The Bare Necessities - Astrud Gilberto



ASTRUD GILBERTO may not be a name that is familiar to you, but surely you recognize her voice as the singer on Stan Getz's Girl from Ipanema. That song can be found on influential jazz bossa nova album GETZ/GILBERTO from 1964. The Giberto featured in the album's title is João Gilberto, a Brazilian singer/guitarist who is credited as creating the bossa nova beat! Astrud was married to João at the time and was invited to sing on the Ipanema track, the popularity of which instantly launched her career as a professional singer.

Astrud signed a contract with Verve who produced her records throughout the 60s. The Bare Necessities can be found on her 1968 album, WINDY. The kid she is singing with is her son, Marcelo Gilberto, who, twenty years after this recording, eventually became her bass player through the 80s and 90s.

This a fun cover, and I give her extra points for singing the "prickly pear" verse which many artists leave out. But the inclusion of Marcelo playing the Mowgli part helps make the verse actually mean something. I love the banter between the two. It's quite charming.

This cover was requested by Jonathan M Kemp, and it is my pleasure to be able to fulfill it! Enjoy!

Labels: astrud gilberto, bare necessities, jazz, jungle book, windy

  ¶ 11:07 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Bare Necessities - Tony Rebel
Today's Disney cover is the Jungle Book's Bare Necessities sung by reggae legend TONY REBEL.

Tony started out as a reggae singer in Jamaica in the late 80s. He recorded a few indie albums until 1992 when he was signed to Columbia. He has recorded many albums throughout the years and is still active today, although he does a lot more DJ work.

This version of Bare Necessities is really fun to listen to, especially when Tony gets cooking toward the end of the track.

Bare Necessities Tony Rebel 2001

Labels: bare necessities, jungle book, reggae, reggae for kids, tony rebel

  ¶ 12:29 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  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

Labels: bare necessities, disney standards, jazz, jungle book, steve tyrell

  ¶ 7:45 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  The Bare Necessities - Bowling for Soup
Although BOWLING FOR SOUP formed in 1994 in Wichita City, Texas, it wasn't until 1998 when the band sold 10,000 copies of their indie release TELL ME WHEN TO WOAH!!! that the major labels sat up and listened to the punk rockers.

Bowling for Soup has gone on to release many great albums, including a couple of cover albums. In 2004, the band released A HANGOVER YOU DON'T DESERVE which made it to the top 40 largely due to the hit single 1985. When Disney was looking for artists to be on DISNEYMANIA 3, Bowling for Soup would have been an obvious choice.

This cover of Bare Necessities isn't Bowling for Soup's only connection to Disney. They also wrote and performed the theme song to Phineas and Ferb.

Today is TERRY GILKYSON'S birthday and, if he were still alive, he would be 92. Terry, a guitarist for the bands X and Austin, is most known for being the composer of The Bare Necessities.

The Bare Necessities Bowling for Soup 2005

Labels: bare necessities, bowling for soup, disneymania 3, jungle book, punk

  ¶ 5:22 PM 2 Comments Links to this post

  The Bare Necessities - Harry Connick, Jr.
We're almost at the end of Big Band Week and today is the last good post of the week because tomorrow is Terrible Track Friday.

Today I'm posting a song from a modern jazz artist who often uses the big band sound in his work. HARRY CONNICK, JR. Disney was keeping an eye on this young talent from the start. In 1991 Harry was asked by Disney to record The Bare Necessities for SIMPLY MAD ABOUT THE MOUSE, a compilation album of famous pop musicians. This was only a year after Harry found success recording the soundtrack for When Harry Met Sally.

I'm surprised that more people haven't used this song in this fashion. The mood seems to fit so well as a jazz piece but it gets over shadowed by the jazzier I Wan'na Be Like You. Harry's version is really nice but he cuts out the "When you look under the rocks and plants" part of the song and it throws me off when I hear it.

The Bare Necessities Harry Connick, Jr. 1991

Labels: bare necessities, big band, harry connick jr, jazz, jungle book, simply mad about the mouse

  ¶ 9:07 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Somente O Necessario - Quarteto em Cy
This is the first week of Request Week and I am happy to tie it in with this week's Jungle Book theme. Angry Anim wants to hear somthing from the Disney bossa nova album from a few year back, so here you go!

There are actually mulitple Disney bossa nova albums kicking around each with a different collection of songs. This version of The Bare Necessities is off the the Japanese-exclusive album called BOSSA DISNEY NOVA. Each album features top Brazilian musicians. I don't know much about the bossa nova genre but I do like what I hear. These discs are unique, well done and fun to listen to.

QUARTETO EM CY is four sisters, Cybele, Cylene, Cynara, and Cyva, who have been making music since the early sixties. The thing about sibling groups is that their voices usually work very well together and this is true with Quarteto em Cy. This song is a bit more upbeat than the other tracks on the album but it still has a cool sound.

Somente O Necessario Quarteto em Cy 2004

Labels: bare necessities, bossa disney nova, bossa nova, jungle book, quarteto em cy, somente o necessario

  ¶ 7:03 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Bare Necessities - Louis Armstrong
This week is an important one for Jungle Book fans as the classic film is being released on DVD tomorrow! I have decided to declare this week a Jungle Book week here at Covering the Mouse. Everyday this week will feature a Jungle Book cover song! Today's track is The Bare Necessities covered by one of the most famous jazz performers in history: Louis Armstrong!

In 1968, LOUIS ARMSTRONG recorded an album of Disney music. This would end up being his last full album that he would record before his death in 1971. Louis took a serious approach to the songs, wanting to add his charm and style but stay true to the original treatments.

His version of Bare Necessities fits so well with his style and seeing that one of his nicknames is 'Pops' it seems fitting that he sings this 'Poppa Bear' classic. Actually this song wasn't classic when he recorded it. The Jungle Book came out in 1967 so the song was brand new when he stuck it on this album! The Bare Necessities was nominated for an Academy Award in 1968 and Louis played his version live at the Awards Ceremony.

The Bare Necessities Louis Armstrong 1968

Labels: bare necessities, disney songs the satchmo way, jazz, jungle book, louis armstrong

  ¶ 7:48 AM 1 Comments Links to this post