The Second Star to the Right - James Taylor



It was on this day 57 years ago that Walt Disney's animated classic Peter Pan was introduced to the world. Peter Pan was one of Walt's favourite stories and he tried hard to obtain the legal rights to turn J.M. Barrie's play into an animated film. This was hard to do as Barrie had made the Great Ormond Street Hospital, a children's hospital in London, the sole copyright holder so that they could benefit from any royalties from his play.

Disney was able to make arrangements with the hospital in 1939 to make the film, but the project was put on hold due to World War II.

JAMES TAYLOR brings us a delightful version of The Second Star to the Right which can be found on the Disney tribute album, STAY AWAKE, from 1988.

Labels: adult contemporary, james taylor, peter pan, second star to the right, stay awake album

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  Mickey Mouse Club - Aaron Neville




I just came across the new that Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, has passed away at the age of 62 due to complications with diabetes.

Allwine picked up the job of voicing the iconic mouse for the New Mickey Mouse Club in 1977. The torch was officially passed from James MacDonald, who voiced Mickey Mouse from 1947-1977, to Wayne Allwine for 1983's Mickey's Christmas Carol.

Nearly every time you have heard Mickey in the last 32 years has been Allwine, including movies, TV shows, video games and the Disney parks! Allwine married Russi Taylor, the current voice of Minnie Mouse in 1991.

I am sharing this special cover of the Mickey Mouse Club end theme (called the Alma Mater) by AARON NEVILLE off the album STAY AWAKE, which serves as a fitting goodbye to Wayne Allwine.

Labels: aaron neville, mickey mouse club, mickey mouse march, rnb, stay awake album

  ¶ 7:24 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Baby Mine - Bonnie Raitt with Was (Not Was)
IMPORTANT NEWS! For all of you in the Los Angeles area, there is a special event coming your way! Hal Wilner, producer of the STAY AWAKE Disney tribute album, is planning Stay Awake: The Official 20th Century Anniversary Concert. The live event will take place at UCLA’s Royce Hall on October 30th, 2008.

Wilner, who brought in a wide variety of musicians for the album, hopes to get as many of the same artists to take part in this event. Sounds like a good time! I wish I lived in California!

The concert features a mix of enchanting, moody and, at times, sardonic adaptations of tunes from The Jungle Book, Snow White, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, and more.

Here is a track from the album. It's Baby Mine sung beautifully by nine-time Grammy award-winning blues artist BONNIE RAITT with backup vocals from WAS (NOT WAS)

Song Title Artist Year

Labels: baby mine, blues, bonnie raitt, dumbo, stay awake album, was not was

  ¶ 2:17 PM 3 Comments Links to this post

  Feed the Birds - Garth Hudson
Today is Request Friday and Peter requested that I post this cover of Feed the Birds, so here it is!

Growing up in a very musical family, GARTH HUDSON quickly learned that his parents had passed down the ability to be a great musician. By twelve he had already become an expert at the piano and organ and was writing his own music. When he was 21, after he graduated from university, Hudson joined the Hawks, a rock band that would eventually become The Band. He was their keyboardist and musical adviser.

Hudson was part of The Band during its eleven year run from 1965-1976. The Band gained popularity by opening for Bob Dylan's 'electric tour' in 1966. After the band retired, Hudson continued to make music, recording songs for soundtracks, playing recording sessions, releasing solo albums and albums with his wife, Maud.

The Band reunited in the 80s and released three more albums. This put Hudson back in the spotlight so when Hal Winters was looking for musicians for his Disney tribute project, STAY AWAKE, he thought of Garth. The track that Hudson chose is Feed the Birds, the ballad from Mary Poppins. This instrumental piece really shows his skill in playing the keyboard, synthesizer and accordion. This arrangement is very complex but very beautiful to listen to. Hudson does a great job of making it interesting but still easy to listen to.

Feed the Birds Garth Hudson 1988

Labels: feed the birds, garth hudson, mary poppins, pop, stay awake album

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  I Wan'na Be Like You - Los Lobos
I have had a few requests for this special version of I Wan'na Be Like You by Los Lobos on my request page and elsewhere so I've have decided to pull it out for this month's Request Friday. Fdtate and cindy, this one is for you!

It is a happy coinsidence that today is also Louis Prima's birthday! If he were still alive today he would be 97! Prima, as you all should know, voiced King Louie in the Jungle Book.

LOS LOBOS is a band with a huge cult following that didn't have the commercial success of a pop band in the US. They released many singles but one in particular put them on the map. It was their cover of Ritchie Valens' La Bamba in 1987. The song went straight to number one and can still be heard on many Adult Contemporary radio stations.

This made them prime candidates for the STAY AWAKE tribute album in 1988. It is one of the most popular tracks on the record.

They are still together and releasing albums to this day. Their music is consistantly better with every album and it is my hope to hear them take on another Disney song one of these days.

I Wan'na Be Like You Los Lobos 1988

Labels: i wan'na be like you, jazz, jungle book, los lobos, rock, stay awake album

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  Blue Shadows on the Trail - Syd Straw
Wrapping up Cowboy Week brings us to this month's Obscure Disney Song. This time it's a song from the Pecos Bill segment of Melody Time from 1948. Blue Shadows on the Trail is the opening number for the short and was originally performed by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers.

Covering this song is SYD STRAW, an alternative rocker whose career started out as a back up singer for Pat Benatar. Straw recorded this song as part of the STAY AWAKE project in 1988 and from there went on to release her first album in 1989. She has released three albums, a live album and last week she held the CD release party for her fourth studio album, PINK VELOUR.

It is interesting to hear her take on this Western song. Her roots in alternative and indie rock don't really show through. Instead, we are treated to a nice country/folky version of Blue Shadows. She has a nice and unique voice and really shows her talent with the simplicity of this song.

Blue Shadows on the Trail Syd Straw 1988

Labels: blue shadows on the trail, country, melody time, obscure, pecos bill, stay awake album, syd straw

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  Heigh Ho (The Dwarfs Marching Song) - Tom Waits
Hi folks. I'm Steve from Cover Freak, a blog devoted to cover songs. Kurtis has generously invited me to be a guest poster on his blog and I'm happy to contribute to such a fine endeavor.

Folks tend to either love TOM WAITS or hate him. He started his musical career as a nicotine-stained booze-soaked piano-jazz beat poet. Boy that's a lot of hyphens. You might be familiar with his songs Step Right Up or The Piano Has Been Drinking from that era.

In the mid-80s he radically reinvented his music, adding unconventional instruments and developing a more primitive sound. This song was recorded shortly after he made that transition but it's relatively mainstream in its arrangement, at least compared to his later stuff.

Even as a child I realized that mining is a very dangerous job. There's a simulated coal mine at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry that emphasizes the dangers of mining, and of course there are the unfortunate news stories of miners being trapped when mine shafts collapse.

So it always seemed weird to me that the Seven Dwarfs were so chipper about going down to the mine. What's wrong with those guys, I wondered. Seems that Tom Waits was wondering the same thing. In this song woozy keyboards and trash-can percussion conjure up a harrowing world where the dwarfs are condemned to a lifetime of hazardous backbreaking manual labor. And they're not happy about it. They'd much rather be back home, getting freaky with the tall chick.

Thanks Kurtis for letting me post on your blog. Shameless plug: For more demented covers, swing on over to Cover Freak.

Heigh Ho (The Dwarfs Marching Song) Tom Waits 1988

Labels: heigh-ho, industrial, rock, snow white and the seven dwarfs, stay awake album, tom waits

  ¶ 6:44 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

  When You Wish Upon a Star - Ringo Starr with Herb Alpert
Here is the closing track to the 1988 compilation album STAY AWAKE, featuring vocals by the legendary Beatles drummer, RINGO STARR, and featuring a wonderful trumpet solo from the legendary HERB ALPERT.

This arrangement of When You Wish Upon a Star is really nice but I can't help but chuckle a bit when I hear Ringo singing. He has really made a good career for himself despite the fact that he was never the strongest drummer, songwriter or vocalist. But over the years, like all musicians, his time in the spotlight is coming to an end. He has a new album coming out in early 2008 but will anyone really notice? Probably only die hard fans and musicologists.

And Herb Alpert isn't nearly as popular as he was with the Tijuana Brass in the sixties and solo throughout the seventies. Now it seems all he is known for Little Spanish Flea. Sad really, because he is a great trumpet player.

But all in all, this pair of fading music stars made a good recording of When You Wish Upon a Star, a song which takes them back to the beginning of their careers when they were unknown and only starting to reach for the stars.

When You Wish Upon a Star Ringo Starr, featuring Herb Alpert 1988

Labels: adult contemporary, herb alpert, pinocchio, ringo starr, stay awake album, when you wish upon a star

  ¶ 10:32 AM 2 Comments Links to this post