Chip 'n' Dale theme song

[Dirk]

Hey there, Hi there, Ho there,

in the latest issue of the Sketches magazine (Disney Classic Collection) the article covering these two rascals cites lyrics from, what they call, their "theme song" which the two are supposed to have performed on several occassions on TV.

My question now: was that song at any point released on CD? If not: is it floating around somewhere?


Thanks in advance for your help.


Yours sincerely
Dirk

 

[Tim Hollis]

I haven't seen the article you mentioned, but I would assume the theme song it is talking about is the "I'm Chip / I'm Dale / A great sensational corporation / We are Chip 'n' Dale" tune (used in the FROM ALL OF US TO ALL OF YOU show, and probably elsewhere).

I don't know that it was ever released on CD, but a version of it appeared on the 1960 LP DONALD DUCK AND HIS FRIENDS, and was then recycled on other LP's, 45's, and 78's for years afterward, usually paired with Chip 'n' Dale's rendition of "Daisy, Daisy."

TRIVIA: Although many different people voiced the two chipmunks over the years, on these particular selections Chip is played by Dick Beals of "Speedy Alka-Seltzer" fame, and Dale is Robie Lester in her first job for Disneyland Records. Robie continued to play one chipmunk or the other in future projects, but was usually paired with other performers than Beals. (They got together again as two of Donald's nephews for such productions as SCROOGE McDUCK & MONEY and A RANGER'S GUIDE TO NATURE, where the third nephew was Disneyland Records regular Gloria Wood, but I digress......)

 

[Tim Hollis]

The fellow you are talking about is someone named Gerry Hoff. As yet we have been unable to find out just who he was, but from the acting ability he displays in THE LOVE BUG and THE BOATNIKS, we suspect he may have been a Walt Disney Music Company accountant... or barber.. or plumber!

Now that I have said that, watch someone who knows him personally give him this message and make him mad.

 

[Tim Hollis]

We're writing! We're writing! Don't crack that whip so hard!

Actually, the October 2004 deadline to have the manuscript finished is looming larger and larger, because there is still MUCH, MUCH work and research to be done... if all we had to do was listen to the records and describe them, it would be easy, but this goes a whole lot deeper than than.

"We're in deep water darlin', clear over our head...."
- Gene Merlino or John Davidson, depending on which version you hear

 

[Dirk]

Hi Tim,

thanks for trying to help me but the article in the current issue of Sketches (Volume 11 Number 3 2003) by Jim Fanning cites the lyrics slightly different with:

"I'm Chip, I'm Dale, We're just a couple of crazy rascals, Out to have some fun. When Chip and Dale Satrt Cooking up some trouble, You can bet it gets well done."

He calls it the "Cip 'n' Dale Theme Song" which they according to the article sang on several Disney TV shows. No further information is provided about the song, only about how the two characters were created and evolved over the years.

Now I wonder: is this the same song you mentioned or a different one??


On a side note: the article also talks about Clarice, the femal chipmunk with which the two fall in love in the short "Two Chips and a Miss" (1952). The articel explains that the idea for the femal chipmunk nightclub singer Clarice "originated when Bill (Justice) heard a recording by Nellie Letcher, a popular song stylist if the day. Bill took the record to the Sound Department and played it at a higher speed. The higher-pitched voice was so delightfulm, Bill played it for Walt who agreed that a singing chipmunk cartoon would make a great Chip 'n'D Dale vehicle." Based I wonder: did Nellie Letcher actually voice Clarice in the final short??


Oh and before I forget it: all the best luck that you are able to meet your deadline Tim!


Yours
Dirk

 

[Tim Hollis]

Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing that longer version of the theme on some of the TV shows. The one I was thinking of from the records ("a great sensational corporation") is basically the same tune, only drastically shortened. If my co-author has a chance to monitor this site soon, perhaps he will know whether the complete version ever made it onto a record.

 

[Steve Carras]

Interesting informaiton here, Tim. Dick Beals was on moe Disney albusm than I thought. ironically Disney decided to use kid voices (and still does, including Pixar) for their FEATURE film youthful characters and for TV..