I'm Wishing/One Song - Fred Mollin



It was on this day in 1938 that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs hit theatres around the United States. Although it made its debut on December 21, 1937 in California, it wasn't until a few week later that the rest of the country could join in the celebration of Walt Disney's first full length feature film!

Today's cover is by FRED MOLLIN, a film and television composer who has scored for everything from Outer Limits to Friday the 13th to Beverly Hills 90210. But it is his record producing that has got him all the attention these days. Mollin has produced many albums for Disney Records including O MICKEY WHERE ART THOU and DISNEYMANIA 5. Fred's musical abilities are featured on the various LULLABY ALBUMS and this cover is one of my favourite of his.

Found on DISNEY'S PRINCESS LULLABY ALBUM, I'm Wishing/One Song is so soothing and relaxing, and it doesn't sound cheesy and manufactured like many kid's albums out there. The arrangement is different and original and beautiful.

Labels: fred mollin, i'm wishing, one song, piano, princess lullaby album, snow white and the seven dwarfs

  ¶ 10:50 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Heigh-Ho - Los Lobos



In 1988, LOS LOBOS covered I Wan'na Be Like You for STAY AWAKE, the 1988 Disney tribute album.

Now, more than twenty years later, Los Lobos has recorded an entire album of Disney cover songs! LOS LOBOS GOES DISNEY was released this past September as an Amazon exclusive before hitting the rest of the world. I'm happy to say that the entire album is full of great music and amazing covers by an amazing band.

Today's cover song is the lead track off the disc, Heigh-Ho from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The Mexican-America band from East LA gives this tune a dramatic energy that only they could do. Their American Chicano rock style is perfectly represented in this cover and using the horn section instead of whistling is brilliant! Los Lobos is coming up on their forty year anniversary in 2013 and it doesn't look like they're slowing down!

EXTRA: Here is a music video that Disney has released to go along with the album!

Labels: heigh-ho, los lobos, los lobos goes disney, rock, snow white and the seven dwarfs

  ¶ 6:27 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Whistle While You Work - Larry Clinton and His Orchestra, feat. Bea Wain
Shortly after the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, Whistle While You Work became a hit song, topping the charts for several week following. The song became an instant classic and was used in many jazz and big band performances all over the country.

One of the earliest covers of this song was recorded in 1938 by jazz orchestra leader LARRY CLINTON featuring the wonderful voice of BEA WAIN.

Clinton was a prominent big band leader in the late 30s and 40s. While is notable for his arranging skills (he arranged music for Louis Armstrong, the Dorsey Brothers and many others) he is better known for taking classical work, such as the work of Debussy and Tchaikovsky, and arranging them for his jazz orchestra and adding lyrics for his singers to sing. He called this 'Swinging the Classics'.

When Clinton was putting together his band he knew he needed a singer. He heard Bea Wain sing an 8-bar solo on the radio one day and new that was his voice. He sought her out and asked her if she would sing for him and the rest is history.

Whistle While You Work Larry Clinton and His Orchestra, feat. Bea Wain 1938

Labels: bea wain, big band, jazz, larry clinton, oldies, snow white and the seven dwarfs, whistle while you work

  ¶ 7:02 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Heigh-Ho (The Dwarf's Marching Song) - Dave Brubeck Quartet
Here is another track from one of my favourite Disney cover albums, DAVE DIGS DISNEY. It is Snow White's Heigh-Ho jazzed up by the wonderful DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET.

The recording, which features Paul Desmond on the alto sax, Joe Morello on the drums and Eugene Wright playing the double bass, is one that the Quartet had in their repertoire for a while before the idea of this album came about. Here is an excerpt from the liner notes:

"Heigh-Ho" has been developing of late as a closing number for a night-club set, being on of those free-wheeling tunes with an orthodox structure, which lends itself to creating a climactic feeling of excitement.

Heigh-Ho (The Dwarf's Marching Song) Dave Brubeck Quartet 1957

Labels: dave brubeck quartet, dave digs disney, heigh-ho, jazz, snow white and the seven dwarfs

  ¶ 7:02 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Some Day My Prince Will Come - Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea
Two jazz greats come together for this wonderful version of Some Day My Prince Will Come. Taken from the 1979 live album AN EVENING WITH HERBIE HANCOCK & CHICK COREA: IN CONCERT, the song features Hancock and Corea on two grand pianos playing a duet. The result is quite remarkable.

HERBIE HANCOCK, whose jazz piano greatly influenced the definition of 'rhythm section', started his career as a concert pianist by quickly found his love for jazz. He joined the Miles Davis quintet and recorded some of the most influential jazz albums of the sixties. In later years he composed the soundtrack to Bill Cosby's Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids and later moved into funk, bebop and rock.

CHICK COREA is a jazz pianist and drummer who has recorded dozens of albums and won over a dozen Grammy Awards for his influential music. Taking Hancock's place as Miles Davis' pianist in 1968, Corea help define and develop jazz fusion, the amalgamation of jazz with other genres of music, such as rock, funk, folk, classical and even hip-hop and metal.

Listen to this song and wonder at the amazing talent of these two people.

This is just the first five minutes of the twelve and a half minute track. Follow the links below to hear the rest.

Some Day My Prince Will Come Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea 1978

Labels: an evening with herbie hancock and chick corea, chick corea, herbie hancock, jazz, snow white and the seven dwarfs, some day my prince will come

  ¶ 6:44 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  I'm Wishing - Mary Martin
Off of HI-HO! MARY MARTIN SINGS AND SWINGS, this is I'm Wishing, a song not often covered from the soundtrack to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

I'm Wishing Mary Martin 1958

Labels: hi ho mary sings and swings, i'm wishing, mary martin, oldies, snow white and the seven dwarfs, tutti camarata

  ¶ 6:48 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Disney Medley - Barbra Streisand
A while back a reader requested to hear Someday My Prince Will Come covered by BARBRA STREISAND. While she did do a studio version of the song, I have chosen to post a live version that she did for her 34th album, THE CONCERT.

THE CONCERT is a two-disc album of a show Streisand did at Madison Square Gardens at what many fans consider the apex of her career. The album reached #10 on the US charts before going triple-platinum and selling over 3 million copies. Pretty remarkable stats for a double live album!

Disney Medley is a story Barbra tells of her memories watching Disney movies with her daughter. She takes us through Sleeping Beauty's Once Upon A Dream, Pinocchio's When You Wish Upon A Star and ends with Snow White's Someday My Prince Will Come, which ends up being the feature song in the medley.

Disney Medley Barbra Streisand 1994

Labels: barbra streisand, once upon a dream, pinocchio, pop, sleeping beauty, snow white and the seven dwarfs, some day my prince will come, the concert, when you wish upon a star

  ¶ 1:43 PM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Some Day My Prince Will Come - Cheetah Girls
The popular Disney group, THE CHEETAH GIRLS, have made a very successful career for themselves. Well, Disney has made a successful career for them.

The group started out as a Disney Channel Original Movie based on a youth book series, but the movie was so popular that it spawned two sequels with a third on the way, as well as three studio albums and a yearly tour across the country. The Cheetah Girls were transformed from a fictitious pop band to actual recording artists.

But the fact remains that this is just another Disney Pop (D-Pop as I like to call them) formula band. My apologies to all of you Cheetah Girls lovers.

For DISNEYMANIA 6, the Girls recorded a version of Someday My Prince Will Come which I consider perfect fodder for Terrible Track Friday. One listen and I am sure you will agree that this version is just plain awful.

Some Day My Prince Will Come Cheetah Girls 2008

Labels: cheetah girls, cincinnati pops orchestra, disneymania 6, snow white and the seven dwarfs, some day my prince will come, terrible

  ¶ 3:14 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Whistle While You Work - Artie Shaw and His Orchestra w/ Leo Watson
Today's track is by ARTIE SHAW AND HIS ORCHESTRA featuring LEO WATSON. Waton, a jazz musician from the 30s and 40s, was primarily a vocalist but also played the drums and the trombone which made a valuable player in many bands, Artie Shaw's and Gene Krupa's bands in particular, as well as the Spirits of Rhythm.

If you are a fan of Looney Tunes, you may be interested to know that Leo Watson provided the voice for Prince Chawmin' in Bob Clampett's Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs, a cartoon that has gone on to be part of the infamous Censored Eleven, forever in the Warner Bros. vaults never to see the light of day (except on youtube).

This song was recorded in 1937, probably just after the movie was released.

Whistle While You Work Artie Shaw and His Orchestra w/ Leo Watson 1937

Labels: artie shaw, jazz, leo watson, snow white and the seven dwarfs, whistle while you work, zip a dee doo dah album

  ¶ 4:33 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Mi Príncipe Vendrá - Mocedades
An anonymous reader turned me on to this Spanish Disney cover album by MOCEDADES. He/she requested Some Day My Prince Will Come off this album and since this is Request Friday I am happy to oblige!

Mocedades formed in 1967 in Spain and recorded many hit songs throughout the 70s and 80s. Though their music was popular mainly to the Spanish-speaking world, Mocedades was able to reach the American market with their single Eres Tú in the early 70s. Eres Tú is one of the only Spanish language songs to reach the top 10 in the United States and has been covered by dozens of artist including Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Petula Clark, Johnny Mathis and even a duet between Chris Farley and David Spade for the movie Tommy Boy.

In 1997, Mocedades released their 21st album, MOCEDADES CANTA A WALT DISNEY, a collection of Disney songs in their Spanish pop sound. The track I am sharing with you today is Some Day My Prince Will Come from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Mi Príncipe Vendrá Mocedades 1997

Labels: adult contemporary, canta a walt disney, mocedades, pop, snow white and the seven dwarfs, some day my prince will come

  ¶ 4:27 PM 2 Comments Links to this post

  With a Smile and a Song - Carroll Gibbons and the Savoy Hotel Orpheans
While doing research for this album, it became clear that there is no good source of information on the internet about CARROLL GIBBONS AND THE SAVOY HOTEL ORPHEANS. I have a couple of Disney songs by this group and absolutely love them and want to share them with you, but don't really have any info about them.

Here is what I do know: The house band for the Savoy Hotel in London, England, the Savoy Havana Band, was one of the top dance bands in the country in the 20s, but when they left to tour in 1923 the manager of the hotel hired a new group. This new group, called the Savoy Orpheans, specialized in fresh renditions of current pop hits and soon grew to have the same and then even greater popularity than their predecessors.

The Savoy Orpheans was lead by Debroy Sommers until his departure in 1926 and, after changing hands a few times, the baton was handed to Carrol Gibbons who had played with the group as a musician since the beginning.

With all the reading I did, I'm not sure what instrument Gibbons played in the band. I know he later moved to piano, but in the early days he was said to be in the band but Billy Thorburn was the pianist.

Gibbons lead the Savoy Orpheans starting in 1932 and continued to play at the Savoy Hotel until 1937 when they quit being the house band because the hotel wouldn't let them play gigs in other venues. The name of the band was changed to the Savoy Hotel Orpheans and later, when Carroll Gibbons became a big selling point for the group, it was changed again to Carroll Gibbons and the Savoy Hotel Orpheans.

I know this seems like I actually found a lot of information, but certain things remain a mystery, like the recording date of this track. Snow White's With a Smile and a Song was released as a single on the Columbia record label with One Song, another Snow White song, as the b-side. But when was it recorded? Well, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released in 1937 so it can't have been before that. I would guess that it was probably recorded around 1938 or 1939 as the music from that film was quite popular after its release.

It should also be noted that the vocals are sung by Anne Lenner, a popular British singer who sang for Carroll on many occasions.

With a Smile and a Song Carroll Gibbons and the Savoy Hotel Orpheans 1939?

Labels: anne lenner, carroll gibbons, oldies, savoy hotel orpheans, snow white and the seven dwarfs, with a smile and a song

  ¶ 6:52 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Some Day My Prince Will Come - Sun Ra and His Intergalxtic Arkestra
Welcome to another addition of Terrible Track Friday. Today, I have chosen a track that I hope will not bring a bunch of hate mail my way. SUN RA and his Intergalaxtic Arkestra has a large cult following due to their unique genre of jazz and unusual origins (Sun Ra claims to be a man from Saturn).

Sun Ra formed his group in the 60s and even though he has passed away the group lives on.

Some of their material I really like. They are extremely creative, good musicians and tons of fun. But there is one element that I can't stand and that is the crazy squeaking and squawking that comes from the saxophonist, Marshall Allen. There is no need for it to be there, Allen is a great saxophonist and he really just does it because it is different. I can understand why people may like it, but in my opinion, it ruins the song and I usually skip this track.

Some Day My Prince Will Come Sun Ra and his Intergalaxtic Arkestra 1989

Labels: jazz, second star to the right (salute to walt disney), snow white and the seven dwarfs, some day my prince will come, sun ra, terrible

  ¶ 2:14 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Some Day My Prince Will Come/One Song - En Vogue
EN VOGUE was very new in the R&B world when they recorded this track for SIMPLY MAD ABOUT THE MOUSE in 1991. They found success with their debut album in 1990 and Disney got them to record Some Day My Prince Will Come and One Song knowing that their name would be a big selling point.

Unfortunately, I think this song is the worst track on the album which is why I've chosen it for Terrible Track Friday. The tempo has been slowed down so much that it becomes boring. And while the vocals get more interesting toward the end, it is not enough to make me like the song. And what's with the cheesy background vocals on One Song? En Vogue has had a lot of good songs but this isn't one of them.

Some Day My Prince Will Come/One Song En Vogue 1991

Labels: en vogue, one song, rnb, simply mad about the mouse, snow white and the seven dwarfs, some day my prince will come, terrible

  ¶ 11:56 AM 2 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