He’s a Tramp (But She Loves Him): “Lady and the Tramp” Comes To Disney’s Legacy Collection
Monday was a bella notte as Intrada began accepting orders for the long-awaited Legacy Collection reissue of the soundtrack to Walt Disney’s Lady and the Tramp. The 1955 film, featuring an orchestral score by Oliver Wallace and songs by Sonny Burke and Peggy Lee (who also portrays Peg and other roles in the film), has been expanded to two CDs as the latest release in Walt Disney Records’ series of deluxe soundtracks.
Inspired by Ward Greene’s short story “Happy Dan, the Whistling Dog,” Lady and the Tramp told the story of the two titular canines who find love while fending off the machinations of Lady’s villainous temporary caretaker, Aunt Sarah. Disney’s first animated feature in the widescreen CinemaScope process, Lady and the Tramp was an instant success for the studio, taking in more money than any of its films since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Much of its success was due to the universal story of romance, and the iconic sequences including animator Frank Thomas’ now-classic scene of Lady and the Tramp sharing a plate of spaghetti. That scene, of course, was set to the Peggy Lee/Sonny Burke song “Bella Notte,” one of the memorable melodies penned by the team. Though Lee didn’t sing “Bella Notte,” the legendary chanteuse did perform the sultry “He’s a Tramp” and the delightfully catchy “Siamese Cat Song,” as well as “What is a Baby” and “La La Lu.” Her original soundtrack recordings are preserved here. (She also recorded her songs for her own label at the time, Decca.) Other voices featured in the film include Stan Freberg, Bill Thompson, Verna Felton, Mel Blanc, and Thurl Ravenscroft.
Intrada explains, “As [the] new [CinemaScope] process proved challenging for animation as well as theater presentation, Disney prepared both widescreen versions, [and] ‘standard’ versions with optical sound. This new 2-CD set is “presented from flawless original optical mono scoring session elements (as originally recorded), plus stereo imaging of vocals (also as originally presented).” The first disc offers the score and songs from the soundtrack, while the second disc premieres the Disneyland Records studio cast recording of the film’s songs on CD plus additional material. (“Home Sweet Home” was the only original soundtrack recording included on the studio cast album; hence it’s been on Disc One here. The instrumental track “Lady” from the studio cast album has not been included.) As with all previous Legacy Collection titles, the packaging is a hardcover book-style format with full color illustrations, concept art, liner notes and more.
The Legacy Collection: Lady and the Tramp is available exclusively through Intrada, and Intrada’s Amazon-fulfilled store, until August 2015 at which point it will be released to general retail. Intrada is currently accepting orders now, and Amazon should be receiving copies shortly. You can peruse the upcoming Legacy Collection titles here, and you can order Lady and the Tramp at the links below!
The Legacy Collection: Lady and the Tramp (Walt Disney Records/Intrada, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TBD / Intrada)
CD 1: Original Soundtrack
- “Main Title (Bella Notte) / The Wag of a Dog’s Tail” 2:03
- “Peace on Earth (Silent Night)” 1:01
- “It Has a Ribbon / Lady to Bed / A Few Mornings Later” 3:53
- “Sunday / The Rat / Morning Paper” 1:44
- “A New Blue Collar / Lady Talks To Jock & Trusty / It’s Jim Dear” 3:17
- “What a Day! / Breakfast at Tony’s” 1:05
- “Warning / Breakout / Snob Hill / A Wee Bairn” 2:44
- “Countdown to B-Day” 2:05
- “Baby’s First Morning / What Is a Baby / La La Lu” 3:11
- “Going Away / Aunt Sarah” 1:51
- “The Siamese Cat Song / What’s Going on Down There?” 2:35
- “The Muzzle / Wrong Side of the Tracks” 1:54
- “You Poor Kid / He’s Not My Dog” 1:23
- “Through the Zoo / A Log Puller” 1:59
- “Footloose and Collar-Free / A Night at the Restaurant / Bella Notte” 4:22
- “It’s Morning / Ever Chase Chickens / Caught” 2:51
- “Home Sweet Home” 1:30
- “The Pound” 1:27
- “What a Dog / He’s a Tramp” 2:24
- “In the Doghouse / The Rat Returns / Falsely Accused / We’ve Got to Stop That Wagon / Trusty’s Sacrifice” 6:05
- “Watch the Birdie / Visitors” 2:05
- “Finale (Peace on Earth)” 0:31
CD 2: Bonus Tracks
- I’m Free as the Breeze (Demo) – Unknown Disney Studio Vocalist
- I’m Free as the Breeze – Jeff Gunn
- I’m Singin’ (‘Cause I Want to Sing) – Jeff Gunn
- What is a Baby – Teri York
- La La Lu – Teri York
- The Siamese Cat Song – Robie Lester
- Bella Notte – Bob Grabeau
- He’s a Tramp – Teri York
- Peace on Earth – Teri York
Tracks 1-3 TBD
Tracks 4-9 from All the Songs from Lady and the Tramp, Disneyland 1231, 1962
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Great that they’re releasing many of the songs from “All the Songs from Lady and the Tramp,” but as with previous releases, why not all of them? The instrumental “Lady” and the re-recording of “Home Sweet Home” are not included! Why not? There was plenty of room, with only nine tracks on disc two. Fortunately I purchased the CD-R of “All the Songs” from Disneyland years ago, and it is available on iTunes. But just flat-out weird that the whole album is not being reissued here… they’re only missing two songs!