Winnie the Pooh - Mike Curb Congregation



Born on this day in 1882 was famous writer Alan Alexander Milne, better known as A.A. Milne, author of the classic Winnie-the-Pooh children's books. (The hyphens in Winnie-the-Pooh were dropped by Disney, but I am keeping them in this post since we are going to talk about Milne's work.)

Do you know how Winnie-the-Pooh go his name? Way back in World War I, a Canadian Lieutenant named Harry Colebourn bought a little black (female) bear cub from a hunter in Ontario for $20. He named her "Winnie" after the bear's hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Colebourn was on his way to England to fight in the War and brought the bear along with him. While he was fighting in France, he left Winnie in the London Zoo and ultimately ended up donating her to the zoo.

The Milne family took many trips to the London Zoo and A.A. Milne's son, Christopher Robin Milne, loved the little black bear so much that he named his own stuffed bear after her.

The "Pooh" part of Winnie-the-Pooh comes from a swan named "Pooh" that the Milne family met while on a vacation. Pooh the Swan actually makes an appearance in one of the poems in Milne's When We Were Very Young, which coincidentally is also the first appearance of Winnie-the-Pooh.

Milne has a little different explanation of where Pooh got his name, as written at the beginning of Winnie-the-Pooh:

But his arms were so stiff... they stayed up straight in the air for more than a week, and whenever a fly came and settled on his nose he had to blow it off. And I think — but I am not sure — that that is why he is always called Pooh.

Today's cover is Pooh's famous theme song, written by the Sherman Brothers, arranged by MIKE CURB and performed by the MIKE CURB CONGREGATION for their 1995 album, WALT DISNEY'S GREATEST HITS. The song refers to a few new characters, a Horsey named Hee-Haw, a birdy and Chippy the Chipmunk, which as far as I know, have nothing to do with the books or the movies.

Labels: many adventures of winnie the pooh, mike curb, mike curb congregation, showtunes, walt disney's greatest hits, winnie the pooh, winnie the pooh and the blustery day

  ¶ 7:51 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Can You Feel the Love Tonight - Neil Diamond




In the Bill Murray movie What About Bob? Bob explains that there are only two types of people in the world. "Those who like NEIL DIAMOND and those who don't."

I don't know which category you fall into, but there is no denying the popularity and success of this singer songwriter.

I'm making this post the unofficial sequel to yesterday's post by Jamie who mentioned that the Simba/Nala sequence during Can You Feel the Love Tonight is almost a mirror of the same events that happened in a much earlier Disney movie, Robin Hood.

Neil Diamond's version of the Elton John love ballad can be found on AS TIME GOES BY: THE MOVIE ALBUM, a two-disc set that Diamond released in 1998.

The album is full of movie song covers, however he turns the "Adult Contemporary" knob up to 11 and churns out the sappiest versions of already sappy movie love ballads such as Unchained Melody, As Time Goes By and My Heart Will Go On.

The highlight of this album is the fact that film score composer Elmer Bernstein, whose credits range from The Ten Commandments to Airplane, arranged all the music and conducted the 80 piece orchestra.

Overall, each track may sound pretty, and fans of Neil Diamond's voice will no doubt enjoy listening to his voice, but whole album really sounds like one big long song. Not too much variety. Take a listen to Can You Feel the Love Tonight and see for yourself.

Labels: adult contemporary, as time goes by at the movies, can you feel the love tonight, lion king, neil diamond, showtunes

  ¶ 10:21 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf - Max Raabe & Palast Orchester



Andy, one of my faithful readers, has been educating me in the world of German Disney cover songs. When it comes to foreign language Disney covers I only really have a lot of Japanese and Portuguese covers due to the number of Japanese cover albums and bossa nova discs out there.

However, there is a whole world of covers out there and I am just beginning to scrape the surface! Andy was good enough to send me this cover of Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf by a German orchestra called MAX RAABE & PALAST ORCHESTER. Here is what Andy knows about the group:

The Palast Orchestra with its singer Max Raabe usually plays German hits of the 1920's/1930's in (probably) its original style, but in the last years it tended to include also foreign-language hits from that era to its repertoire.

Actually about ten years ago, they also hooked up on (then) prominent pop-songs [Britney Spears' Oops...I Did It Again, for instance]. Their popularity started to rise immensely some years ago, so they now performed all over the world including Italy, Japan an L.A. and New York, where their last tour started.

Apparently, they also played at Marilyn Manson's wedding in 2005!

The recording you will hear is taken from a live recording from their most recent Berlin tour, however the same song can be found on their latest North American release, HEUTE NACHT ODER NIE, a live recording from Carnegie Hall in New York.

Labels: heute nacht oder nie, max raabe, palast orchester, showtunes, three little pigs, who's afraid of the big bad wolf

  ¶ 7:27 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - Diana Ross & the Supremes
Here's another track from the unreleased album by DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is one of the best tracks on the album and one of the most fun too! Some of the words have been changed to be relevant to the gender. Here is an example:

Because I was afraid to speak when I was just a lass
Me father gave me nose a tweak and told me I was sassy.

Clocking in under two minutes, this track is a great cross between motown and showtunes and features a great horn section.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Diana Ross & the Supremes 1967

Labels: mary poppins, motown, showtunes, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, supremes, supremes sing disney classics

  ¶ 10:36 AM 3 Comments Links to this post

  Exit Music - On the Record Cast
Today track is the Exit Music from the short lived Broadway production On the Record from 2005. This medley features a variety of songs:

Mickey Mouse March (Mickey Mouse Club)
Colonel Hathi's March (Jungle Book)
Cruella De Vil (101 Dalmatians)
A Spoonful of Sugar (Mary Poppins)
Winnie the Pooh (Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree)
I've Got No Strings (Pinocchio)

Like most of the music in this production, the arrangements in this track is what makes it so special. The songs just seem to flow into each other as if they were all written by the same person.

I know there is not much the Colonel Hathi's March part of this medley, but it's the only cover of that song I've got.

Exit Music On the Record Ensemble 2005

Labels: colonel hathi's march, cruella de vil, i've got no strings, mickey mouse march, on the record, showtunes, spoonful of sugar, winnie the pooh

  ¶ 11:45 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  When You Wish Upon a Star - Diana Ross & the Supremes
Welcome to another Monday and another work week. Since it's been a while since I posted any covers of When You Wish Upon a Star and since I have something like 200 of them, I have decided that this week will be When You Wish Upon a Star Week. Each day this week I will post a version of this Pinocchio classic in a different style.

This week's style is sort of a cross between motown and showtunes by DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES from when their style was heading in a different direction. This track comes from an unreleased Disney album by the Supremes from 1967.

When You Wish Upon a Star Diana Ross & the Supremes 1967

Labels: diana ross, motown, pinocchio, showtunes, supremes, supremes sing disney classics, when you wish upon a star

  ¶ 6:59 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  One Jump Ahead - Michelle Nicastro
I thought it would be fun if this week's cover tunes all had to do with Disney orphans. Disney has a long list of orphans because they tend to make good heroes. They are determined because they've had a long life and they are always trying to prove themselves. They are not all like this, but you'll find out more about that in the coming days.

Aladdin is the perfect example of a Disney orphan. He leads the pack as one of the best orphans ever to be animated in a Disney film. And it just happens to be the birthday of the singing voice of Aladdin! BRAD KANE turns thirty-five today and to celebrate I am posting a cover of his feature song from Aladdin, One Jump Ahead.

Brad Kane started acting when he was three years old. By eight and a half he was sing on a Broadway production of Evita. He has been in many commercials and has been a guest star on many TV shows, but his most well-know role has to be Aladdin, which he provided the singing voice. Kane also sang as Aladdin in The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

This cover is song with gusto by Broadway singer MICHELLE NICASTRO.

One Jump Ahead Michelle Nicastro 1995

Labels: aladdin, michelle nicastro, one jump ahead, pop, showtunes, toonful too

  ¶ 7:15 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

  March of the Cards - Erich Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra



Back one this day in 1963, composer-conductor Oliver Wallace passed away. Wallace had a long career with Disney, scoring almost 150 Disney projects. His works included everything from the short subjects (Der Fuehrer's Face, Ben and Me, Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom and over 100 more) to live action films (Darby O'Gill and the Little People, Old Yeller) to documentaries (Seal Island, White Wilderness) to animated masterpieces (Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp). He worked for Disney from 1936 right up until his death thirty years later.

Wallace earned an Oscar for Best Score in 1941 for his work on Dumbo which he composed with Frank Churchill. He would go on to earn four more Oscar nominations for his scores to Victory Through Air Power, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and White Wilderness.

Today's cover song is a real treat because it's not often that someone covers a score. But ERICH KUNZEL and the CINCINNATI POPS ORCHESTRA do just that with this cover of Wallace's March of the Cards from Alice in Wonderland.

Labels: a disney spectacular, alice in wonderland, cincinnati pops orchestra, erich kunzel, indiana singing hoosiers, march of the cards, showtunes

  ¶ 6:42 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Jolly Holiday - Mary Poppins Musical Cast
In 2004, Mary Poppins: the Musical came to the Bristol Hippodrome Theatre in London and was a huge hit! And why not? It has all the fun songs, costumes and stories from the hit movie! Plus, it's just plain fun to go to the theatre!

The theatre rights were acquired by theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh from Mary Poppins author Pamela Travers in 1993 but it wasn't until 2001 that Mackintosh approached Disney about teaming up. I guess Mackintosh finally realized that the way to make money from a Mary Poppins theatre production is to include the songs and spectacle from the version that the general public is more familiar with. (Plus, I bet he got a budget increase.)

The musical uses the 1964 movie as its main source of inspiration but adds many things from the books that were left out of the film. One example is the inclusion of Neleus the statue from Mary Poppins Opens the Door whom Mary brings to life!

This scene is played out in the musical when Mary takes the children to the park (which we a know from the movie as the part when they jump into the sidewalk painting) and the song that is sung in the movie, Jolly Holiday, is reworked to include the story of Neleus. Then penguins, however, have been removed from the scene.

For you listening pleasure, I have included the Mary Poppins: the Musical version of Jolly Holiday just for you. It is from the original London cast recording from 2005 and features LAURA MICHELLE KELLY as Mary Poppins and GAVIN LEE as Bert.

Jolly Holiday Mary Poppins Musical Cast 2005

Labels: gavin lee, jolly holiday, laura michelle kelly, mary poppins, mary poppins musical, showtunes

  ¶ 3:13 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Beauty and the Beast - James Galway
To start out the week I am posting a soothing cover of the love ballad from Beauty and the Beast by professional flautist SIR JAMES GALWAY which he recorded for his 1993 album AT THE MOVIES.

Galway has been a professional flute player since the early 50s when he played with the Philharmonic Orchestra. He quickly rose to popularity as a solo flautist and is now one of the most well known flute players in the world.

While most of his work is in the classical world, Galway does branch out to the world of pop and showtunes and has two Disney covers, this one and Can You Feel the Love Tonight.

If you think you haven't heard Sir James before, have you seen Lord of the Rings? He was a featured flautist throughout the Howard Shore score.

Beauty and the Beast James Galway 1993

Labels: at the movies, beauty and the beast, beauty and the beast song, classical, james galway, showtunes

  ¶ 8:42 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Be Our Guest/Belle - Jakarta
Last year, the JAKARTA INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CHOIR recorded their first album, called THE VERY 1ST ALBUM. This choir from Jakarta, Indonesia takes their work very seriously, recording music and playing televised concerts several times a year.

The quality of this community choir is quite good because it is not made up of volunteers you have to pay a monthly fee of 150,000 rupiahs, which is a very reasonable 16.14 USD. Their album includes several songs from Beauty and the Beast including this medley of Be Our Guest and Belle

Be Our Guest/Belle Jakarta International Community Choir 2007

Labels: be our guest, beauty and the beast, belle, jakarta, showtunes, very 1st album

  ¶ 12:54 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Whistle While You Work/Heigh-Ho! Heigh-Ho! - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Here is a short Snow White medley from the Walt Disney tribute album WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR recorded by THE MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR.

There are two songs in Snow White about working, one sung by Snow White as she cleans the dwarfs cabin and one sung by the dwarfs as they mine for diamonds. It is rather peculiar that both of these songs are about making work fun. As a Canadian, I don't know much about American history but I do know that the Great Depression was in the 30s and took most of that decade to recover from. So could it be that Disney had it in mind to create a movie about a poor working girl, forced to live in poverty, who has a cheery outlook on life and sings happy songs about working in order to help the general public through these tough times? Walt started production on this movie in 1934 so I'm sure that the depression must have been on his mind and I wouldn't be surprised if it was an influence on the film.

Under the conduction of JEROLD OTTLEY, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra take these two songs and combine them to make a jolly work song every bit as jolly as the originals.

Whistle While You Work/Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho! Mormon Tabernacle Choir 1990

Labels: classical, columbia symphony orchestra, heigh-ho, jerold ottley, mormon tabernacle choir, showtunes, snow white and the seven dwarfs, when you wish upon a star album, whistle while you work

  ¶ 7:49 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  I'm Wishing/One Song - On the Record Cast
Our first introduction to Snow White is as she sings I'm Wishing at the beginning of the film. We quickly get a sense of her character: She is a happy girl, living in poverty but with a natural cheery outlook, but she, like so many Disney heroines, looks for so much more. Suddenly we are met with a new character, a Prince, who shares a sweet song with an embarrassed Snow White.

I'm Wishing and One Song are commonly paired together. They are together on the official soundtrack and many covers take advantage of this coupling. The version that I am posting today for Snow White Week is from the On the Record Broadway Musical and features Kaitlyn Hopkins with Ashley Brown as the echoing well.

The original voice of Snow White was Adriana Caselotti whose father, Guido Caselotti, was a music teacher and vocal coach. One day, while the casting director for Snow White was on the phone with Guido about casting the voice for the lead role, Adriana, who was listening in on another line, began to speak and sing in a child-like voice. Once Disney heard this, he knew that he had found the voice! She was paid 970 for her work.

Adriana never appeared in another movie, aside from a bit part in Wizard of Oz because she didn't want to ruin the magic of Snow White by having her voice heard in other places.

I'm Wishing On the Record Cast 2004

Labels: i'm wishing, on the record, one song, showtunes, snow white and the seven dwarfs

  ¶ 7:46 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Just Around the Riverbend - Michelle Nicastro
Here is another track off of MICHELLE NICASTRO'S TOONFUL TOO, an album of Nicastro singing cheesy showtune versions of mostly Disney songs.

The track I have chosen is from the Academy Award winning soundtrack from Pocahontas. Just like Ariel's Part of Your World, Just Around the Riverbend is Pocahontas' expression of the need to break out and forge her own life. She feels restrained by family commitments and, like Ariel, ends up disobeying orders to pursue the love interests.

But unlike Ariel, she remains with her family at the end of the film as Captain John Smith sails away. To have the love interests not get together in the end was a bold move for Disney that ended up being a sour note as most fans were expecting the traditional Disney fairy tale ending.

Just Around the Riverbend Michelle Nicastro 1995

Labels: just around the riverbend, michelle nicastro, pocahontas, showtunes, toonful too

  ¶ 10:54 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

  He's a Tramp - Bette Midler
Here's a charming cover of Peggy Lee's He's a Tramp from Lady and the Tramp by well-known singer and actor BETTE MIDLER from her 2005 album BETTE MIDLER SINGS THE PEGGY LEE SONGBOOK.

If you've been alive in the later half of the 20th century then you should know who Bette Midler is. She has more albums than you can shake a stick at and a healthy list of movie credits including The Rose and For the Boys which got her two Academy Award nominations for Best Actress.

Midler's style on this track both vocally and musically is so similar to the Peggy Lee original that it almost sounds the same. A great tribute to Peggy but not that great of a cover. However, I do like having the Siamese Cat Song at the beginning.

He's a Tramp Bette Midler 2005

Labels: bette midler, he's a tramp, lady and the tramp, showtunes, sings the peggy lee songbook

  ¶ 1:18 PM 1 Comments Links to this post