| Walt Disney Records | |
|---|---|
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| Parent company | Disney Music Group |
| Founded | February 4, 1956; 69 years ago (1956-02-04) (as Disneyland Records) |
| Founder |
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| Status | Active |
| Distributors |
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| Genre | Various, predominantlyPop andSoundtrack |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | 500 S. Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California |
| Official website | music |
Walt Disney Records is an Americanrecord label owned by theDisney Music Group. The label releasessoundtrack albums fromthe Walt Disney Company'smotion picture studios, television shows,theme parks and traditionalstudio albums produced by its roster ofpop,teen pop andcountry artists.[2]
The music label was founded in the Spring of 1956 asDisneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed to a variety of other labels such asRCA,Decca,Capitol,ABC-Paramount, andUnited Artists. It was Disney Legend Jimmy Johnson who convincedWalt Disney’s brotherRoy O. Disney that Disney, at time known asWalt Disney Productions should form their own record label.[3] It adopted its current name in 1988 and is currently distributed byUniversal Music Group for physical releases outside of North America and digital releases globally.
Disneyland Records was predicated by non-soundtrack audio material based onDavy Crockett miniseries from theDisneyland anthology television series, along with the song, "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," both featuring series starFess Parker. These were licensed toColumbia Records, but the smallerCadence Records label released the more successful"Ballad of Davy Crockett" sung byBill Hayes faster, and this was the record that topped the charts instead. The following year, Disney saw profits for Mickey Mouse Club records in the millions being shared with Golden Records andABC Records, finally convincing Roy to allow Johnson to start the in-house Disneyland Records.[4]
The label was founded as Disneyland Records on February 4, 1956, with Jimmy Johnson as president, serving as the record unit ofWalt Disney Productions. Johnson brought in musicianTutti Camarata to head theArtists and Repertoire department of this new enterprise. One ten-inch LP with the "Disneyland" imprint had been released a few months earlier, a musical version ofA Child's Garden of Verses, but it was distributed by the Charles Hansen music publishing company. The first album produced, marketed and distributed by the label wasWalt Disney Takes You to Disneyland, the only album Walt had ever recorded especially for his own record company.[5] Also in the first year, seven Disney animated movie soundtracks were issued by the label.[6]
Disneyland Records issued Parker's "Wringle Wrangle" single from theWestward Ho the Wagons! film within a year of starting operations; the single became a hit. This led the company to start recording music from outside the films. However, what ever was released by the company the industry categorized as children. Pricing was directed towards an adult audience, which was more than standard children fare. The only outside success was Camarata’s album "Tutti's Trumpets". Thus in 1959, the Disneyland label became the soundtrack and children's label and Buena Vista label for the occasional pop song record.[6]
Camarata established the label's initial forays into long-form musical albums, which included jazz interpretations of Disney standards fromSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs,Bambi, andCinderella, as well as original musical concept albums, and he expanded the format of soundtracks by including selections from the score as well as the songs.[7] Tutti's connections within the music industry also brought to the label the likes ofMary Martin,Louis Armstrong,Louis Prima andPhil Harris. After popular Mouseketeer,Annette Funicello, sang a song called "How Will I Know My Love" on the Mickey Mouse Club TV series, fans contacted the studio for the record, which became a minor hit. This prompted Camarata, Johnson and Walt Disney to encourage Annette's career as the label's first artist in residence. In 1959, the Buena Vista Records label was formed for Funicello's select recordings, soundtrack albums and other contemporary audiophile music.[8]
While looking for the right material for Annette, Tutti and his team discovered the songwriting duo ofRichard M. Sherman andRobert B. Sherman after hearing one of their songs on the radio. The two were brought to the Disney studio in Burbank where they eventually became the first staff songwriters for the company.With the participation of the Sherman brothers and two technicians at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, Camarata developed his renowned "Annette Sound," a specific type of double/reverb recording to strengthen Annette's voice that became an industry standard. The Shermans penned not only a good deal of Annette's songs, but were also responsible for most of the iconic Disney songs of the 1960s and beyond – “It's a Small World” and “The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room” for the theme parks, as well as the songs fromMary Poppins,Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree,The Jungle Book,Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day andBedknobs and Broomsticks.
In 1960, Camarata left the staff but under Roy O. Disney's suggestion, established his own full-service recording studio where most of Disney and Buena Vista's records were recorded, mixed, engineered, cut and mastered, the Los Angeles landmark,Sunset Sound. In effect he was associated with Disney until the early seventies. Disneyland Records started its read-along series in 1965 with singer/actorRobie Lester appearing on more titles than any other in the history of the label.[9]
By 1971, Disneyland Records was legally known asDisneyland/Vista Records. Additionally,A Child's Garden of Verses was still in their lineup.[6] Disneyland/Vista worked withRankin/Bass to release six recordings tied toThe Hobbit 1977 animated film. Rankin/Bass also had Disneyland/Vista release soundtracks for two of their earlier holiday specials,Frosty's Winter Wonderland and’Twas the Night Before Christmas.[10][11]
The company was so successful with itsMickey Mouse Disco album that Disneyland looked to expand again into pop music by October 1980. Its success also lead to the issuance of animated theatrical shorts based on songs from the album. Two such original productions were "That Waddlin' Crazy Guy" and "Pardners" featuring the comedy singing team of Willio and Phillio (Will Ryan and Phil Baron).[12]
By 1985, while the label was now also known asDisneyland Records and Tapes, its legal name was slightly changed toDisneyland/Vista Records and Tapes.[13]
Around 1987, the label began releasing their albums onCD. Some of the first albums that the label released on CD were The Disney Collection series.[14]
In 1988, Disneyland/Vista Records and Tapes was renamedWalt Disney Records (initially also known asDisney Records for three years).
Around 1990, Walt Disney Records signed several youth targeted acts likeParachute Express andNorman Foote. Disney let these acts go after several years as their mandate was changed to support the animated features, produce book and tape packages and compilations to take advantage of the catalog.[15]
In May 2000, Walt Disney Records signed the label's first teen singer,Myra; her first single with the label, "Magic Carpet Ride", was released on May 23, 2000 as part of theLa Vida Mickey album.[16]
On June 24, 2014, Walt Disney Records launched a series entitledThe Legacy Collection. The series includes original soundtracks, as well as unreleased music, and composer and producer liner notes. As of 2022, the collection includes 16 albums ranging between various anniversaries of various Disney films and Disneyland.[17]
With Disney's purchase ofLucasfilm on December 21, 2012, Walt Disney Records became the official record label for the studio and allStar Wars-related soundtracks, beginning withThe Force Awakens soundtrack on December 18, 2015. In January 2017, Disney acquired the distribution rights to the entireStar Warsmusic catalog fromSony Classical; the soundtrack albums from the first six films were then released by Walt Disney Records in digital formats the same day.[18][19] Disneyreissued thedigitally remastered originalStar Wars soundtrack albums in physical formats on May 4, 2018.[20]
In 2024, Disney acquired the distribution rights to the first fourIndiana Jones soundtrack albums fromConcord Records; the soundtracks were then reissued by Walt Disney Records later that year. That same year, Walt Disney Records releasedA Whole New Sound, an album of pop-punk cover versions of classic songs from Disney films. The first single from the album, a cover ofElton John's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" bySimple Plan, was released on July 12, 2024.[21]
On May 13, 2025, for the 70th anniversary ofDisneyland, Walt Disney Records released the seven-song compilation albumMusic From Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration. The album includes Jonas Brothers' “Celebrate Happy", the theme song for the 70th anniversary celebration, as well as new music fromBoyz II Men,FITZ, andScott Hoying.[22]
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