I've Got No Strings - The Andrews Sisters with the Glenn Miller Orchestra



There are a lot of great arrangements of this song, but I think this one, by the ANDREWS SISTERS and the GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA. I am a big fan of the Andrews Sisters having been first exposed to them through the work they did for Walt Disney (Make Mine Music's Johnny Fedora & Alice Blue Bonnet and Melody Time's Little Toot). They have recorded their own versions of many Disney songs, but I've Got No Strings may be one of their earliest.

This live recording was part of the THE CHESTERFIELD BROADCASTS, which were broadcast in New York between December 1939 and March 1940 at the time of the New York World's Fair. At that time the Glenn Miller Orchestra was the #1 swing band in the country and the Andrews Sisters were the #1 vocal group thanks to their beautiful voices and intricate harmonies.

At the beginning of this track, an announcer introduces the song, saying "There's a new hit in town, Walt Disney's Pinocchio!"

Pinocchio was not considered a success when it was first released. It only bought it half of what it cost to make the film ($2.2M) and the oncoming WWII hindered the film's revenue for the next few years. It wasn't until the film was released over seas after the war, and the reissue of the film in the US in 1945 that it started gaining more momentum. But basing a film's success based on box office numbers is not often a fair representation of the movie. Pinocchio remains to be one of Disney's finest works, a true masterpiece and a high standard for every animated movie that followed.

Labels: andrews sisters, chesterfield broadcasts, glenn miller, i've got no strings, oldies, pinocchio

  ¶ 3:09 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  The Three Caballeros - Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters
Hi there! It's Thomas from Upcoming Pixar Kurtis kindly invited me to do a guest post here on Covering the Mouse. I must just say what a fantastic site this is!

I've always liked Disney's compilation movie, The Three Caballeros, and I always get the theme song stuck in my head. One day I came across Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters doing a cover of it. I don't think either Bing Crosby or the Andrews Sisters need any introduction. They have both collaborated many times before on such hits as "Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive" and "Don't Fence Me In".

The Andrews Sisters have also sung for two Disney films, but this song was released before any collaboration occurred between Disney and the sisters. The song reached the #8 position on the charts in 1945, which really is no surprise, as the Andrews Sisters sold the most records in the 40's only beaten by Bing Crosby.

You can view the original version on YouTube, where you can note how perfect the Andrews Sisters' voices were for the song, considering that the Three Caballeros were birds.

The Three Caballeros Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters 1944

Labels: andrews sisters, bing crosby, oldies, three caballeros, three caballeros song

  ¶ 7:51 AM 0 Comments Links to this post