Tuesday, March 6, 2012

RIP Robert B. Sherman

I read the sad news on one of my favourite sites, Cinemaretro, that Robert B. Sherman has passed away. Robert along with his brother, Richard, were the talented songwriters who wrote much of the music that we all loved from the Disney films and theme park attractions throughout the 60's, 70's and even into the 80's. Since I was a child of the 1960's, Disney films such as The Sword in the Stone, The Jungle Book, and The Aristocats were very much a part of my formative years, as well as their absolute masterpiece, Mary Poppins. Actually, I had just screened my DVD of Mary Poppins over the Christmas holidays, watching it for the first time on my big HDTV, and was awestruck by the sheer craftsmanship that is in abundance at every level in that film. I was a bit teary eyed in fact as I listened to "Feed The Birds", remembering that it was the song that Walt Disney would often request that Bob and Dick play for him in his office when he was in a reflective mood.

The music of the Sherman Brothers is strongly melodic with witty and whimsical lyrics, making everything they wrote memorable and timeless. For me, their songs, combined with the orchestral scores by composer George Bruns, were so much a part of that warm and wonderful era of Disney, and I am grateful to these talented men for the legacy they have left us. Bob, I hope you're now enjoying a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow!

5 comments:

Amanda said...

Very sad news to hear. Richard was at CTN last November and played several songs on the piano, it was amazing to hear many of the classic Disney songs live. It was an experience I'll never forget.

Joshua Marchant (Scrawnycartoons) said...

A crying shame. Another great talent gone! I love his work and his easily-hummable songs. He wrote some of Disneys loveliest meloldies and made them that much better.

Brubaker said...

Sad to hear about his death.

I'll always love the songs they did for "Snoopy Come Home".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BiFHWn-uwE

Belle Dee said...

Very sad news indeed. I watched "The Boys" not too long ago, and really enjoyed it. A very talented team.

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