The Ballad of Davy Crockett - Tim Curry

TIM CURRY'S most notable roles are Pennywise the Clown in It and, of course, the transvestite mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the cult classic Rocky Horror Picture Show.

But did you know that Curry has had a long career with the Walt Disney Company? He has lent his voice to a number of animated projects including Darkwing Duck, Gargoyles, Mighty Ducks: the Animated Series, Beauty and the Beast: the Enchanted Christmas, Eloise: the Animated Series and Phineas and Ferb!

But did you also know that Tim Curry had a brief career as a rock star from 1978-1981? He did! And he released three albums and a Greatest Hits compilation in that time. While most of the songs were cover song, he did write his own originals, but none of them made it as popular singles.

In 1996, Curry returned to the studio to record The Ballad of Davy Crockett for the MUSIC FROM THE PARK album that featured many pop stars singing songs from Disneyland. This song represents Frontierland and is sung in a style that is similar to the way he portrayed Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The Ballad of Davy Crockett Tim Curry 1996

Mickey Mouse Club March/The Ballad of Davy Crockett

Walt Disney was one of the earliest people to jump on the television bandwagon and the Disney presence has been there ever since. This medley strings together the themes from two of Walt's earliest TV projects.

The Mickey Mouse March from the Mickey Mouse Club (1955) is the first half of the medley and the Ballad of Davy Crockett from the TV serials that are commonly known as the Adventures of Davy Crockett brings up the end. This song is found on the 2003 release O MICKEY, WHERE ART THOU? which was made to capitalize on the bluegrass craze that swept the music world after the release of O Brother, Where Art Thou? While the music is nice, it's not really bluegrass. Certain elements, like Aubrey Haynie's fiddle and Randy Korhs' dobro, are bluegrass but there is far more country here than there should be.

Although no names are credited, the liner notes tell me that Bryan Sutton, Mark Casstevens and Kerry Marx played guitar, Randy Kohrs played the dobro, Larry Paxton played bass, Aubrey Haynie played the fiddle, Richard Bailey played banjo and Sam Bush played the mandolin. All of these players, and others, are top of the line session players and provide all the music for this album.

Mickey Mouse Club March/ The Ballad of Davy Crockett 2003