Music From Warner Bros. Cartoons 1936-1958 (1990)
More Music From Warner Bros. Cartoons 1939-1957 (1995)
The Music That Subliminally Warped An Entire Generation of Kids
American kids of the 50s & 60s could hardly be expected to comprehend the musical chaos underscoring the talking ducks, wily rodents and dimwitted dogs that populated the world of Warner Bros. cartoons. If you’re of a certain age, Saturday mornings provided a steady, subliminal diet of mis-shaped modern composition and avant-garde orchestral music, courtesy of Warner’s house composer, Carl Stalling. Stalling’s genius was how he mixed his sometimes wildly careening orchestrations with recognizable classical cues and lighthearted adaptions of Americana song (e.g. “How Dry I Am”), creating a mashed-up pastiche of song & sound. All you need to do is listen – without the visuals – to hear how truly revolutionary Stalling’s work was; the plucked cellos that accompanied tiptoeing characters, the mad flurry of strings & woodwinds that signaled a frenzied dash and the sudden, violent outbursts of brass and percussion, now synonymous with a mallet in the face. Operatic show tunes, Parisian fanfares and hairpin tempo changes were all part of these live, real-time studio recordings. Without realizing it, we were all experiments in Warner’s own “Ludivico Technique” (HERE) – spellbound by the violent imagery while Stalling’s beautiful dissonance entered our brains via the soundtrack. No one’s been quite the same since. Is it possible that Stalling’s work subliminally introduced radical musical experimentation to the 1960s? Maybe. Guys like Frank Zappa and John Zorn have always admitted the direct lineage from Stalling’s work to their own. 50 to 70 years later, Stalling’s inventions are still profoundly subversive. Below, you can hear the 1955 Road Runner soundtrack, “Guided Muscle,” from Vol. 2. The great Hal Willner produces. Both CDs, Music From… (HERE) and More Music From… (HERE) are at Amazon.
Bonus:
Thanks to Dinosaur Gardens for posting a rare Carl Stalling bonus track, “Stupor Duck,” which appeared only on the cassette version of the original 1990 release. Hear it above, get it in Comments.
Double Bonus:
Bugs Bunny On Broadway (1998)
Long-Haired Hare
Studio recordings of material that would appear on Broadway in the early ’90s. Most of these scores are newly recorded, spiced up with some familiar cartoon songs and original 50s dialog to give the entire program a big cartoony production (as if the music alone couldn’t). Milt Franklyn, who (righteously) succeeded Carl Stalling as Warner’s house composer, gets some due here alongside Carl’s work. The modern studio quality shines, though Hal Willner’s not on board for this one. Amazon.
Track Listings in Comments
27 Comments
Welcome back!
Uh … you're not very tan, are you?
Thanks…
Uh… not at all.
Just had to rustle me up some varmits.
W
Coooool, thanks!
nicety nice. thanks man…!
Greatness. Thanks
I have both of them, and thanks to Carl Stalling, I also discovered Raymond Scott who's music inspired Carl's own playful themes. I miss them both & wish they were still around.
–>D.Moose
Hey D,
Good to hear from you. Yeah… for those interested, there are a couple of Scott compositions on Volume 1 ("Powerhouse" and "Dinner With A Pack of Hungry Cannibals"). What was cool about Scott and his band was that, as cartoony as his material was, his was a real, performing big band. He didn't write for cartoons, but his music just seemed to fit – not only Warner's toons, but other toons as well.
Cheers
W
This might be the coolest blog I've ever stumbled across. Digging the Carl Stallings, which I had taped years ago when one did that… I'll have to unearth my R. Scott, his Soothing Sounds for Babies got me through many a naked lunch…
Thanks!
Great post, great commentary. So now I understand (partially) why I was glued to the TV as a kid (and I ignore it now) – I'd rather be seeking out fabulous music like this. THANKS.
Thanks a million for these! I can definitely hear how Zorn was influenced by Stalling's cartoon scores – just listen to Naked City or his Cat o'Nine Tails string quartet.
Great blog, great post. Thanks
Thanks for commenting.
Every week a jem and now this Willard it pays to get out of the boat…tthee that's all folks!
Great stuff— besides enjoying Stalling's music, I'm also a big fan of Hal Wilner's. If you ever get your hands on his production of various artists doing Thelonious Monk tunes please post it (I think it's called That's the Way I Feel Now). Anyhow, thanks again for the music!
All set now- Thanks very much!!
I was one of those kids glued to the TV on Saturday morning and grew up to become a devoted Zappa fan, now I know why. Funny I'd never made the connection before hearing this without the visuals. Thanks, your blog is as eclectic as I could hope for.
PAF
Thanks for Carl, fascinating stuff.
As for Thelonious Monk's "That's the Way I Feel Now", I posted it long time ago on my own blog: http://drfeelgoed.multiply.com/music/item/8
Full scans of art work too: http://drfeelgoed.multiply.com/photos/album/2
Thanks Doc.
Totally mad & totally great,Thanks!
Find it all HERE
MUSIC FROM WARNER BROS. CARTOONS 1936-1958
Putty Tat Trouble Pt. 6
Hillbilly Hare
Early WB Scores – The Depression Era (1936-1941)
The Good Egg
Various Cues From Bugs Bunny Films (1943-1956)
There They Go Go Go
Stalling Self-Parody – Music From Porky's Preview
Anxiety Montage
The War Years
Medley – Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals
In Session (1951-1956)
Speedy Gonzalez Meets Two Crows From Tacos
Powerhouse And Other Cuts From The Early 50's
Porky In Wackyland – Dough For The Do Do
To Itch His Own
MORE MUSIC FROM WARNER BROS. CARTOONS 1939-1957
Zoom And Bored
Stage Fright
The High And The Flighty
Bad Swiss Band
Marching Pink Elephants
The Slap Hoppy Mouse
Orchestra Gag
Variation On Grandfather's Clock
Variation On Chinatown My Chinatown
Variation On Lucky Day
Wind-Up Doll
Guided Muscle
Fall And Splat-SFX
Ghost Wanted
The Unexpected Pest
Drunk La Cucaracha
Flea-Ridden Sheep Dog
Golf Cue
Barbary Coast Bunny
Satan's Waitin' [Excerpt]
Rubber Dog
Pappy's Puppy
Variations On La Danza
Variations On Johann Strauss
Kangaroo-SFX
Mouse-Taken Identity
Variations On Mexican Hat Dance
Frazzled Coyote
BUGS BUNNY ON BROADWAY
Overture
This Is A Life?
High Note
What's Up Doc?
Baton Bunny
Jumpin' Jupiter
The Rabbit of Seville
Act II Entr'Acte
A Corny Concerto
Long-Haired Hare
What's Opera Doc?
Merrie Melodies Closing Theme "That's All Folks"
Sufferin' succotash!
Excellent. Thanks! I got to see this show in Milwaukee with the MSO and it was great. I feel sorry for kids these days because they are missing out on the Classics. Too bad they didn't include 'One Froggy Evening' in this set.
The two Stalling CDs are mind blowing.
I actually used to record this stuff from a TV when I was a teenager. When I first read about V.1 being released, I put down what I was reading, mid-paragraph, and high tailed it to a record store to get it. Didn't even think for one second. Like some sort of instinctual reflex action.
OMG, Willard, this is brilliant! Thank you!!
–Crazed
Thanks Cap!!!
Brain ticklin’ fun… huh?