If you ask any Disney Parks aficionado to list the things he or she loves about the parks, attention to detail and theming will undoubtedly be mentioned. For me, the music loops that play in background of the various lands and ride queues are my favorite part of Disney theming. Nothing can transport me to a particular place in time like music, and playing some music from Disney parks is always a sure fire way to brighten my day. I am lucky enough to have procured many complete Disney music loops over the years. In the age of the Internet, Disney music is always at your fingertips. Many loops have been uploaded to YouTube, and for those of you always on the go, Mouse World Radio has a nice little app for your mobile device that plays both area music and attraction audio.
I obtained most of my collection about 10 years or so ago from websites that no longer exist (though I’m sure more are out there and could be located with some clever googling). The files were only labeled as things like MainSt_BGM (background music) so it took some sleuthing to figure out any songs or artists I was unfamiliar with. I came to rely heavily on Disney Music Loops. The site has not been maintained for over a decade but is still accessible. Over the years I’ve purchased a lot of additional music from many of the artists I first discovered through the listings on Disney Music Loops. Park Tunes is another site that has a decent collection of listings, but some of the song loops are not listed in the proper order, and while they provide links to purchase music through iTunes and Amazon, they do not always link to the correct version of the song used in the loop. (FYI:Disney does update their loops every so often, so some of the versions that I’ll be exploring in this series may be outdated.)

The first music loop I wish to discuss is from the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror queue. I cannot even fathom a guess as to how many times I’ve listened to this loop in its entirety. It is my go-to background music. I put it on when I’m doing household chores. In my college/graduate student days I’d play it while writing my papers. I even burned it to a CD so I could listen to it in my old car. I can’t quite put my finger on what exactly it was that first drew me to this music, because even though I take pride in my eclectic music collection, I was not familiar with a single song in this loop. Maybe it’s my appreciation for a good trumpet solo. Maybe it’s because I love old Hollywood, and thanks to the ride, I now associate this sound with it. I don’t know, but it makes me feel a sense of nostalgia, which is pretty odd considering I was born in the ’80s, thus I clearly did not live through the 1930s and have nothing to actually be nostalgic about. Perhaps I am a reincarnated Hollywood starlet, who knows? What I do know is I love this music! Clocking in at just over an hour, the entire loop includes 20 songs. To keep things interesting and manageable, I’m only focusing on 5 songs at a time. (Side note: I chose to embed most of the videos from a Tower of Terror playlist on YouTube for continuity, and because they seem to all have the “echo” effect on them that you hear in the queue.)

“Can’t Get Started”- Bunny Berigan
This is the song that opens the loop and its memorable trumpet solo makes it a perfect entrée for the ambiance that the music loop intends to set. “I Can’t Get Started” made its debut in the musical revue Ziegfeld Follies of 1936, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and music by Vernon Duke. Bunny Berigan, a trumpet virtuoso, made it a top 10 hit in 1937. The lyrics are very specific to the time period, but that’s part of what makes it perfect for setting the mood.
“I’ve been consulted by Franklin D.
Greta Garbo has had me to tea
Still I’m broken hearted
Cause I can’t get started with you!”
My obsession with this song is what first led me down the rabbit hole of tracking down artists featured in music loops. Disney Music Loops incorrectly lists the artist as “Benny” Berigan, but through the power of Google (and before the era of YouTube), I was eventually able to find my guy. I purchased “Let’s Do It!” through iTunes. The album is fantastic, and includes “Can’t Get Started.” Needless to say, I highly recommend it.

“Mood Indigo”- Duke Ellington

This was one of the earliest hits for legendary composer and band leader Duke Ellington. The song was built around a clarinet solo. In most musical arrangements, it was typical for the clarinet to handle the highest notes, followed by trumpet and then trombone; however, in “Mood Indigo” the order is reversed and the horns are muted, creating a unique and melodious yet eerie sound—the perfect sound for a haunted hotel. The song was also given lyrics and has had a wide variation of interpretations, but in my opinion, the original instrumental reigns supreme. There are so many different versions of this song that I’ve had trouble locating the exact version they used in the loop for purchase. The version on “Best of Duke Ellington” is pretty good, but it includes different variations than the version in the loop. If anyone knows where to procure the exact version and would care to share, I’d appreciate it!

“Remember”-Red Norvo

Red specialized in the xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone. This is an instrumental version of a 1925 Irving Berlin song. There are nice vocal versions out there from the great balladeers like Andy Williams and Frank Sinatra, but I really appreciate this instrumental. It isn’t often that the xylophone, vibraphone, and/or marimba are highlighted through solos. The song is available for purchase on iTunes and is part of many different blues/jazz compilations.
Bonus! You can see Red in action backing up Dean Martin on “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” from the Original Ocean’s 11. Dino even gives Red a shout out!

“Uptown Blues”-Jimmie Lunceford

James Melvin “Jimmie” Lunceford was a saxophone player and bandleader who died at the age of 45 under suspicious circumstances. The cause of death was cardiac arrest, but allegations were made that a racist restaurant owner may have poisoned his food. Other band members who ate at the same restaurant also became sick shortly after completing their meals.  Jimmie and his band received high praise from many contemporaries, including Benny Goodman, who once said he put on a better show than Duke Ellington. Lunceford’s live shows live on in legend as having been quite a spectacle, and many have said that the band’s soul was never adequately captured on record–the latter of which I’m inclined to agree with. iTunes has a compilation of Lunceford’s music called “Powerhouse Swing,” and while all the songs are pleasant and could fit right in to this music loop, none of them are particularly memorable in my opinion.

“Deep Purple”- Larry Clinton and His Orchestra with Bea Wain

The original song was a piano tune written by Peter DeRose. So far, I’ve been praising instrumental versions of songs over their vocal counterparts, but in the case of “Deep Purple” I really think the lyrics and vocals enhance the piece and are well suited to the eeriness of the queue:
“When the deep purple falls over sleepy garden walls
And the stars begin to flicker in the sky
Through the mist of a memory you wander back to me
Breathing my name with a sigh
In the still of the night once again I hold you tight
Though you’re gone, your love lives on when moonlight beams
And as long as my heart will beat, lover we’ll always meet
Here in my deep purple dreams”
There is some dispute over which version is actually used in the loop. A few sites list Turner Layton, and this is the version included in the YouTube playlist I’ve been linking to; however, this is NOT the version that is in my copy of the loop. I’ve also seen some sites link to the version by Artie Shaw featuring Helen Forrest, but that upbeat interpretation is actually featured on the Jungle Cruise Boathouse Loop, not Tower of Terror’s.  After some painstaking research (I’m not kidding, this blog got held up for a few days while I tried to solve this mystery), I’ve identified the version by Larry Clinton and His Orchestra with Bea Wain as the one I’ve been listening to all these years, so I wanted to give them proper credit. Clinton was an accomplished musician and bandleader, and made a name with his arrangements for dance bands. His arrangements were used by the likes of Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Louis Armstrong, and the aforementioned Bunny Berigan. Bea Wain was a popular big band singer who had four #1 hits (of which “Deep Purple” was one).
This is a wonderful song no matter who is performing it. It is very possible that Disney has switched out the version over the years. Next time you are in the queue, maybe you can hang around and listen for me!

Be sure to check back later this week for Part 2 of Disney Music Loops: Tower of Terror.