From: ralph@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (Ralph Brandi)
Subject: Re: CARTOON MUSIC! HELP AND A CHALLENGE
Organization: Democrats for Broccoli
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 15:04:37 GMT

In article <1993Jan7.005733.1391@Princeton.EDU> shari@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Shari L. Landes), shari@clarity.princeton.edu writes:

>1992.  The music was upbeat, fast, jazzy.  Lot of clarinets.  Happy
>music.  CARTOON music.  I'm sure I recognized these tunes as
>background-type music for the 'toons, Warner Bros circa 1930-1940.
>I do know that one person was the originator and recorder of these tunes.
>However, I don't know who it was, don't know the name of the album, don't
>know the radio station where I heard this, don't know anything except that
>this disk was released in 1992 and it is fabulous.  I have visions of
>walking into my neighborhood record store and asking for, "you know,
>the cartoon CD."  I don't think that would work.  If anyone knows anything
>about this album or any pointers for me to try and locate it, it would be
>most appreciated and you'd win the CARTOON MUSIC challenge of 1993.

If you asked for cartoon music, you'd probably get the Carl Stalling
tribute CD, which is close, but not quite what you want.  The album
you heard is a release on Columbia/Sony by Raymond Scott, and it
just came out about a month or so ago.  It's a re-release of early
hits by Scott, who used to be a composer for CBS Radio in the mid-30s.
His combo, the Raymond Scott Quintette (which had six members), used
to play on a show called "Your Hit Parade", I think (my copy of the
CD and the liner notes is at home right now, so this is all from
memory).

In 1941, Warner Bros. bought the rights to a number of Scott's
compositions, which Carl Stalling, who wrote the music for Warner
Bros. cartoons, then proceeded to sample from liberally.  It's
almost frightening to realize that some part of "Powerhouse," for
example, appears in nearly 100 different cartoons.  Scott's music,
according to a sticker on the album, is now being used as the
soundtrack music for Ren and Stimpy.

There are actually two Raymond Scott CDs available now.  The first,
which came out about a year ago, is on Stash Records, and it's
called *The Raymond Scott Project, Volume 1: Powerhouse.*  It took
me almost a year to find this, so you may not find it easily.  It's
taken from radio transcription disks and rehearsal recordings.  The
second is the above-mentioned Columbia CD, the name of which I have
been desperately trying to remember while I've been typing this.
Anyway, it should be fairly widely available; I found it at the
first record store I went to looking for it.  It's all commercial
releases from the 1930s.

I would put this on my list of my favorite CDs of this year as well.
It's fun music, and I've been trying to find it ever since I heard
it for the first time three years ago on WNYC-FM on David Garland's
legendary "Spinning on Air" program.  Great stuff.
-- 
Ralph Brandi     ralph@mtunp.att.com     att!mtunp!ralph
Lay me in clover and over my head pull a sheet made of mirror so I can see
myself and leave me for long time do not disturb my rest for ages and ages for
I am tired and I need some relaxing my mind is cluttered with the days and the