Two Voices-No Credit: Billy Murray and Walter Scanlan At Fleischer
There were two singers who show up repeatedly in the “Screen Songs” cartoons. They never got any screen credit. But any record collector would recognize them immediately.
There were two singers who show up repeatedly in the “Screen Songs” cartoons. They never got any screen credit. But any record collector would recognize them immediately.
I am a little bit familiar with the career of Roy Halee. He was a rich-voiced tenor, and just the right voice for the singing of Mighty Mouse.
Here’s a cartoon perfect for Halloween Eve – and, it turns out, there’s another “needle-drop” here taking up a good part of the cartoon’s soundtrack.
Tex Avery knew the 1920s “Okeh Laughing Record” and wondered how it would work on a modern movie audience. With his last cartoon for Lantz, he got to try out his theory.
Ub Iwerks seems to have had a regular working relationship with RCA Victor. As we will see, Victor records seem to permeate Iwerks’ scoring – – at least for a while.
One type of record that companies hoped would sell were called “novelty records”, for lack of a better term. Max Fleischer used three such “novelties” in some of his 1930’s cartoons.
Cuban rhythms really didn’t filter their way down to North American popular music – the kind that most folks would buy – until 1930. It’s an entertaining, if roundabout, story.
Continuing our exploration of vintage recordings used as soundtrack in classic cartoons, we look at two popular performers whose musical abilities fit perfectly with the mindset at Fleischer Studios.
In the early sound era it was apparently easier to use, on occasion, “Needle Drop” music from commercial records to score a cartoon. Here’s a list of several I’ve identified.