Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Walt Disney presents It's A Small World



Disneyland Record - 1289
1965

18 favorite folk songs sung by Disneyland Boys Choir. Under the direction of Paul Salamunovich, arrangements by Willard Jones, produced by Camarata.

Accoding to the Boy Choir and Soloist Directory:
The Disneyland Boys Choir was formed to provide the music for the Small World attraction in the park, and there was only one album and one single to come from that project. The choristers were primarily drawn from Paul Salamunovich's church choir, St. Charles Borromeo in North Hollywood, California. Salamunovich later became director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

Mr. Salamunovich can still be found here.

I was a little disappointed that it's just a collection of folk songs and not a collection of foreign language versions of It's a Small World. But maybe not as disappointed as Australia being represented by Paddy Whack. Visiting Disney World, I was a little surprised by how much I enjoyed the It's a Small World ride. It's a pleasant and relaxing boat ride through simplistic animatronics and -- I have to admit -- it's a very catchy tune. Reading BoingBoing today, I learned Disney is making what sounds like some unfortunate changes to the ride:
And in one of the most egregious and downright disgusting decisions in Disney theme park history, the gorgeous New Guinea rainforest scene, replete with some of Mary Blair’s most whimsical character creations (a crocodile with an umbrella, colorful birds hatching from eggs) and her drummer children with Tiki Masks on the opposite shore will be replaced with a Hooray for U.S.A sequence.

There's no confirmation on this at Jim Hill Media, so if this turns out to be false, I'll delete the rumor.

Straight from the fabulous year of 1965 (songs will open in new window):
  1. It's a Small World (USA)
  2. Oranges and Lemons (England) Because when I think of England, I think of citrus
  3. The Ash Grove (Wales)
  4. Comin' Thru the Rye (Scotland)
  5. Frere Jacques (France)
  6. Alouette (France)
  7. Santa Lucia (Italy)
  8. Funiculi, Funicula (Italy) Sounds like an STD you'd catch from a Mouseketeer
  9. Cuckoo (Austria)
  10. Children's Prayer (Germany)
  11. Silent Night (Germany)
  12. Paddy Whack (Australia)
  13. Kookaburra (Australia)
  14. Sukiyaki (Japan)
  15. Meadowlands (Russia)
  16. Arirang (Korea)
  17. Cielito Lindo (Mexico)
  18. Aloho Oe (Hawaii)
  19. Home On the Range (USA)
  20. Same as the first




14 comments:

justkim said...

The link to the first "Small World" seems to be broken. "The Ash Grove" has a lovely tune. I'm looking forward to listening to them. I wish I could save them to my iPod (not to bring up any bad memories for you.)

I don't know if you saw my post here, but I've got a few pictures of the exterior of the Disneyland Small Word ride. I love this building.

Bill_45 said...

Link is fixed. Thanks.

I did see your post and I forgot it. My apologies, I'll make an update.

About saving them. There are a number of sites doing similar things with vinyl that make the tracks available for downloading. Because of copyright issues and questions about what constitutes appropriate fair use, I've chosen to just stream my music. Even though most of what I'm putting up here is 20-40 years old and will most likely never be available in any other format.

On a technical legalistic basis streaming is probably no different from providing an mp3 for download. I am not a lawyer, but why push it. I've never illegally downloaded music, and I don't feel comfortable providing others the means to do so; no matter howhazy that concept may be nor how technologically easy it is to work around my speed bump.

justkim said...

Oh, I'm not even trying to suggest you do anything illegal. I just wish it were more easiy available to the public at large.

devotchka said...

I was so happy to find this! I had this album as a small child and loved it, and have been searching for these songs since, just for nostalgia's sake. Thank you!!

Eric said...

Bill,

I love your website and the fact one can listen to Disneyland Boys Choir - It's A Small World. I used to play this record over and over again when I was a little boy. You brought back some really fond memories of mine. Thank you so much !! Any chance of repairing / uploading track 17. Cielito Lindo (Mexico), there seems to be a broken link. Thank you so much again !!

Kindest Regards,

Eric

Crowe said...

I love you so much for posting this. I've been searching all over for this song list. The record I grew up with disappeared years ago, and it chokes me up, hearing these again. Thank you.

ricardo said...

First of all, your site is all about class- it's a place i'd love to just hang out in.

Thank you for making this album available to everyone. I just asked my sister in denver to buy me one used LP just half an hour before i found your site- I have been wondering for a long time how i could get one. This album is an important part of me and my family when i was growing up in manila. And i want my 2 year old daughter to be growing up with this music too. For me, for some reason, this music really defines what is good and beautiful in this very small world of ours.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely awesome..Thanks for sharing - I, as many, remember this from my childhood. I'm considering buying a record player just so my daughter can have this growing up too.

PA, US

Ling said...

It's been a good 20 years since I heard these songs. Thank you so much!

Anonymous said...

Is there a way to get MP3 versions of the songs. I want my Daughter to learn these songs as she loves to sing and these were songs I listened to growing up.

Teks said...

I was looking for this album for ages. I used to have one of this when I was a little girl but got lost from constant moving from one place to another. Too bad the links are not working. It brings back so much memories. Is there any chance that they come up with mp3s or cds? I would love my kids to listen to it too. These are classic music.

Obal said...

I just came across your blog, do you still maintain it? The links to the songs seem to be broken, are you still sharing them?

Thank you!

JC
jcobal@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Found this ... You can listen to the whole soundtrack for this LP at the following:

http://disneychris.com/15-disneyland-soundtracks/134-disneyland-audio-tour-chapter-21.html

Just scroll down to find the albumn, put on a headset, close your eyes and let all your childhood memories come flowing back ... pure stereo sound, no pops, skips or hisses! (even if there were, it would still be bliss!) Enjoy while you can!

rps said...

Yes, to our shame the American's version of the world is one that been presented to us by the corporate powers of mass marketing which heavily relies on stereotypes and broad, vanilla characterizations in order to portray the cultures of the world. Often, in an effort to come up with a indentifiable character, customs and traditions no longer used are employed; forever planting an innacurate depiction of other cultures.

These generalizations were so broad that they often took on a rude or racist tone which served to ridicule, rather than showcase.

Though we've come a long way, this time period has forever marked Amercians with the reputation of being extremely uncultured, which is ironic because the exact opposite was the intention. However, ask any American on the street and you will probably find that they still believe Eskimos live in Igloos and the Dutch people wear wooden shoes. Italians are all middle-aged singing waiters and a bloomin onion is an authentic Australian culinary item. Even with our own American Indians many false, offensive stereotypes still exist in the minds of many Americans. Our massive obessive addiction to sports keeps perpetuating this.