Zawaad Abdullah MUS 24100 Final Part I: Imaginative Writing A. On his impact on “Celebrity Culture” To say that Elvis would be capable of achieving his level of fame without selling out would be hard to justify. He wouldn’t have his prestige without catering to such a wide variety of fans, and doing so in a mediocre fashion. Look at “It’s Now Or Never” (1960), a large departure from the rock and roll her was known for, because he knew that he’d be marketable no matter what. He became more of a name and face, and less of an artist. B. Racial Perspectives Elvis had always been associated with black culture, from the clothes he wore to the clubs he went to. That made him a perfect picking for Sam Phillips, who had claimed “If I could find a white man who had the Negro sounds and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars.” That’s why the first song they made together was “That’s All Right (Mama),” originally sung by Arthur Crudup. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that he was appropriating black culture, at least to a certain degree. Part II: Outline for Proposed Topic The Music of Disney Films(1920’s to 1950s) I. The 1920’s a. One of the first films with a post-produced soundtrack was Steamboat Willie (1928), directed by Walt Disney. It was also one of the first films to incorporate what’s called “synchronized sound,” which is when the sound of the film is coupled to what is happening on screen. b. The music from the film was derived from the songs “Steamboat Bill,” arranged by Bert Lewis and Wilfred Jackson, and “Turkey in the Straw,” a minstrel song from the early 19th century. c. The final soundtrack for the theatrical release was performed by the Green Brothers Novelty Band d. The success of Steamboat Willie led Disney to improve their production methods before releasing a series of shorts, called Silly Symphonies II. The 1930’s a. One of the shorts, titled Three Little Pigs (1933), became a classic. It had won an Academy Award, and was preserved in National Film Registry i. The song created for this film was an original, “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf ?”, composed by Frank Churchill, and recorded by Mary Moder and Dorothy Compton for the film ii. The song was a hit single during the Great Depression, and many people resonated with the song during this time b. Following the success of Steamboat Willie, Disney wanted to create a full length feature film. This came in the form of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in 1937. The soundtrack for this movie was the first commercially released soundtrack album i. It was also composed by Churchill, in addition to Leigh Harline and Larry Morey. ii. At the time, Disney did not have it’s own music publishing company, so those rights are still held by Bourne Co. Music. III. The 1940’s a. Pinocchio (1940) was the first film to come out in this new decade, being the second feature length film from the Walt Disney Productions i. After winning an Oscar for his work in Snow White, Harline was put work again to write the main song for Pinocchio, which was “When You Wish Upon A Star” ii. The song reached success that it became the theme song for the Walt Disney Company as a whole b. Fantasia (1940) was the biggest endeavor by Disney at the time, being an eight act “play” to classical pieces conducted by Leopold Stokowski c. A year later, Disney released Dumbo (1941), with music scored by Frank Churchill once again, accompanied by Oliver Wallace, and written by Ned Washington. i. One of the most popular songs in the film, “Baby Mine,” was nominated for an Academy Award IV. The 1950’s a. The music for Cinderella (1950) was in production for a few years before the release of the movie i. They were composed by numerous Tin Pan Alley artists, such as Mack David, Jerry Livingston, and Al Hoffman. ii. This movie marked the launch of the Walt Disney Music Company, and they released a children’s album with the movie, in conjunction with RCA Records https://discover.hubpages.com/entertainment/The-Genesis-of-Disney-Music-1920-1950 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella_(1950_film)#Music Part III: For or Against (Benny Goodman’s recording of “Sing, Sing, Sing” is a formless mess that manufactures excitement through pure noise.) I can’t say that I agree with the appeal of this song being pure noise. I wouldn’t say it’s a formless mess, but it definitely is an eclectic rendition of a song. Goodman’s version of the song differed from other big band music at the time, by being nearly triple the length of a typical song. Typically, songs would be limited to 3 minutes so they fit on a 10-inch vinyl, but Goodman’s version of “Sing, Sing, Sing” clocked in at 8 minutes and 40 seconds. It definitely had some improvised moments, and deferred quite a bit from the original score, but I don’t think that justifies calling it a formless mess. There are still sections in the music, with proper harmony and voice leading, with plenty of appeal to the swing genre. The rhythm section does a great job with maintaining the feel in the song, allowing more freedom for the other members to have more fun with it. https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/ 2005/01-02/25190_elvis_was_world_s_biggest_sellou.html https://discover.hubpages.com/entertainment/The-Genesis-of-Disney-Music-1920-1950 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella_(1950_film)#Music https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sing,_Sing,_Sing_(With_a_Swing)
