Beauty and the Beast - Trinidad and Tobago Showboat Orchestra




It's another celebrity birthday today, this time for ROBBY BENSON who turns 54! If you are a Disney fan then you probably know Benson as the voice of the Beast in Beauty and the Beast.

Here are five things you probably didn't know about Robby Benson:

Benson was the director for the entire 25-episode second season of Ellen DeGeneres' sitcom Ellen.

Benson's other voice over work includes the lead role in The Legend of Prince Valiant and J.T. Marsh in Exosquad, as well as reprising the role of the Beast in all the Beauty and the Beast sequels House of Mouse and the Kingdom Hearts video games.

Benson auditioned for the role of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars but lost to Mark Hamill.

Benson was born with a heart defect that caused him to have surgery a few times throughout his life. This lead to the creation of the off-Broadway musical Open Heart of which he wrote all of the script and music.

Benson's two children are called Lyric and Zephyr.

Today's cover is from the album BEAUTY AND THE BEAT by the steelband group TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO SHOWBOAT ORCHESTRA. Don't let the opening of this song fool you. It starts off with Something There but then goes into Beauty and the Beast.

Labels: beauty and the beast, beauty and the beast song, beauty and the beat, reggae, trinidad and tobago showboat orchestra

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  You've Got a Friend in Me - Yami Bolo
YAMI BOLO is a reggae artist from Kingston, Jamaica. He started recording professionally when he was twenty and has released twenty-two albums over two decades.

Bolo is still active in the music industry, touring all over the world but always returning to Jamaica.

In 2001, Yami Bolo covered You've Got a Friend in Me for REGGAE FOR KIDS, a collaboration of many popular reggae artists covering songs from the Disney library. It stands as one of the best covers of this song, mainly due to the way the lyrics relate to the reggae culture.

You've Got a Friend In Me Yami Bolo 2001

Labels: reggae, reggae for kids, toy story, yami bolo, you've got a friend in me

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  My Name is James - Tico (Little Tempo)
The music of James and the Giant Peach haven't gone down in the history books as great Disney music, but some people seem to like the music enough to cover a song or two.

My Name is James has been covered here by TAKESHI "TICO" TOKI, the steel pan player from the Japanese dub group LITTLE TEMPO.

Little Tempo has been the number one dub group in Japan for the past ten years. They have recorded multiple albums, including one earlier this year! While not playing with Little Tempo, Tico is a DJ and a producer and tours the world with his other band, Breath Mark.

My Name is James Tico (Little Tempo) 2001

Labels: disney age at d_100 cafe, james and the giant peach, little tempo, my name is james, reggae, tico

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  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

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  Under the Sea - Shaggy
Today's cover is by Orville Richard Burrell. Don't recognize that name? Maybe you know him by his stage name, SHAGGY.

Shaggy is a nickname given to him by his peers in high school due his name, Orville Richard, striking a close resemblance to the actual name of Scooby-Doo's companion, Norville "Shaggy" Rogers. The name stuck and he kept it as his stage name once he started his career in 1993.

In 1998, Shaggy covered Under the Sea for UNDER THE SEA - 18 COOL REGGAE HITS, a pop/reggae compilation album that was co-produced by Disney and Polygram. His unique vocal style and reggae tendencies really bring the song to life.

Under the Sea Shaggy 1998

Labels: little mermaid, pop, reggae, shaggy, under the sea

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  It's A Small World - Sugar Minott
Legendary Reggae artist SUGAR MINOTT covers It's a Small World today as we travel to Fantasyland for today's installment of Disneyland Week.

The It's a Small World attraction was one of the few that Walt Disney created with his Imagineers for the 1964 New York World's Fair. The ride was designed by Mary Blair who also worked on conceptual work for Cinderella and Peter Pan.

Originally, the ride was supposed to be called "Children of the World" but when Walt heard the song, written by the Sherman Brothers, he knew he had to change the name based on this catchy tune. It's a Small World (After All) has become one of the most popular and well known Disney songs in history!

It's a Small World has been closed since January to be refurbished by adding a few Disney characters throughout the ride, here and there. It is planned to reopen in November. It's a Small World in Hong Kong Disneyland opened earlier this year with the Disney characters and it seems to have gone over well.

It's a Small World Sugar Minott 2001

Labels: it's a small world, reggae, reggae for kids, sugar minott

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  Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah - Don Carlos
Hattie McDaniel, Aunt Tempy in Song of the South, was the first black woman to be nominated and win an Academy Award. She won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind. Today we celebrate the day of her birth with a song from Song of the South, one of her last movies.

The song is Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah and it is performed by reggae legend DON CARLOS and can be found on the album REGGAE FOR KIDS: MOVIE CLASSICS. Carlos kicked off his music career singing for the reggae group Black Uhuru in 1973. While the group did very well for themselves, it was Carlos' live show in dance clubs that brought in the crowds, leading Carlos to record a dozen solo albums. Black Uhuru didn't last but Carlos still tours the world to this very day.

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Don Carlos 2001

Labels: don carlos, reggae, reggae for kids, song of the south, zip a dee doo dah

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  Hakuna Matata - Bunny Wailer
Rasta Records has a whole line of reggae cds aimed at getting kids enthusiastic about the reggae genre. The albums are all well thought out and well produced with top reggae talent performing childrens music. In 2001 they released REGGAE FOR KIDS: MOVIE CLASSICS, a whole album of Disney covers done reggae!

The first track on the album is the Lion King's Hakuna Matata. What an appropriate song for this album. Timon and Pumbaa's motto of "no worries" reflects the reggae lifestyle and is perfect in a laid back reggae beat.

This song is sung by BUNNY WAILER one of the two surviving members of the Wailers. Bunny, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh banded together in 1963 and went through a few name changes before settling on the Wailers in 1966.

The Wailers broke up in 1976 and the three founding members went on to pursue solo careers. Peter Tosh used his music as a vehicle for his campaign to legalize marijuana and Bob Marley found international fame as Bob Marley and the Wailers. But Bunny Wailer, always the most laid back of the trio, decided to stay true to his Rastafari roots and stay in Jamaica recording album after album of reggae hits. He won three Grammy Awards in the 90s for Best Reggae Album.

Hakuna Matata Bunny Wailer 2001

Labels: bunny wailer, hakuna matata, lion king, reggae, reggae for kids

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  Hakuna Matata - Lebo M & Jimmy Cliff
It means 'No worries for the rest of your days'. Everyone now knows the meaning to the Swahili phrase 'hakuna matata' thanks to the Lion King. The song, written by Elton John and Tim Rice, and originally recorded by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella, was one of the main plot points and one of the catchier tunes in the film. Timon and Pumbaa explains to Simba how they live their life.

While I love this song, it always sort of bothered me that this song gained so much popularity because it is teaching Simba a lesson that he later finds out is holding him back from achieving his goal. Not really the lesson to teach kids.

This version of Hakuna Matata can be found on the 1995 release RHYTHM OF THE PRIDE LANDS, a follow-up soundtrack to the popular LION KING soundtrack. The album features LEBO M, a South African composer who did a lot of work on the Lion King movies and Broadway musicals. Joining him on this track is JIMMY CLIFF who you probably as the guy who sings I Can See Clearly Now. You'll notice that this version not only expands on the origin of Pumbaa but it also goes into Timon's past.

Hakuna Matata Lebo M & Jimmy Cliff 1995

Labels: hakuna matata, jimmy cliff, lebo m, lion king, reggae, rhythm of the pride lands

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