MouseStation 398 – Two Brothers Tunemakers: A Window for the Sherman Brothers
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Show run time 1:05:24
On today’s show, Steven Ng brings us to the Disneyland ceremony celebrating Disney’s magical songwriting duo.
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Feature: Two Brothers Tunemakers: A Window for the Sherman Brothers
Steven Ng brings us to the Disneyland ceremony celebrating Disney’s magical songwriting duo.
This week, we come to you in stereo to put you right into the middle of the event.
After opening with a quick musical number by “Bert,” the chimney sweep from Mary Poppins, Disneyland Resort President George Kalogridis introduced a great musical medley of Sherman Brothers theme park songs performed by “Mother” and “Father” from the Carousel of Progress (opening scene version).
Next up was Producer and President of Disney Theatrical Productions Thomas Schumacher, who gave a moving tribute to the Shermans and talked about the role that they play in our lives, the way that the musical version of Mary Poppins came to be, and his thoughts on how and why the Sherman Brothers’ music affects us so strongly.
Schumacher next introduced Marty Sklar, who talked about how integral the music of the Sherman Brothers has become to the Disney theme parks. In talking about the Shermans, Marty gave a great speech that strung together lyrics from many Sherman songs. He also mentioned his favorite Sherman songs “Magic Journeys,” and one they’d probably rather forget, “The Astuter Computer Revue.” Marty went on to talk about the relationship between the Sherman Brothers and Walt Disney, and indicated that perhaps the song “Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” could very well have been about Walt.
Marty introduced Walt Disney Parks & Resort Chairman Tom Staggs. Staggs talked about the history and tradition of dedicating windows on Main Street, and gave the main dedication speech. He brought Richard Sherman up and introduced Mickey Mouse, who revealed the window, which reads:
Two Brothers Tunemakers
Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman, proprietors
We’ll Write Your Tunes for a Song
Staggs presented a replica window to to Sherman, and noted that another had been created for Robert Sherman, who was unable to travel to the event from London. “Mother” and “Father” returned to introduce a special broadcast on “state of the art technology” (a radio), starting with a series of non-Disney Sherman Brothers tunes, then a recording of Robert Sherman from London. Robert Sherman thanked Disney for acknowledging the work that he and Richard had contributed, and then thanked his brother.
Richard Sherman then gathered himself together before talking about how Milt Larsen introduced him to Disneyland about 3 months after the park opened. He then talked about working for Disney starting with writing “Tall Paul” for Annette Funicello. He talked about how inspiring it was to work with Walt. He talked about a touching moment that he and his wife had with Walt as the park was closing for the day in 1963. Richard then took some time to talk about working with Robert, and how great it was to have his family at the event with him. He gave a plug to “The Boys,” the movie about the Sherman Brothers that was produced by his son and Robert’s son. Richard likened the window dedication to a line from Mary Poppins and then performed Walt Disney’s favorite song, “Feed the Birds,” dedicating it to Walt.
Richard Sherman accepts his tribute window during a Disneyland ceremony. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Kalogridis thanked everyone for coming and closed the ceremony.
Steven also attended a brief press conference with Richard Sherman after the event, and was one of the seven who actually got a chance to ask a question at the press conference. Topics covered included multiple questions asking in many different ways whether he ever expected his music to be such a success; what it was like seeing his window; what song was most surprising in its success; and his thoughts on the upcoming World of Color show. He also provided advice to a questioner on how to have a successful, productive working relationship with your brother.
For more on the dedication ceremony, see Monday’s Disneyland Resort Update.
What do you think? You can let us know by sending us an email or calling our toll-free feedback line (1-866-939-2278)!
Twitter/Facebook poll question
Mark never got the question posted on Twitter and Facebook last week, so we’ll do a do-over this week. Next week’s question:
- What was your age when you first went to a Disney theme park?
March of Dimes
MousePlanet readers and MouseStation listeners have helped Mark to raise over $15,000 for the March of Dimes over the last four years. This year, his goal is to raise another $5,000. But that’s not all! This year, you can walk with Mark, either in person or virtually, by joining Team MousePlanet! Mike has already signed on to walk as well. You can go to Mark’s fundraising page to sponsor him, Mike’s fundraising page to sponsor him, or the Team MousePlanet page to join in and walk yourself! Help us to provide a better chance to prevent prematurity and to help those babies that are born prematurely, because new parents should take their babies home from the hospital, not to the cemetery.
Program Note
Due to time and availability issues, beginning next week, the MouseStation will broadcast once per week, at least temporarily. The show will appear every Thursday beginning March 25.
Wrapping up
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Thanks to our audio engineer and sound editor Steven Ng.
Thank you for listening!
