The Sherman Brothers:

One morning in July 1960, Richard Sherman sat behind a piano, inside Walt Disney's office with his brother, Robert,by his side. They performed "Strummin Song," and braced for Walt Disney's reaction. Walt simply said, "Yes,that'll work." From that moment on, the Sherman Brothers went on to write unforgettable Disney songs that will live on forever.
One of the most beloved collections of the Sherman Brothers songs is the soundtrack for the 1964 Disney classic Mary Poppins. The first song written for the movie was "Feed the Birds," which became one of Walt's favorites. Occasionally, he would invite the brothers into his office to discuss their work. After some discussion he would say, "play it" and they knew exactly what he wanted to hear.
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room was the first attraction the brothers wrote music for. They would go on to write for more than ten attractions including General Electric's Carousel of Progress with the song "Great Big Beautiful Tommorrow." To the Sherman Brothers the song is about Walt Disney's optimistic spirit and belief that the future was great, big and beautiful.
But perhaps the most well known Sherman Brothers attraction song is "it's a small world." The song's lyric speaks to the beliefs of the Sherman Brothers- if you are alive, there's a chance for life to be better.
Richard Sherman attributes his success to the opportunities given to him by Walt Disney. He also shares what he thinks makes their music special.
"Our music has the positive feelings of life that is in all Disney products, and we had the opportunity to musicalize them,"said Sherman. 'The thought that we made people happy is a great feeling. All these things make me feel very proud to contribute to this wonderful organization."
To the Sherman Brothers from the Disneyland Resort Cast Members, thank you for your musical legacy and for reminding us that our small world, tomorrow will be beautiful and it takes just one little spark to light the fires of creativity.

DR LEE