A Dilly Dilly Hit
The song–based upon an eighteenth-century English tune–was the biggest hit connected with a Disney production since “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” nearly two years previous.
Author Archives: James Parten
So Dear To Walt’s Heart
The title song–a sweet and sentimental ditty–was the object of three singers, and their respective record companies.
Blame It On The Melody
Of course, as any good movie of the day must, Melody Time had a main title theme song. This was a very pleasant ballad, and it actually got several covers.
More Pecos Bill: Yippie-I-Yay-Ky-Yay!
Roy Rogers was not the only artist to sing of Pecos Bill – but, thanks to Walt Disney, the legendary western character and the “King of the Cowboys” will be forever linked.
The Toughest Critter West of the Alamo
Even though the song “Pecos Bill” did not make the charts at “Billboard”, it sees to have gotten”covered” more widely than any other song from Melody Time.
Melody Time’s Blue Shadows On The Trail
“Blue Shadows On The Trail” was also all over the airwaves during the spring and summer of 1948. Decca released a version of this tune, as sung by Bing Crosby.
It’s ‘Melody Time’ for the Kiddies
Both “The Legend of Johnny Appleseed” and “Little Toot” had songs attached to them. The reaction of Tin Pan Alley was interesting–and, perhaps, notable.
Bumbling The “Boogie”
Another piece used in Melody Time that the Disney people did not “own” was Bumble Boogie. In fact, most people already knew of it as the Rimsky-Korsakov composition “Flight of the Bumblebee”.
“Time” For Some Disney “Melody”
Joyce Kilmer had written a short poem around 1913. Nine years later, it was set to music by Oscar Rasbach. “Trees” was already a well-known standard by the time Melody Time was being planned.
More “Bongo” Beating
The “rhythm number” from “Bongo” was “Say It With A Slap” – a title that sounds today like an invitation to be inducted into the #MeToo movement.
