Unsung Sherman Brothers
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Unsung Sherman Brothers y the late 1960s, the songwriting team THE 13 CLOCKS ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ imation process is, and they could not raise the known as the Sherman Brothers was al- money to continue. And so, the second project Bready legendary thanks to Mary Poppins, In 1950, the great cartoonist/humorist James was cancelled. The Jungle Book, and any number of other Dis- Thurber published his fantasy story, The 13 ney classics, not to mention their Disneyland an- Clocks, a tale about a prince who must perform Again, thankfully, a demo recording was made, them, “It’s a Small World.” And, of course, there a seemingly impossible task, to rescue a maiden with several of the voice actors singing their was Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang, with its fantastical from an evil duke. Thurber, who by then was songs, including Sammy Davis, Jr., Karl Malden, song score. So, it’s hard to imagine that in 1969 blind, could not do the drawings for the book, so and Jinny Tyler. And again, the brothers’ songs three exciting new Sherman Brothers projects he turned to a friend, Marc Simont. The book has are toe-tapping tuneful wonders – from the kicky were all cancelled, back to back, one after an- been in print ever since, and read by thousands “Sir Puss-in-Boots” to the great “Rhythm of the other. And these projects were heartbreakers for of happy readers all over the world. In 1968, Road” (we also include a more “Sammyized” ver- “the boys” (as Walt Disney called them), three Warner Bros. hired producer Mervyn LeRoy sion of that, which is simply supercalifragilisticex- that got away. And so these three projects lan- to make a film of it, and the Sherman Brothers pialidocious), to the fun “Ogre Song,” which Karl guished for forty-six years, the only remnants were to write the score, having just come off Malden obviously has a field day with. being demo recordings that sat tucked away in their first film away from Disney, Chitty, Chitty, the home of Richard Sherman. As Al Sherman, Bang, Bang. As the brothers wrote in Walt’s ROMAN HOLIDAY ■ ■ ■ ■ their songwriting father, told them, “If you can’t Time: “We were paired once again with our good take a curve, get out of the game.” But three friend (screenwriter) AJ Carothers, and set about In 1953, Paramount Pictures released what curves in a row was devastating, but rather than adapting James Thurber’s short novel into a would become an instant classic, the William let it defeat them, as it might have any other full-length musical feature. The 13 Clocks is a Wyler film, Roman Holiday, starring Gregory songwriting team, as Richard put it, “We found story about killing time – as an evil Duke who Peck and newcomer Audrey Hepburn. Written by another game.” lives in the town of Onceuponatime smashes all Dalton Trumbo and John Dighton, the film was the clocks in an effort to prevent ‘someday’ from embraced by audiences and critics, doing huge Ever since I produced what should have been ever coming.” business at the box-office and garnering an as- called The Sherman Brothers Album, Richard tonishing ten Academy Award nominations, win- and his lovely wife Elizabeth and I have become In May of 1969, the screenplay was finished and ning three (including one for Audrey Hepburn). very close friends. They are two of my all-time it and their songs were turned into the studio. As favorite people. Richard and I even wrote a song the brothers continued: “And then, our time ran In 1969, Paramount and director Franco Zeffirelli together (“Two Roads”), and we’ve done several out. Warners was purchased by the Kinney con- (riding high on his success with his film of Shake- evenings of Sherman Brothers music in our Krit- glomerate, who cancelled almost every project speare’s The Taming of the Shrew), decided to zerland monthly cabaret shows. And he contrib- in development – including this one.” But hap- make a musical update of Roman Holiday, and uted a beautiful song to my new musical revue, pily they’d made a demo of their song score, or- Zeffirelli invited the brothers to join the project. As L.A. Now and Then. We were chatting one day chestrated by Don Ralke, sung by the Don Ralke the brothers said in Walt’s Time: “But producer and talking about Victory Canteen, the precursor singers and guest singer Fred Darian. As you will Dino De Laurentiis was less enthusiastic when he to what became the brothers’ Broadway musical hear (finally) the score they wrote is classic Sher- heard our names. He thought that only an Italian Over Here! And somehow, in one of those fortu- man Brothers, filled with their trademark humma- composer could do justice to the music he envi- itious little happy happenstances, Richard got on ble tunes and wordplay. sioned. So we took the challenge and wrote three the topic of the three projects that got away. Of songs to demonstrate what we could do – ‘We’ll course, I wanted to know everything about them, SIR PUSS-IN-BOOTS ■ ■ ■ Still Have Rome,’ ‘So Simpatico,’ and ‘The Bells so he had me pull out the book he’d given to me of Roma.’ Paramount Pictures flew us to Italy and several years ago, Walt’s Time, and showed That same year, the brothers formed an alliance we played the songs for Mr. De Laurentiis. When me the stuff about what the brothers called “our with two educational film producers, Ira En- we were done, he looked at us in amazement great corpse of work.” Well, I was intrigued. And glander and Barry Taper. They wanted to branch and said, ‘Are you sure you’re not Italian?’ He then, astonishingly, he sat down at the piano and out so, with the brothers Sherman, they formed a loved the songs and the project was a go – until played me three songs from one of the three that new company called Musiclassics, to musicalize the day the studio pulled the plug.” And that was got away. Amazingly, Richard, at eighty-eight, classic stories. the third cancelled project. But while the project can remember just about everything. was still a go, the brothers had the great good They enlisted Jack Kinney, a 27-year veteran of fortune of having the brilliant conductor, arranger, The next thing I knew, he came over with demos Disney animation (the Goofy cartoons as well as and orchestrator, Irwin Kostal, do orchestral re- from the other two projects, along with orchestral Dumbo and Peter Pan) to direct. For their first cordings of the three songs. But before vocals tracks for the three songs he’d played me from project, they created an original musical that could be put on them, the ax fell. the third project – those orchestral tracks had would, in the brothers’ words, “borrow a little bit of never had vocals put on them. As we listened mythology from every fairy tale we could think of.” For this CD, we took those three orchestral tracks to all this material, I was in Sherman Brothers They titled it Sir Puss-in-Boots. As they wrote in and brought in singers to record the vocals all heaven, hearing these songs from forty-six years Walt’s Time: “In our story, a magical prince gives these years later, a Roman Holiday indeed. All ago, songs that no one had heard since then. I a cat the ability to talk (not to mention wearing the other tracks come from the demos that Rich- turned to him and said, “We have to put these boots, a vest and a hat). To repay the favor, our ard had, and Chris Malone has done amazing out.” He agreed immediately and I decided right pussycat sets out in a boat with his trusty friend work in cleaning them up. then that we’d call it Unsung Sherman Brothers, Rowl the Owl to find an evil ogre who lives at as I’d already done several rarities albums with the top of a giant beanstalk. Our Puss-in-Boots I cannot tell you what a treat it is to bring this the Unsung moniker – Unsung Sondheim, Un- defeats the Ogre, saves the Prince’s beloved music out, to let the millions of Sherman Brothers sung Musicals, and Unsung Irving Berlin. And so Princess – and as a reward is knighted Sir Puss- fans all over the world hear these unsung songs, we put it on the fastest track ever. I got all the in-Boots.” to let these three projects finally see the light of stuff to the wonderful audio restoration expert, day, albeit in audio form only. But we all have Chris Malone, who’d singlehandedly saved what The brothers wrote the screenplay and songs, imaginations and can just picture in our heads even three years ago could not have been saved and storyboards were made from them. They how delightful these three movies would have – the soundtracks to A Place in the Sun and It’s assembled an amazing voice cast for the film: been if fate hadn’t caused this one-two-three a Wonderful Life. I call Chris The Miracle Worker. Sammy Davis, Jr. as Sir Puss-in-Boots, Karl Mal- punch. So, sit back and enjoy three brand spank- den as the Ogre, comedian Jack Carter as Rowl ing old Sherman Brothers musicals. So, here’s some history about the three projects. the Owl, Jinny Tyler as Mumsy Ogre, and English — Bruce Kimmel radio host, Michael Jackson as Sir Lungemore Lancewellington.