Disney Music

I know I'm a little bit late with this Birthday, but on July 22, 1949, American composer/singer/song-writer Alan Menken was born in New York. I just heard a program on classical radio today interviewing him, and thus the blog-post.

As the program host, Jim Svejda, noted, Menken is growing to be one of the most award-decorated film composer/song-writers of all time, in some ways coming close to Alfred Newman and John Williams. According to wikipedia, he has won 12 awards (academy awards, tony awards, etc) and has been nominated for 10 more on top of that. His most popular music has been from recent Disney animated films, including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the recent Disney film, Enchanted.

I remember watching Beauty and Beast in the theater when it came out. I was only 13 years old at the time (why would a 13-year-old boy care about sissy fairy-tales?) As soon as the movie began, I was absolutely transfixed by the music in the prologue to the story, and I remember getting goose-pimples all over and my eyes moistening up with tears. Needless to say, Beauty and the Beast is probably my favorite Walt Disney animated movie (although Robin Hood comes pretty close, for different reasons).