To celebrate the birthday of Disneyland, let’s explore a selection of vintage recordings that are part of its charm and history.
Disneyland Park has been alive with the sound of music (“ah-ah-ah-ah”) since it opened in July of 1955. Certainly, the attractions are renowned for their songs and music, but the tunes do not stop upon exiting the ride vehicles. From the moment one approaches the park, music is in the air.
It can be called “piped-in,” “atmospheric,” “Muzak,” or some such, but Disney calls it “BGM,” as in “background music.” In the early days, it was played on reel-to-reel quarter-inch tape machines, which had to be run back to their beginning each time (eventually music services created an auto-reverse system, but it was still tape, as was this nostalgic K-Mart reel from 1973 (one of my go-to places for Disneyland and Peter Pan Records).
Jack Wagner, considered by many to be “the voice of Disneyland and Walt Disney World,” was a key figure in assembling this music, from vinyl records in the early days of Disneyland and Magic Kingdom Parks. Many of the Christmas BGM songs are still played, featuring such artists as Percy Faith, David Rose, and even Ed Sullivan (a British LP with the uncredited Mike Sammes Singers). There was even a time when several tracks from the Irwin Kostal album. Fantasmagorical Music from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang were heard in the parks!
Classic Disneyland and Buena Vista Records selections can still be heard at Disneyland. On the Alice in Wonderland attraction, Disney Legend Tutti Camarata’s instrumental version of the title song is played in the queue. On Storybook Land Canal Boats, his Overture from his Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs LP (please enjoy this previous Animation Spin) plays in the queue, and Darlene Gillespie can be heard singing “All in the the Golden Afternoon” as the boats glide by the Alice tableau. For more on the landmark Camarata Alice album, please enjoy this previous Animation Spin.
Currently, guests enjoying a Dole Whip at the Tahitian Terrace can today hear Tutti’s “Adventureland Suite” from Walt Disney Takes You to Disneyland, a.k.a. A Musical Tour of Disneyland.
This 1956 album (please enjoy this previous Animation Spin) was the first album to be produced and marketed by Disney’s in-house record company and the only title that Walt recorded especially for the Disneyland/Buena Vista label. It was modified in 1957 for the Storyteller album, A Day at Disneyland with Cliff Edwards as Jiminy Cricket.
A marching band has always been a tradition at the park, so The Disneyland Band Concert album was also released on LP in 1956. Conducted by Disney Legend Vesey Walker, the music combines traditional music (“In the Good Old Summertime,” “In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree”) with Disney favorites, including some rarely heard nowadays like “Jing-A-Ling” and “Pink Elephants on Parade.” Disneyland Records released portions of this album on a 45 RPM disc called Mickey’s Band Concert.
Spring of 1957 brought with it Echoes of Disneyland. The album cover depicts the Park after sunset, suggesting a subdued period of the day in which one might hear “Blue Shadows on the Trail” or “Bella Notte” gently wafting from the Wurlitzer Music Hall on Main Street, U.S.A. Musician/store manager Dee Fisher was a fixture at the park for many years, as were albums of organ music. Solo organ music in the postwar era was popular on records and on the charts. Stores were well stocked with records by musicians like Ken Griffin and Ethel Smith (who appeared in 1948’s Melody Time).
Depending on one’s frame of reference, Echoes of Disneyland conjures up images of the skating rinks and shopping malls of yesterday. Some have a sweet, somber tone (I would welcome Dee Fisher’s version of “Alice in Wonderland” to be played when I depart this mortal coil).
Though this exploration focuses on music and entertainment rather than attractions, the Golden Horseshoe Revue can be considered a bit of both. Now a restaurant showcasing various entertainers, the original stage revue is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as having “the greatest number of performances of any theatrical presentation.” There were 47,250 performances, enjoyed by 16 million guests between July 16, 1955 to October 12, 1986.
The original show was a personal favorite of Walt and Lillian Disney, with fans including Lucille Ball and Jack Benny. Steve Martin devotes chapter seven of his autobiography to remembering Disneyland as his second home. The lonely youngster was treated as family by Disneyland cast members, especially his mentor, Golden Horseshoe comedian Wally Boag. Martin’s phenomenally popular stand-up comedy, considered breakthrough and deconstructive on Saturday Night Live, was clearly inspired by Boag’s stage antics. To this day, there is an autographed photo of Martin on the wall of the Main Street, U.S.A. Magic Shop.
Betty Taylor, who hosted the revue as Slue Foot Sue, can also be heard on the Disneyland album Tinpanorama with iconic Hollywood vocalist Bill Lee, singing a Sherman Brothers song called “Shrub Herbs in the Suburbs”. Tenor Donald Novis can also be heard singing “Love is a Song” over the titles of Bambi, which is also performed on the Mickey Mouse Club for Guest Star Day. His first wife Julietta is the soloist for “Ave Maria” in Fantasia.
The record album (which spells “Revue” as “Review,” preserves the live show as patrons would have seen it in the fifties, and later in the 1962 Wonderful World of Color TV episode (a theatrical featurette in Europe) that added Annette, Ed Wynn, and others to the cast.
This is just the beginning. In Part Two, we’ll conclude with a look at other Disneyland Park entertainment recordings, including one that is still among the records in Walt Disney’s personal office. That’s coming tomorrow. It’s only a day away!
