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

Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me) - Jonas Brothers

If you know only a handful of important people in Disney history, GEORGE BRUNS should be one of them. And it is today that we are celebrating his birthday with a cover of a song he wrote with X. Atencio in 1967.

George Bruns was a proud member of the Walt Disney Company from the 50s through the 70s. He composed many well-known Disney songs (Ballad of Davy Crockett, Love, Yo Ho) and wrote many movie scores including the wonderful adaptation of Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty for the film of the same name.

Not only trained in classical, Bruns was also an expert jazz player and played trombone in the Disney employee's band FIREHOUSE FIVE PLUS TWO.

Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me) was written by Bruns with lyrics by Xavier Atencio in 1967 for the theme park ride. The song has become very popular, having recently been introduced to a new generation by being featured in the Pirates of the Carribean trilogy twenty years after Bruns' death!

This cover appears on DISNEYMANA 4 and is by the Disney pop/punk band JONAS BROTHERS. Due to the clean image of all Disney employees, the lyrics "Drink up me hearties" has been replaced with "Stand up me hearties."

Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me) Jonas Brothers 2006

Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me) - Pointer Sisters

A big 'ol "happy birthday" goes out to the eldest Pointer sister today! Ruth Pointer turns 62 today and I've chosen a special cover that fits our Pirates Week theme!

Today, the POINTER SISTERS many only be heard in commericals with their hit I'm So Excited, but there was one time when this sister act was a top selling pop/r&b singing group. They broke into the scene in 1973 with their hit Yes We Can Can and were a solid force for the rest of the 70s and into the 80s with hits like Fire, Slow Hand and Jump (For My Love).

If you are a Sesame Street child like I am, I'm sure you will recognize the Pointer Sisters singing the classic Pinball Number Count.

I've posted the Pointer Sisters version of Yo Ho to give this week a bit of variety. While this isn't the best version of the song, it is a good representation of the Pointer Sisters' style and abilities.

Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me) The Pointer Sisters 1996

Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me) - Buckethead

Many people have asked me to post something by BUCKETHEAD, the guitar shredder with a KFC bucket on his head! The man is a guitar legend and a genius songwriter. He has recorded dozens of albums and has a huge fan base all over the world! And he loves Disney songs! He constantly incorporates Disney tunes in his sets, including Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me) which he recorded for his 1996 release GIANT ROBOT.

Today marks the 41st anniversary of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. Many things have changed in the displays over the years. Many of the displays have been changed to be more politically correct. But these are pirates! They are not meant to be PC! But I guess some people don't want children to think that the pirate's life is a glorified life.

The picture I have posted above is one of the more recent changes. It used to be a drunk pirate who was holding a bit of a girl's clothing and the girl is hiding in the barrel behind him. As the ride would pass you could hear him saying things about the wench. Now it has been changed to a pirate with a treasure map and you can see Jack Sparrow in the barrel behind him. They say the change was made to be a movie tie-in but I think they also got pressure from PC activists.

Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me) Buckethead 1994

Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me) - Snuff

I have a special treat for everyone this week! I have decided to commemorate the anniversary of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland with a special week of Pirate tunes! I know I haven't posted any versions of Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me) yet so this week I'm catching up by posting three versions from Monday to Wednesday with a special treat on Thursday.

Yo Ho was written in 1967 by George Bruns and Xavier Atencio. Bruns wrote many songs and scores for Disney during the 50s and 60s, including The Ballad of Davy Crockett, A Cowboy Needs a Horse, Jack and Old Mac, 101 Dalmatians, Robin Hood and Jungle Book. Xavier 'X' Atencio was a Disney artist turned Imagineer and co-wrote much of the music you hear during the original Disneyland rides, like Haunted Mansion and Adventure Thru Inner Space.

The song, which is actually 16 minutes long if you sit through the ride, has been covered numerous times, including this version by 80s British punk band SNUFF. It is a great energetic tune and has been covered in many different styles. It translates really well to punk rock as you can hear with this version.

Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me) Snuff 2002