Please welcome Karl Beaudry to MiceChat. Karl’s interest is in Disney music. We think you’ll enjoy these little notes.

Greetings Disney music lovers and welcome to Disney Notes – a regular visit to the world of Disney melodies. We’re here to discuss all things relating to the magic of Disney music – on the screen or in the parks. Put on your “ear”-buds and sing along!

Are you the type who enjoys stumping your “Disney expert” friends with a truly difficult trivia question? How’s this one?

What do Michael J. Fox and George Bruns have in common?

Micheal-j-fox-Back-to-the-Future

For those of you who need a bit more information on each person, here’s a little review. Michael J Fox was the teen heart throb who was best known for his roles in the TV series, Family Ties, and the popular movie trilogy, Back to the Future. George Bruns was a Disney legend with a long list of musical accomplishments over a 22-year career. He wrote the musical score for Sleeping Beauty, Babes in Toyland, and dozens of other well-known Disney movies or television shows. He also had a hand in many of the attraction sound tracks we know so well. In fact, it was George Bruns who helped X Atencio write the theme songs for the Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion attractions.

george-bruns

So what could these two possibly have in common? Back to the Future fans will easily remember a scene where a jukebox plays a song entitled, The Ballad of Davy Crockett. There is also a character in the film, Milton Baines, who wears a coonskin hat. These are both references to an immensely popular Disney-produced television show that took the world by storm in the same year that Disneyland opened – 1955. George Bruns wrote the music for The Ballad of Davy Crockett in response to a last-minute request to fill some TV time. The result was history! Coonskin hats could not stay on store shelves and radio stations across the country played the ballad night and day. Davy Crockett was a hit!

davy-crockett

Maybe George Bruns took a trip to the future in his DeLorean and convinced movie producers to include his song? Or maybe it was the other way around? In any case, the music of Disney seems to pop up in the most unusual places!

Sharing is caring!

Karl Beaudry
Karl Beaudry
Karl Beaudry became a Disney fanatic when he found himself standing underneath a monorail track waiting for his parents to buy Walt Disney World ticket books in December of 1971. The anticipation of experiencing the Magic Kingdom combined with the fantasy of seeing transportation and architecture unlike anything he has ever seen was enough to cause a Disney obsession that continues to this day. Multiple hundreds of visits and many annual passes later, Karl still feels the same thrill when arriving at the main gate of any Disney park. As an adult, however, his enthusiasm has extended beyond the parks and into the resorts and on-property activities that many people have never experienced. He and his wife find adventure by checking out things they’ve not seen before – another restaurant, boat ride, resort, or show is always there waiting for them to enjoy. In addition, Karl has spent the past several years studying the history of all things Disney. He has always been fascinated with the stories of the great people involved with the legacy of Disney productions and projects. He is the author of "Disney Destinies: How Determination, Passion, and Patience Can Take Anyone Anywhere." (He has another book scheduled to be released soon.) When he isn’t writing about Disney, he spends a lot of his time with church activities and planning vacations for future Disney fanatics. His hope is that he can encourage Disney park visitors to go beyond the parks and into the undiscovered country that is Disney.