Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, It’s Onto Victor We Go
By: Samantha Ferrara
Disney songs have the power to bring back childhood memories and ignite impromptu sing-a-longs within the first few notes. Those songs we all grew up with - “When You Wish Upon A Star” and “Heigh-Ho” for example - may not have become such recognizable staples without the help of Victor Records.
Since the early 1930s, Walt Disney Productions had been fostering a relationship with Victor Records through Irving Berlin and Saul Bourne’s music publishing company. That relationship led Disney to work with Victor Records on a number of short recordings. In January of 1938, Victor Records allowed Walt Disney Productions to create the first film soundtrack publicly released on vinyl. The film? Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Under the title Songs From Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (with the Same Characters and Sound Effects as in the Film of That Title), purchasers and listeners of the record were granted an extended film experience unparalleled by the film experiences of the past.
The record featured compositions by Frank Churchill, Larry Morey, Leigh Harline, and Paul J. Smith and was pressed on three 78rmp records - something that would become a Disney soundtrack standard.
After the success of Disney's first film collaboration with Victor Records, the two companies joined forces once again to release the soundtrack of Disney’s 1940 film, Pinocchio, featuring the compositions of Ned Washington and Leigh Harline.
Songs including “When You Wish Upon A Star” and “I’ve Got No Strings” were pressed onto three 78rmp records under the name Walt Disney’s Pinocchio - Recorded From The Original Sound Track Of The Walt Disney Production, “Pinocchio.”
(Isn’t it great that record titles have become so much shorter since then?)
1941 and 1942 saw Disney’s release of the films Dumbo and Bambi, respectively. Those soundtracks were subsequently released by Victor Records.
The soundtrack for Dumbo was composed by Frank Churchill and Ned Washington. The cheery mood of those compositions juxtapose the mundane characteristics of Frank Churchill’s and Larry Morey’s compositions for Bambi.
After the release of the Bambi soundtrack, Victor Records concluded their agreement to release Disney’s film soundtracks on the label - but not without innovating the world of film and music synchronization and the concept of the soundtrack.
While Walt Disney had no musical training, and was not directly involved in any of the music composition, his key composers - with Victor Record's help - allowed songs from feature films to be brought home to living rooms around the country, and the themes of our childhood could be listened to repeatedly outside of the theater.
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