas and Ferb and Shorty McShort's Shorts and was the voice of Aang for an unaired Avatar: the Last Airbender pilot.

His music of choice is hip-hop and rap and plans to release an album in that genre in the future.

Their cover of If I Didn't Have You is your typical Disney pop cover but it is nice to hear a cover of a song that isn't at the top of people's list of best Disney songs.

When She Loved Me - The Family Song Recordings

To follow up yesterday's Toy Story cover, I am sharing with you this cover from Toy Story 2: When She Loved Me by THE FAMILY SONG RECORDINGS.

It appears that this group has only recorded a few tracks and they are all on DISNEY AGE @ D_100 CAFE. They simply don't exist anywhere else.

Take a listen to this track. It doesn't stray to far from Randy Newman and Sarah McLaughlin's original except that they trade in the piano for a guitar which sounds really nice. I also love the Japanese accent.

You've Got a Friend In Me - Amanda Martin & Lyle Goodman

Like many Randy Newman tunes, You've Got a Friend In Me makes a great transition over to the world of bluegrass. Taken from the album O MICKEY WHERE ART THOU?, this cover is performed by AMANDA MARTIN and LYLE GOODMAN, two nashville artists who are at the beginning of their careers.

This album was produced by Fred Molin who has produced a number of Disney albums including DISNEY LULLABYS and LIGHTNING MCQUEEN'S FAST TRACKS.

Bella Notte - Umberto Marcato

Here's a cover of Bella Notte by Italian artist UBERTO MARCATO. I found this track on a value CD called ABSOLUTE ITALIAN CLASSICS and don't really know much more about it, except that it was recorded in 1957.

I don't really know much about Uberto Marcato either so if any of you out there know a good Umberto Marcato website or what album this song originally appeared on, please let me know!

Bella Notte Umberto Marcato 1957

Be Prepared - Chris Blakey & Supervillain feat. Keterol

Kevin, Mr. Munkeepants and nullgnu, have all requested to hear a cover of Be Prepared, the villainous song sung by Scar in The Lion King. Well, Be Prepared covers are very rare, but I have one that would work for this month's installment of Terrible Track Friday.

This version is by New York indie artist CHRIS BLAKEY who teamed up with a buddy called Supervillain to record this song for a contest. According to his website, the contest had its contestants cover a Disney song in the style of another artist. Chris chose to cover Be Prepared in the style of alternative metal rockers TOOL.

I love Tool and I would have never imagined Be Prepared in their style but Chris actually pulls it off well. Unfortunately, the original is pretty much lost except for the lyrics. It really isn't the same song any more.

What makes this song fit into the Terrible Track Friday category is the vocals. Sorry Supervillain, the singing is just too monotonous. And same with the speaking part in the middle. It just sounds like the singer and speakers are bored, which makes the song quite boring by the end of it.

Be Prepared Chris Blakey & Supervillain 2007

This is a second version from their website with rerecorded vocals by Keterol. While the singing is slightly better and sounds a lot more like Tool singer Maynard James Keenan, it is quite pitchy and not all that pleasant to listen to. Invest in a pitch corrector! It'll help a bit, but ultimately singing lessons are the way to go to get a better handle on vocal control. But don't try to ever get as good as Maynard, it just won't happen.

Keep trying, Chris and company! These covers have tons of potential!

Be Prepared Chris Blakey & Supervillain feat. Keterol 2007

Yo Ho/Grim Grinning Ghosts Medley - Chris Calabrese

Coming up on Friday, September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! So everybody better batten down yer hatches for all the scalawags and landlubbers will be speaking like Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones and Captain Hook! Arr!

It would seem so fitting to post a cover of Yo-Ho, A Pirate's Life For Me so that is exactly what I'm gonna do! This is a medley of the themes to the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion attractions at the Disney theme parks in a delightful ragtime style by none other than Main Street performer CHRIS CALABRESE!

Yo Ho/Grim Grinning Ghosts Medley Chris Calabrese 1998

Hakuna Matata - Baha Men

Six years ago, Disney Records released their first volume of DISNEYMANIA. This compilation album featured many stars interpreting their favourite Disney songs as they like to hear them.

Unfortunately, the subsequent volumes have manly been a showcase of Disney Channel stars rather than big name singers like Usher, N*SYNC, Christina Aguilera, Hillary Duff, Jessica Simpson and Smash Mouth.

Here is a track of that first DISNEYMANIA album. It is Hakuna Matata by the BAHA MEN. This cover is actually a cover of the Jimmy Cliff/Lebo M. version of the popular Lion King song. This version includes a verse that sounds like it's supposed to be Timon's reflection on life, a companion to Pumbaa's verse from the movie version.

March of the Cards - Erich Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra

Back one this day in 1963, composer-conductor Oliver Wallace passed away. Wallace had a long career with Disney, scoring almost 150 Disney projects. His works included everything from the short subjects (Der Fuehrer's Face, Ben and Me, Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom and over 100 more) to live action films (Darby O'Gill and the Little People, Old Yeller) to documentaries (Seal Island, White Wilderness) to animated masterpieces (Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp). He worked for Disney from 1936 right up until his death thirty years later.

Wallace earned an Oscar for Best Score in 1941 for his work on Dumbo which he composed with Frank Churchill. He would go on to earn four more Oscar nominations for his scores to Victory Through Air Power, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and White Wilderness.

Today's cover song is a real treat because it's not often that someone covers a score. But ERICH KUNZEL and the CINCINNATI POPS ORCHESTRA do just that with this cover of Wallace's March of the Cards from Alice in Wonderland.

Trust In Me - Holly Cole Trio

A big happy birthday to Bruce Reitherman who was born on this day in 1955. Aside from being the son of the famous Disney animator/director Wolfgang Reitherman, Bruce was also the voice of Christopher Robin in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Mowgli in The Jungle Book.

Today's cover is a dark and haunting version of Trust In Me by Canadian jazz singer HOLLY COLE and her trio. The song can be found on her 1991 album BLAME IN ON MY YOUTH, her second album which was made up of covers of jazz, rock and showtunes songs. Her following album, DON'T SMOKE IN BED, is made entirely of Tom Waits cover songs!

Trust In Me Holly Cole Trio 1991

Disney Medley - Barbra Streisand

A while back a reader requested to hear Someday My Prince Will Come covered by BARBRA STREISAND. While she did do a studio version of the song, I have chosen to post a live version that she did for her 34th album, THE CONCERT.

THE CONCERT is a two-disc album of a show Streisand did at Madison Square Gardens at what many fans consider the apex of her career. The album reached #10 on the US charts before going triple-platinum and selling over 3 million copies. Pretty remarkable stats for a double live album!

Disney Medley is a story Barbra tells of her memories watching Disney movies with her daughter. She takes us through Sleeping Beauty's Once Upon A Dream, Pinocchio's When You Wish Upon A Star and ends with Snow White's Someday My Prince Will Come, which ends up being the feature song in the medley.

Disney Medley Barbra Streisand 1994

The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room - Mary Hylan & Marco Marinangeli

If you were alive in the 90s I'm sure you remember the Macarena. It was a dance sensation from 1996 to 1997 in every club, wedding reception and high school dance all over the world.

However, the song, written by Los del Río, was actually released in 1993 and it wasn't until the Bayside Boys remixed it and gave it English lyrics in 1996 that the Macarena became the best selling debut single of all time and the 2nd longest running #1 on the US charts. But then everyone got tired of it (the song is quite boring after all) and by the end of 1997 the song had run its course.

But that didn't stop Disney from capitalizing on the one hit wonder. When Disney Records was putting together MOUSE HOUSE: DISNEY'S DANCE MIXES in 1996, they enlisted Grammy Award winning Italian producer MARCO MARINANGELI and MARY HYLAN, whom I'm sure has done other music related stuff but not that I'm aware off, to rerecord the theme song of Disneyland's Enchanted Tiki Room in the style of the Macarena.

It's a match made it heaven and if it wasn't for the fact that the Macarena is such a boring song, it might actually be a good cover!

The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room Mary Hylan & Marco Marinangeli 1996

Under the Sea - Shaggy

Today's cover is by Orville Richard Burrell. Don't recognize that name? Maybe you know him by his stage name, SHAGGY.

Shaggy is a nickname given to him by his peers in high school due his name, Orville Richard, striking a close resemblance to the actual name of Scooby-Doo's companion, Norville "Shaggy" Rogers. The name stuck and he kept it as his stage name once he started his career in 1993.

In 1998, Shaggy covered Under the Sea for UNDER THE SEA - 18 COOL REGGAE HITS, a pop/reggae compilation album that was co-produced by Disney and Polygram. His unique vocal style and reggae tendencies really bring the song to life.

Under the Sea Shaggy 1998

I Wan'na Be Like You - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Matt and Christine have both requested to hear BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY'S version of I Wan'na Be Like You.

This version of I Wan'na Be Like You was recorded for the Swingers movie soundtrack which gives the song a whole new meaning! It also appears on the band's 1999 album THIS BEAUTIFUL LIFE.

If you listen carefully, you will hear a lot of elements borrowed from the Los Lobos version of this song from the STAY AWAKE cover album. But that certainly doesn't make this cover unoriginal! Big Bad Voodoo Daddy puts their own twist on the song and makes it a big band hit!

I Wan'na Be Like You Big Bad Voodoo Daddy 1996