Mary Poppins: Original Cast Soundtrack Explained

Mary Poppins: Original Cast Soundtrack
Type:soundtrack
Artist:Irwin Kostal
Cover:Mary Poppins soundtrack.jpg
Released:September 1964
Recorded:April–December 1963
Studio:Walt Disney Studios, Burbank
Genre:
Length:53:51
Label:Disneyland
Producer:Jimmy Johnson
Chronology:Mary Poppins
Next Year:2018

Mary Poppins: Original Cast Soundtrack is the soundtrack album of the 1964 film Mary Poppins, with music and lyrics written by songwriters Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, and adapted and conducted by Irwin Kostal.[1]

The original 1964 album release features seventeen tracks, consisting of sixteen songs and one overture track of film score. The soundtrack album was released by Disneyland Records the same year as the film on LP and reel-to-reel tape.[2] Due to time constraints, some songs were edited (such as "Step in Time", "Jolly Holiday", and "A Spoonful of Sugar"), while songs also featured introductory passages ("Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious") or completed endings ("Sister Suffragette", "Fidelity Fiduciary Bank", "A Man Has Dreams"). The film's music received critical acclaim, winning two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song (for "Chim Chim Cher-ee") and two Grammy Awards for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture and Best Recording for Children.[3] [4]

Walt Disney Records reissued the soundtrack in 1989, 1991 and 1997, including a 16-minute track of unreleased songs and demo versions.[5] [6] In 2004, as part of the film's 40th anniversary (also called Special Edition), a 28-track disc (as part of a two-disc set) was released.[7] In 2014 (the 50th anniversary of the film's release), the soundtrack was released in a 3-CD edition as part of the Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection series; this edition includes the complete soundtrack in its entirety, as well as demos of many "lost" tracks.[8]

It was the first album to receive a Platinum Award. [9] [10]

Background

The Shermans wrote additional songs that were unused, readapted into existing ones, or cut from the final film. The majority of this music was subsequently released in later editions of the soundtrack album.

Deleted songs

A number of other songs were written for the film by the Sherman Brothers and either rejected or cut for time. Richard Sherman, on the 2004 DVD release, indicated that more than 30 songs were written at various stages of the film's development. No cast recordings of any of these songs have been released to the public, only demos or later performances done by the songwriters — with the exception of the rooftop reprise of "Chim Chim Cher-ee" and the "smoke staircase yodel" mentioned below.

  1. "The Chimpanzoo", was originally to follow "I Love to Laugh" during the Uncle Albert "ceiling tea party" sequence, but it was dropped from the soundtrack just before Julie Andrews and company were to record it. The fast-paced number was not unveiled to the public until Richard Sherman, aided by recently uncovered storyboards, performed it on the 2004 DVD edition. The re-creation suggests it was to have been another sequence combining animation and live action.
  2. "Practically Perfect" was intended to introduce Mary but instead the melody of the piece was used for "Sister Suffragette" (used to introduce Mrs. Banks). A different song with the same name was written for the stage musical.
  3. "The Eyes of Love", a romantic ballad intended for Bert and Mary, but according to Richard Sherman, Andrews suggested privately to Disney that this song was unsuitable. In response, "A Spoonful of Sugar" was written.
  4. "Mary Poppins Melody" was to be performed when Mary introduces herself to the children. Elements of the song later became part of "Stay Awake". The melody was the basis for a couple of other songs that were ultimately cut from the film.
  5. "A Name's a Name". Heard on a recording taken of a meeting between the Sherman Brothers and Travers, this song was originally intended for the nursery scene that later became "A Spoonful of Sugar". The melody was reused for "Mary Poppins Melody".
  6. "You Think, You Blink" was a short piece that Bert was to sing just before entering the chalk painting (and starting the "Jolly Holiday" sequence). In the film, Dick Van Dyke simply recites the lyric instead of singing it.
  7. "West Wind" was a short ballad to be sung by Mary. The song was later retitled "Mon Amour Perdu" and used in the later Disney film, Big Red.
  8. "The Right Side" was to be sung by Mary to Michael after he gets out of bed cranky. It was recycled for the Disney Channel television series Welcome to Pooh Corner as Winnie the Pooh's personal theme song.
  9. "Measure Up" was to accompany the scene in which Mary takes the tape measure to Jane and Michael.
  10. "Admiral Boom" was to be the theme song for the cannon-firing neighbor of the Banks Residence, but it was cut by Walt Disney as being unnecessary. The melody of the song remains in the film, and the bombastic theme is heard whenever Boom appears onscreen. One line from this song ("The whole world takes its time from Greenwich, but Greenwich, they say, takes its time from Admiral Boom!") is spoken by Bert early in the film.
  11. "Sticks, Paper and Strings" was an early version of "Let's Go Fly a Kite."
  12. "Lead the Righteous Life", an intentionally poorly written hymn, was to have been sung by Katie Nanna (Elsa Lanchester) along with Jane and Michael prior to Mary Poppins' arrival. The melody was later reused for a similar song in The Happiest Millionaire
  13. "The Pearly Song" was not deleted per se but was instead incorporated into "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".

The Compass Sequence, a precursor to "Jolly Holiday", was to be a multiple-song sequence. A number of possible musical components have been identified:

  1. "South Sea Island Symphony"
  2. "Chinese Festival Song"
  3. "Tim-Buc-Too" – elements of this were reused for "The Chimpanzoo" which was also cut
  4. "Tiki Town" – the melody was reused for "The Chimpanzoo"
  5. "North Pole Polka"
  6. "Land of Sand" – later rewritten as "Trust in Me" for the animated version of The Jungle Book
  7. "The Beautiful Briny" – later used in Bedknobs and Broomsticks
  8. "East is East" – another variation on the unused "Mary Poppins Melody".

Deleted scores and music

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Walt Disney's "Mary Poppins" Makes Recording Industry History . 2021-04-03. cartoonresearch.com.
  2. Web site: Walt Disney's Mary Poppins (Original Cast Soundtrack) . 1964 . . January 19, 2016.
  3. Web site: Past Winners Search. The GRAMMYs. February 14, 2015.
  4. Web site: 37th Academy Awards (1965) Nominations and Wins for Mary Poppins . February 13, 2014 . oscars.org . Enter "Mary Poppins" in the 'Film Title' field and click 'Search' . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090208011732/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/BasicSearchInput.jsp . February 8, 2009 .
  5. Web site: Various – Walt Disney's Mary Poppins (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) . . 1989 . 2023-06-22.
  6. Web site: Various – Mary Poppins (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) . 1997 . Discogs . January 19, 2016.
  7. Web site: Richard M. Sherman And Robert B. Sherman, Irwin Kostal, Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke (2) – Mary Poppins . Discogs . January 19, 2016.
  8. Web site: Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection Mary Poppins Three Disc Set Available August 26. PRNewswire. May 29, 2015. Burbank, California. Press release. August 1, 2014.
  9. Web site: Mighty Mary.
  10. Web site: 'Mary Poppins' Album Still Flying High.

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