Give a Little Whistle - Tōru Hidaka (Beat Crusaders)



Even though we celebrated the 70th anniversary of Pinocchio a few weeks ago, the film was premiered only in California. It was on this day that Pinocchio saw its wide release in the United States and for the rest of this week we will be featuring the classic songs from the movie that everyone loves so very, very much.

Today's cover of Give a Little Whistle is a really fun version by TŌRU HIDAKA and his band BEAT CRUSADERS.

Beat Crusaders, or BECR as they are often known, are a very versatile rock band from Japan whose styles range from power pop to punk rock. You can here a bit of the pop sound that they display as they play with the melody and chords of the Jiminy Cricket tune. It is unique and makes you want to get up and dance! This is just one of the many excellent tracks found on the Japanese exclusive MOSH PIT ON DISNEY from 2004.

Any time this band makes any live appearances, whether on stage or television, they always cover their faces with drawings of their own faces that they have printed out on a dot-matrix printer. Head over to their website to check that out!

Labels: beat crusaders, give a little whistle, pinocchio, rock, toru hidaka

  ¶ 8:08 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Give a Little Whistle - Glenn Miller and His Orchestra feat. Marion Hutton



Today is the 70th anniversary of Pinocchio! It is really amazing how old this movie is, especially since it looks so good every time I watch it. I recently bought the Platinum Edition DVD and the picture quality is so clean, it really lets the incredible animation shine through. I encourage everyone to watch it today!

When Pinocchio was released in theatres, some of the songs, including Give a Little Whistle and When You Wish Upon a Star, became hit singles. Disney allowed these songs to be arranged by the various jazz and dance bands of the day which would help promote his movie.

GLENN MILLER recorded Give a Little Whistle on January 15th 1940, a month before the release of the film, and when it was released it went on to become a hit record. However, it didn't do nearly as well as Glenn Miller's In the Mood and A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square which also came out in 1940.

Singing on the recording is MARION HUTTON who was discovered by Miller at the age of seventeen and sang with his orchestra from 1938 to 1942.

This cover of Give a Little Whistle can be found on a variety of Glenn Miller CDs, including PLATINUM GLENN MILLER.

Labels: give a little whistle, glenn miller, oldies, pinocchio

  ¶ 8:17 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Give a Little Whistle - Michelle Shocked
In 2005, MICHELLE SHOCKED released three albums at the same time! One of the albums, GOT NO STRINGS is composed of her interpretations of her favourite Disney songs. Today I'm posting her version of Give a Little Whistle from Pinocchio. GOT NO STRINGS is arguably the favourite of the three albums, and with good reason. Her arrangements are unique and they are fun to listen to! Give this whole album a listen to if you can. It is filled with good music.

I find it a bit hard to classify this album in a genre. It's a bit country, a bit jazzy, a bit folky and bit bluegrassy. This is part of the reason many people like Shocked and her albums. It is diverse enough to reach a wide variety of people but still stays true to the style that she has created.

Give a Little Whistle Michelle Shocked 2005

Labels: acoustic, give a little whistle, got no strings, michelle shocked, pinocchio

  ¶ 1:27 PM 3 Comments Links to this post

  Give a Little Whistle - Dave Brubeck Quartet
Here is another track from the wonderful Disney tribute album DAVE DIGS DISNEY. This time the DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET tackles the Pinocchio classic Give a Little Whistle.

Here is an excerpt the ablum's producer, George Avakian, from the album's liner notes. It mentions counterpoint which is a musical style in which two different time signatures are played at the same time. In this case, it is Dave Brubeck on the piano playing in 4/4 and Paul Desmond on the sax playing 3/4.

"Give a Little Whistle" also features some counterpoint work by these two remarkable musicians. It is one of the earliest Disney tunes in the Dave Brubeck repertoire, and contains one thoroughly unexpected twist-possibly brought on by the fact that the boys have been playing it so long-which is the surprise ending. It's just one of those things that happened in the studio, and we liked it.

Give a Little Whistle Dave Brubeck Quartet 1957

Labels: dave brubeck quartet, dave digs disney, give a little whistle, jazz, pinocchio

  ¶ 8:20 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Give a Little Whistle - the band apart
THE BAND APART was formed in 1997 in Japan by three friends who just wanted to play metal cover songs. They took their name from Quentin Tarentino's production company A Band Apart. They soon realized that they wanted to explore their style and write their own music. So while playing cover songs they secretly recorded new material, with all English lyrics, and in 2000 they released three demos and official became a pop rock band.

Their musical style varies from time to time, ranging from rock and punk to jazz, bossa nova and a little bit of electronica. the band apart's first album was released on their own record label, Asian Gothic, in 2002 and to coincide with the release they recorded a track for the Japanese Disney tribute album MOSH PIT ON DISNEY. The track they covered is Give a Little Whistle from Pinocchio.

This track is a real treat because we really get a taste of the jazz influence in their music. Their Japanese accents are charming and the arrangement is really fun.

And don't forget that today is Pinocchio's 68th anniverary!

Give a Little Whistle the band apart 2004

Labels: band apart, give a little whistle, mosh pit on disney, pinocchio, rock

  ¶ 7:26 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Whistle While You Work/Give a Little Whistle - On the Record Cast & Company
Today's contribution to Big Band Week takes us to the world of showtunes. This medley of Whistle While You Work and Give a Little Whistle comes from the On the Record Broadway musical from 2005. Showtunes often use jazz bands in their music because of the big band style fits so well with all those people that are running around and dancing on stage.

After opening the show with a gentle A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes, this song launches in and sets the mood of the show. You'll definitely hear the big band quality to the songs with the Company playing the instrumental part at the beginning but you'll also hear the showtunes aspect come out in the A Dream is a Wish interlude and with the Cast's over-the-top scatting.

All of the songs in On the Record were arranged by David Chase who does a remarkable job with this medley. He intertwines the two songs so much that at times I'm not even sure which one I'm listening to! The Give a Little Whistle While You Work line is very clever.

Keep an ear out for a few references to Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo and Higitus Figitus!

Whistle While You Work/Give a Little Whistle On the Record Cast & Company 2005

Labels: big band, give a little whistle, jazz, on the record, pinocchio, showtunes, snow white and the seven dwarfs, whistle while you work

  ¶ 9:06 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Give a Little Whistle - Michelle Nicastro
Many movies are often mistaken to be Disney. Anastasia is at the top of the list with others like Madagascar and Titan A.E,. Also on the list is The Swan Princess, which tries its hardest to be a Disney movie but just doesn't make the cut. It has the right characters, music, it's even directed by ex-Disney animation director Richard Rich! And it has two direct-to-video sequels too! I can see why it is often thought to be Disney.

The movie stars MICHELLE NICASTRO as the voice of Princess Odette. While Nicastro has had a good career acting here and there in different projects and televsion shows, this is her claim to fame. Mainly, it showed off her ability to sing in a true Disney Princess fashion.

So what did Michelle do? She decided to role with her new fame and record a CD of classic movie showtunes. The album, TOONFUL, is filled with mostly Disney songs with a few from other animated films and a year later she recorded a follow up album, TOONFUL TOO!

Her version of Give a Little Whistle is off the second album and really gives a good sample of how incredibly cheesy these discs are.

Give a Little Whistle Michelle Nicastro 1995

Labels: give a little whistle, michelle nicastro, pinocchio, showtunes, toonful too

  ¶ 1:45 PM 0 Comments Links to this post