Image: D23
Richard Sherman recently passed away, but he left behind a great legacy. Together with his brother Robert, he laid out the blueprint that would shape the future of Disney music. But he also left behind some surprises, which you’ll hear in the upcoming release of Disney: A Recorded History.
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Veteran Disney music historian and studio executive music producer Randy Thornton hosts the podcast, taking film audiophiles on a journey through Disney history. He also told Variety that he received an incredible gift from Richard Sherman: recordings of conversations between Sherman and his brother and songwriting partner, Robert B. Sherman, and P.L. Travers, the creator of the notoriously dour Mary Poppins (seen and heard in Saving Mr. Banks), during behind-the-scenes sessions for the film. Excerpts of these recordings can be heard for the first time in the final three episodes of the podcast, Disney: A Recorded History.
Thorton explains that Sherman handed over the tapes from his personal archives: “a stack of seven-inch reels of story meetings with P.L. Travers, Bob and Dick, and screenwriter Don DaGrady.” Disney never had possession of the tapes, which had been in Richard Sherman’s collection for 60 years.
“It’s a bit like ‘A Fly on the Wall,'” says Thornton, “a snapshot of a moment in history, a behind-the-scenes look at creative minds. Richard didn’t listen to them because it was a very difficult time for him.”
The 12-part series is available on Apple, Spotify and other podcast platforms. The first three episodes are available now and feature stunning recordings of Walt Disney and his creative collaborators. The first focuses on “Steamboat Willie,” the first animated short to feature synchronized sound; the second is “Silly Symphony: Skeleton Dance” (a spooky favorite), and the third is the catchy “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf” story from “The Three Little Pigs.”
Here’s the first episode available on Spotify:
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