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”.
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”.
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.
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.
The only song from “Bongo” that clicked was “Lazy Countryside”, a song written by Bobby Worth. And the music industry plugged it for all it was… ahem! … worth!
“Fun and Fancy Free” did well at the box-office. But, from the standpoint of hit songs – frankly, “Fun and Fancy Free” was a flop!
This week’s column is sort of an addendum to my essay last week. More on Helen Carroll and the singers I’ve dubbed “The Terrytones”.
A little about Helen Carroll and the Satisfiers – a vocal group heard on some of the Terrytoons cartoons of the 1940’s and 1950’s.
For their cover recording, the Sportsmen Quartet had the accompaniment of a ukulele, a vocal bass–and the able assistance of Mel Blanc.
You can well imagine the surprise when the Oscar nominations were announced and “Woody Woodpecker” had been nominated for Best Song!
Of course, there were other versions of the Song of the South tunes besides the ones that were cited as top sellers in the “Billboard’ and “Cash Box” charts.