When Marty Sklar was knee-deep in the planning of EPCOT back in the late 1970s, he had one of those lightbulb moments that helped define the project.
That’s when Marty came to the harsh realization that, despite all the hard work and meticulous planning that had already taken place, Disney had overlooked something very fundamental and functional … a park staple that hadn’t seen anything new for more than a decade.
We’re talking about music.
“It dawned on us that there hadn’t been a new song written for the parks since 1969, not since X Atencio wrote ‘Grim Grinning Ghosts’ for the Haunted Mansion and ‘A Pirate’s Life For Me’ for the Pirates of the Caribbean,” Marty said during EPCOT’s 30th anniversary celebration in 2011. “Thirteen years and no new songs,” he added.
And with a new park on the horizon, that needed to be rectified.
“So, we immediately called the Shermans [that would be legendary songwriters Dick and Bob Sherman of Mary Poppins and ‘it’s a small world’ fame] and told them to ‘Start writing songs for EPCOT!’”
What the Shermans came up with were the now-classic songs “One Little Spark,” “Magic Journeys” and “Makin’ Memories” for the Kodak-sponsored Journey into Imagination pavilion.
But, with so many other pavilions on the drawing board — all with different themes and widely varied story lines — more was needed.
Disney tapped into the composing/arranging talents of George Wilkins, who was a protégé of Legendary Disney composer Norman [Buddy] Baker. After a car accident sidelined Baker, Wilkins was named EPCOT’s music director and made significant contributions to many of the park’s attractions, be they entrance and exit themes or songs played during rides.
There also was a young singer/songwriter from southern California who was asked to lend his expertise to the EPCOT project. He had made an immediate and lasting impression after performing for a group of Disneyland executives during a private function in a nightclub in Newport Beach just a few years before.
After hearing the singer, the execs approached him and asked if he could write a jingle for the park. The result was “It Could Only Happen at Disneyland,” which was used extensively in ad campaigns and won a prestigious CLIO Award.
The songwriter’s name was Bob Moline.
Although, at the time, the name Bob Moline didn’t carry nearly as much weight as the Academy Award-winning Sherman brothers, tapping into Moline’s potential proved to be a wise decision.
Moline’s contributions to EPCOT’s soundtrack were staggering and made him an instant success with Disney’s higher-ups and among EPCOT’s guests as well.
He wrote or co-authored “Listen to the Land” for The Land pavilion; “Canada (You’re a Lifetime Journey)” for the Canada pavilion; “Energy (You Make the World Go ‘Round)” for the Universe of Energy, and perhaps his most popular EPCOT contribution, “Golden Dream,” for the American Adventure.
“It goes to show you that you never know where talent is going to come from,” Marty said. “We discovered Bob Moline in a bar in Newport Beach.”
In addition to his work at EPCOT, Moline also contributed music for Dreamflight, the Delta Airlines-sponsored attraction in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World currently occupied by Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.
Most guests don’t realize how important music is to the Disney park experience. We’re not talking about songs like “it’s a small world” or “There’s a Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow,” which have been park staples since the 1960s. We’re alluding to the “mood music” you hear when you enter an attraction … or the exit music as you leave.
Think about the turn-of-the-20th century tunes that permeate Main Street USA as you walk into the Magic Kingdom? Or the 1940s, Big Band-era music played in Hollywood Studios? Or the futuristic sounds that envelope you as you enter EPCOT or Animal Kingdom’s themes representing nature, adventure and cultural experiences? They all set the mood for the day ahead.
The aforementioned George Wilkins was a major contributor to the Disney Parks soundtrack, even if he flew under many park guests’ radar.
Before he joined Disney, Wilkins already enjoyed a successful, wide-ranging career. He was a member of Patti Page’s five-member vocal group. To our younger readers, Ms. Page was one of the top-selling singers in the 1950s. Wilkins went on to co-found The Doodletown Pipers, an easy-listening vocal group that enjoyed success in the 1960s and 1970s.
Wilkins was the musical director for entertainers James Darrin, Jimmy Durante and Connie Stevens. He directed and conducted Ms. Stevens’ show in Las Vegas for years.
He worked with Henry Mancini on several projects and also wrote and performed on countless TV advertising jingles. And he directed and produced all of the extremely popular Firestone Christmas albums.
In addition, he composed all the music for the animated Teddy Ruxpin toy, an electronic bear-like stuffed animal that was popular during the mid-1980s. The toy came with an audio tape cassette deck built into its back. His eyes and mouth moved as he told stories of his adventures.
When Wilkins joined the Walt Disney Studios music department, he became part of an all-star lineup, working with Baker, George Bruns, Irwin Kostel, Lou Debney (whose son, John, is a film composer who wrote the “Laughin’ Place” song for Splash Mountain) and the Sherman brothers.
“They were a pretty close-knit group,” explained retired Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Director Kevin Rafferty, who in addition to dreaming up numerous Disney park attractions, also dabbled in songwriting for several attractions.
After Wilkins joined Imagineering in the late 1970s as musical director for EPCOT, he composed music for the Horizons pavilion, as well as several other Future World pavilions.
“George did more in his life than it seems possible for any one human being to do,” added Rafferty, who worked with Wilkins on many projects.
“George was truly one in a billion. Some of my best days were working in George’s home studio in Sherman Oaks with a cup of coffee, lots of lead sheets scattered about and his dog, Daphne, at our feet.
“He and I wrote many songs together (not all for Disney) and he was a huge part of my magic journey,” Rafferty added. “He called me a few weeks before he passed away (in November of 2024 at the age of 91) just to say – and these are exactly these words: ‘Hey, man! I’m just calling to tell you I love you, man!’
“George put music to my lyrics for It’s Tough to be a Bug!, Mickey’s Toon Town Radio Show, Sonny Eclipse and so many others.”
Sonny Eclipse is the out-of-this-world lounge singer who entertains guests at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
Sonny is voiced by Kal David, who first made a name for himself in the 1960s with several rock bands, most notably Illinois Speed Press. David also provided the vocals for the “Unhealthy Living Blues” for the Goofy About Health exhibit inside the Wonders of Life pavilion at EPCOT.
The next time you walk into a Disney park, make it a point to take note of the music being played as you enter … and the themes you hear walking into and out of an attraction.
It’s a truly eclectic mix created by some of the most prolific songwriters in Disney history, adding so much to the overall Disney park experience.
Chuck Schmidt is an award-winning journalist and retired Disney cast member who has covered all things Disney since 1984 in both print and on-line. He has authored or co-authored eight books on Disney, including his On the Disney Beat, The Beat Goes On, Disney’s Dream Weavers and his latest, Marty, Mickey and Me, for Theme Park Press. He has written a regular blog for AllEars.Net, called Still Goofy About Disney, since 2015.
Great article!