Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records

Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records
Around the world there are grandparents, parents, and children who can still sing ditties by Tigger or Baloo the Bear or the Seven Dwarfs. This staying power and global reach is in large part a testimony to the pizzazz of performers, songwriters, and other creative artists who worked with Walt Disney Records

Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records chronicles for the first time the fifty-year history of the Disney recording companies launched by Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney in the mid-1950s, when Disneyland Park, Davy Crockett, and the Mickey Mouse Club were taking the world by storm. The book provides a perspective on all-time Disney favorites and features anecdotes, reminiscences, and biographies of the artists who brought Disney magic to audio.

Authors Tim Hollis and Greg Ehrbar go behind the scenes at the Walt Disney Studios and discover that in the early days Walt Disney and Roy Disney resisted going into the record business before the success of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" ignited the in-house label. Along the way, the book traces the recording adventures of such Disney favorites as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Cinderella, Bambi, Jiminy Cricket, Winnie the Pooh, and even Walt Disney himself. Mouse Tracks reveals the struggles, major successes, and occasional misfires. Included are impressions and details of teen-pop princesses Annette Funicello and Hayley Mills, the Mary Poppins phenomenon, a Disney-style "British invasion," and a low period when sagging sales forced Walt Disney to suggest closing the division down.

Complementing each chapter are brief performer biographies, reproductions of album covers and art, and facsimilies of related promotional material. Mouse Tracks is a collector’s bonanza of information on this little-analyzed side of the Disney empire.
Customer Review: A Whole New World, Revisited
What an amazing read! I was glued to the pages of this book like a mystery reader. Growing up in the late 60's and early 70's Disneyland Records was a pivotal part of almost any person's childhood. This book is one of the most thorough comprehensive journeys in the creation, growth, and current children's/adult contemporary recording company. The reader is plummeted into the world of; Disney, Camarata,Annette Funicello, Louis Prima, Haley Mills, Phil Harris; and well loved voice talents such as Thurl Ravenscroft, Paul Frees, Pete Renaday, Cliff Edwards (a.k.a. Jiminy Cricket, Sterling Halloway (Winnie-the-Pooh) and more. In this day and age of DVD, Compact Disc and High Definition there's still a charm and warmth about plopping the needle down on a 40 year old vinyl album and being treated to some now heard rarities. I've been recently transferring many vinyls to my IPOD and this book has been a great reference. Readers also may want to look into The Golden Age of Walt Disney Records 1933 - 1988 by Murray, R. Michael.
Customer Review: An Excellent Read
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. One of my hobbies is collecting Disney records, so this was perfect.