Alice in Wonderland (song)

"Alice in Wonderland" is the theme song composed by Sammy Fain for the Walt Disney 1951 animated film Alice in Wonderland. It was performed by The Jud Conlon Chorus and The Mellomen. The lyrics were written by Bob Hilliard and were arranged by Harry Simeone for treble voices.[1][2]

The song plays during the opening and end credits.[3] Izumi Yukimura sang her own theme song for the Japanese release of the film. The "dreamy"[3] song has become a jazz standard[4] that has been performed by Bill Evans,[5] Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck,[6] and others. In his book The History of Jazz, Ted Gioia cites "Alice in Wonderland" as one of Evans's most beautiful performances, likening its "pristine beauty" to his "Waltz for Debby".[7] Evans recorded it at the Village Vanguard which featured on his 1961 album Sunday at the Village Vanguard.[8] Rosemary Clooney recorded the ballad with "The Unbirthday Song" which also appeared on the soundtrack to the movie, and Michael Feinstein has also recorded it along with the other songs from the movie in a medley.[3] The original recording for the film was in the key of G major, but the jazz standard is usually played in C major, as it was by both Evans and Peterson.

  1. ^ Library of Congress. Copyright Office (1952). Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 65.
  2. ^ Muljadi, Paul. Disney Theatrical Animated Features. Paul Muljadi. p. 100.
  3. ^ a b c Hischak, Thomas S.; Robinson, Mark A. (29 July 2009). The Disney Song Encyclopedia. Scarecrow Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-8108-6938-7.
  4. ^ Rawlins, Robert; Bahha, Nor Eddine (1 January 2005). Jazzology: The Encyclopedia of Jazz Theory for All Musicians. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-634-08678-6.
  5. ^ Ake, David Andrew (January 2002). Jazz Cultures. University of California Press. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-520-92696-7.
  6. ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2002). All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide to Jazz Music. Backbeat Books. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-87930-717-2.
  7. ^ Gioia, Ted (8 April 2011). The History of Jazz. Oxford University Press. p. 283. ISBN 978-0-19-983187-6.
  8. ^ Levine, Mark (12 January 2011). The Jazz Theory Book. O'Reilly Media, Inc. p. 597. ISBN 978-1-4571-0145-8.