Tune Similar to Flintstones Incidental Music on Lawrence Welk???

[drmark7]

Watching the syndicated PBS rerun of an old Lawrence Welk this Saturday- for nostalgic purposes. This color episode from the mid 60s was called "Farm Show."
I was listening more than watching at one point, when suddenly the song they were performing caught my ear.

It was the band doing an instrumental, that sounded about 2 clicks away from a familiar strain of incidental music from THE FLINTSTONES. They didn't name what it was after. Must have introduced it before the song. So I checked the PBS website for Welk episodes notes. The only listing that seemed relevant was... "The band plays 'Goofus'."

Billboard notes say: "There were 4 Top 20 versions of GOOFUS in 1932." Recorded both as instrumentals and with lyrics! Wayne King was probably the first to record it, but it has also been recorded by Chet Atkins, The Carpenters (c.1976), Tommy Dorsey, Duane Eddy, Phil Harris, The Hoosier Hot Shots, Slim Lamar & His Southerners, Guy Lombardo, Johnny Mercer, and Les Paul.

*_*_*
I was able to download a MIDI file of GOOFUS at this link:

http://users.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/hsound

And I would say that *probably* was not it! I was able to recognize it as the melody to The Carpenters remake- with lyrics. GOOFUS is more of a ragtime song. Though maybe in the arrangement they were playing... it was...???

Anyway I don't know if that's it, but does anyone have any idea what instrumental they might have been playing on a "Farm Show" that sounded like the Flintstones incidental music?

(If the Welk rotation stays as it is, this episode may be rerun next year about this same time. I'll be checking...)

[AnthroCoon]

Speaking of cartoon incidental music, earlier this year I got a CD of British pop hits from the year of my birth, 1962, and one song by Jimmie Rodgers sounded familiar,
because the melody was used in more than a few cartoons (esp. by Hanna Barbera).
It's the traditional "English Country Garden"; had never heard the actual song before--
just the cartoon incidental music taken from it.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezb0Yo7qiaA&feature=related

[Ray Pointer]

Watching the syndicated PBS rerun of an old Lawrence Welk this Saturday- for nostalgic purposes. This color episode from the mid 60s was called "Farm Show."
I was listening more than watching at one point, when suddenly the song they were performing caught my ear.

It was the band doing an instrumental, that sounded about 2 clicks away from a familiar strain of incidental music from THE FLINTSTONES. They didn't name what it was after. Must have introduced it before the song. So I checked the PBS website for Welk episodes notes. The only listing that seemed relevant was... "The band plays 'Goofus'."

Billboard notes say: "There were 4 Top 20 versions of GOOFUS in 1932." Recorded both as instrumentals and with lyrics! Wayne King was probably the first to record it, but it has also been recorded by Chet Atkins, The Carpenters (c.1976), Tommy Dorsey, Duane Eddy, Phil Harris, The Hoosier Hot Shots, Slim Lamar & His Southerners, Guy Lombardo, Johnny Mercer, and Les Paul.

*_*_*
I was able to download a MIDI file of GOOFUS at this link:

http://users.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/hsound

And I would say that *probably* was not it! I was able to recognize it as the melody to The Carpenters remake- with lyrics. GOOFUS is more of a ragtime song. Though maybe in the arrangement they were playing... it was...???

Anyway I don't know if that's it, but does anyone have any idea what instrumental they might have been playing on a "Farm Show" that sounded like the Flintstones incidental music?

(If the Welk rotation stays as it is, this episode may be rerun next year about this same time. I'll be checking...)

While I am not clear as to which period in Hanna-Barbera's history is referenced, you might want to post a link to the HB music cue you think that GOOFUS sounds like. It is possible that the one you are referring to may be "inspired" by that melody, or even sound a bit like it, but may not be the same tune.

Many times there are musical phrases that are similar to those used in other pieces that are not necessarily intential steals. As an example, there is a song in the original musical SHOW BOAT that has a phrase very close to OVER THE RAINBOW, which came 15 years after SHOW BOAT was written.

But speaking of H-B background music, there was one of the Hoyt Curtain pieces that seemed like a parody of WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF. This thread has the potential of being a lot of fun and stimulation in calling up other musical similarities such as these.

[Matthew Hunter]

I wonder...did some of the earliest Hanna-Barbera cartoons use the same stock background music library that John Seely used during that musician's strike at Warner Bros? I saw an early Yogi Bear cartoon the other day that sounded awfully close!

[Larry T]

It's not to think that these things are accidents. But even just one note changes and it's considered a different song.

For a modern-day comparison, listen to Henry Mancini's "Baby Elephant Walk" and the theme music to the "Simpsons".

[oldgreypole]

The name of the tune is "Bubbles in the Wine." I'm pretty sure that The Flintstones one heard is no coincidence that this sounds similar to the Lawrence Welk tune, as it was probably an imitation or spoof of the music. Another big band leader that is known for his bubbly music is Shep Fields, whose theme song was "Rippling Rhythm," when he led his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra back in the 1930's and 1940's.

[Dave Mackey]

I wonder...did some of the earliest Hanna-Barbera cartoons use the same stock background music library that John Seely used during that musician's strike at Warner Bros? I saw an early Yogi Bear cartoon the other day that sounded awfully close!

Short answer: yes.

Long answer: from 1957 to 1961 the Hanna-Barbera cartoons used much of the same stock music heard in "Hip Hip Hurry", "Hot Rod and Reel", etc. These tunes came from a number of composers who worked under the John Seely Associates banner, including Phil Green, Jack Shaindlin, Jack Cookerly, Emil Cadkin and Harry Bluestone. Many of these pieces were from the Capitol Hi-Q Production Library. Hoyt Curtin had been hired strictly to compose themes for the cartoons, but in 1959 began scoring the actual cartoons (starting with "Loopy de Loop" and "The Flintstones"), building up the studio's own cue library.

[larriva9/11]

Short answer: yes.

Long answer: from 1957 to 1961 the Hanna-Barbera cartoons used much of the same stock music heard in "Hip Hip Hurry", "Hot Rod and Reel", etc.

"Hook Line and Stinker" was Seely, not "Hot Rod and Reel".

[Daws Butler Jr.]

The name of the tune is "Bubbles in the Wine." I'm pretty sure that The Flintstones one heard is no coincidence that this sounds similar to the Lawrence Welk tune, as it was probably an imitation or spoof of the music.

If "Bubbles in the Wine" is the song, then it was a deliberate parody written for "The Hit Song Writers" episode of "The Flintstones", which includes a Lawrence Welk character voiced by Daws Butler. This episode was run as the Season 2 premiere.

One they had a piece of music, chances are it was used in other episodes. It seems to me that it might have also turned up in a "Jetsons" episode, too.

[drmark7]

Well, at least no one thought I was crazy!

>>> While I am not clear as to which period in Hanna-Barbera's history is
>>> referenced, you might want to post a link to the HB music cue you think that
>>> GOOFUS sounds like.

Yeah, I knew I was shooting a bit into the dark without any links or sound clips, but it sounds like most readers "got it." The "period" was prime, early to mid 60s FLINTSTONES.

I've put a lot of years (as a hobby) into the study of "spot the similarities" in songs (and pop culture). My ears ring from similar notes all the time. There's a LOT out there. Why some similar songs get litigation and others go unnoticed is a mystery.

Yes, many HB and Warner toons used similar stock music. For instance there's the piece that appears in early HB toons and is also the theme to THE DONNA REED SHOW. (both Columbia/ Screen Gems)

>>> If "Bubbles in the Wine" is the song, then it was a deliberate parody written
>>> for "The Hit Song Writers" episode of "The Flintstones", which includes a
>>> Lawrence Welk character

Thus far, "Bubbles In The Wine" is not it.

"Bubbles" is noted as the "end theme" of the Welk Show.

I think of that as the begins with these lyrics:

"Good night, sleep tight and pleasant dreams to you
Here's a wish and prayer that every dream comes true..."

Bubbles In The Wine (The Lawrence Welk Theme) by Frank Loesser, Bob Calame & Lawrence Welk

Surely the song played at this link is WELK-related, but not BUBBLES IN THE WINE (the "end theme")- though listed as "Bubbles"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj8GJ6rM1mA&feature=related

The similarity I heard in the MIDDLE of the Welk "Farm" show was a VERY COMMON strain of incidental music on THE FLINTSTONES. I will have to get to my RHINO Flintstone CD and find the right name of the tune.

>>> One they had a piece of music, chances are it was used in other episodes.
>>> It seems to me that it might have also turned up in a "Jetsons" episode, too.

Again, not the "Bubbles" tune, but right on as to the HB re-use of some or parts of tunes they have in their "stock."

For instance, the theme from JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS was born from a strain of incidental music from THE JETSONS!!!

Dr. Mark

[drmark7]

Speaking of cartoon incidental music, // one song by Jimmie Rodgers sounded familiar, because the melody was used in more than a few cartoons (esp. by Hanna Barbera). It's the traditional "English Country Garden"; had never heard the actual song before-- just the cartoon incidental music taken from it.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezb0Yo7qiaA&feature=related

*_*_*
Shades of exitement!!! That's it!!! 110%!!!!!

I have what I call "gas powered internet"- plain old dial-up, and it takes some 15-20 minutes just to load a short YouTube clip, while I do nothing else on my PC. So I initially bypassed this you provided, but thought I should give it a try.

That's the tune that they played as an instrumental on the Lawrence Welk, "Farm Show" episode. Seems fitting... "English Country Garden."

Just wondering AnthroCoon, did this jump in your ears the very first time you heard it? Or did it take a few listens???

I have a Jimmy Rogers hits CD, too. Will have to see if it's on there. but Billboard lists it as the B-side to his #71, "A Little Dog Cried" from 09-61, so I doubt it. (What exactly was your CD? Could you share an MP3 via a yousendit link???)

But many thanx for helping conclude this quest for the missing link between Lawrence Welk and The Flintstones. I knew I didn't imagine it!

I just wonder how many other connections or threads like this one are hidden out there???

Dr. Mark

Questions?/Comments? * This Has Been e-mail From:
"Dr. Mark" Hill * The Doctor Of Pop Culture /*/ drmark7@juno.com

MY WEBPAGE: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/popmusicpopculture

Some more music connection links here in the FILES section:
MP3 Music Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pmpcjukebox

[Daws Butler Jr.]

"English Country Garden" is a public domain English folk song. It probably was not recorded for The Flintstones, but more likely was included on a reel of public domain tunes that Hoyt Curtin recorded for the 1961 HB shows (Yogi, Huck and Quick Draw), which included Clementine among others. As I said, though, once music was on tape, it turned up in all manner of shows, so there is every possibility that it was also used on The Flintstones at some point. I can absolutely hear the arrangement in my head, but putting my hands on the actual track would be a major project all its own.

[J Lee]

Don't forget that both Lawrence Welk and The Flintstones aired on ABC, so that the use of the music reminding people of the Welk show would have been something the network would have had no problem with, and more than likely would have even encouraged (as they did with the same "synergy" in mind when they had the Bewitched crossover episode in Season 5).

[Fibber Fox]

Don't forget that both Lawrence Welk and The Flintstones aired on ABC, so that the use of the music reminding people of the Welk show would have been something the network would have had no problem with, ).

It's a standard song. I doubt anyone listening to it in the background of a cartoon would suddenly think of Lawrence Welk, or anyone else, any more than Greensleeves or about any other old song.

Jim

[J Lee]

It's a standard song. I doubt anyone listening to it in the background of a cartoon would suddenly think of Lawrence Welk, or anyone else, any more than Greensleeves or about any other old song.

Jim

You forget how few hit shows ABC had in the eatly 1960s -- It was regarded back then about like the CW Network is today. The Welk show and the Flintstones were two the few solid spots on the network's schedule, and while Larwence wasn't likely to break out "The Twitch" on his Saturday night show (though, man, that would have been funny to see), Hanna-Barbera and Hoyt Curtain knew their bosses at ABC would get the reference with the 'bubble music', even if not all the audience did.

[AnthroCoon]

Glad to help--yes, the first time I heard it I recognized it as that piece of music. It's
interesting when you get an "oh yeah" moment like that. Another was when someone
taped some British radio for me and they played an "oldie" that I had never heard
before. It was by Dick James (later Elton John's music publisher) and was the theme
to the Robin Hood TV series, but I had heard the melody before on _another_
British show:

Dennis Moore, Dennis Moore, riding through the night
Soon every lupine in the land will be in his mighty hand
He steals from the rich and gives to the poor (etc)

Yup, from Monty Python..they just put parody lyrics to that Robin Hood theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w7ALMIUy74&feature=related

>>(What exactly was your CD? Could you share an MP3 via a yousendit link???)

The CD is actually part of a birthday card: 1962 A Time To Remember
(Other cuts: The Locomotion, I Remember You, Ramblin' Rose, Peppermint
Twist, etc.)
I'll put it on a site I have, at least for now!
CD: http://www.samflaxny.com/browse.cfm/4,2370.html

http://raccoonradio.freehostia.com/Air/englishcountrygarden.mp3


(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w7ALMIUy74&feature=related)

[That 70s Mom]

Don't forget that both Lawrence Welk and The Flintstones aired on ABC, so that the use of the music reminding people of the Welk show would have been something the network would have had no problem with, and more than likely would have even encouraged (as they did with the same "synergy" in mind when they had the Bewitched crossover episode in Season 5).

That had to be the reason for the Hoagy Carmichael episode with the Lawrence Welk character. Wonder if Hoagy just happened to be featured on LW that week?

As for English Country Garden, I always knew the lyrics as "Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat, please put a penny in the old man's hat..."

[drmark7]

Here it is... Flintstones Incidental Music... "Walking" (Cue from the Rhino FLINTSTONE "Stone Age Melodies" compilation.)

http://www.yousendit.com/download/Q01IYUlxU1BlcEx2Wmc9PQ

This is the instrumental track that compares to "English Country Garden."
(See other links provided to that track.)

Most every song on the CD is followed by a musical cue also used on the show. "Walking" is noted as appearing in the very first "Flinstone Flyer" episode.

To clarify my original observation... I did not think that the instrumental performance of "English Country Garden" on the Welk Show was intended to tie in with The Flintstones. Just a random choice to fit into their "Farm Show" episode.

But coincidentally... the "Walking Cue" *was* coupled with the Hoagy Carmichel song, "Yabba Dabba Doo" on the Rhino CD!

So who knows! But there's definitely a musical connection between these 2 tracks!

Questions?/Comments? * This Has Been e-mail From:
"Dr. Mark" Hill * The Doctor Of Pop Culture /*/ drmark7@juno.com

[Daws Butler Jr.]

Yes, I suppose those two songs are similar, but there is definitely a track of the actual "English Country Garden" that was recorded. Like I said, though, I don't know that it was ever used on The Flintstones.

By the way, notice the "tape squeal" on the introduction to the "Walking" track? There were about 10 master tapes to the Flintstones underscore on 1/4" reel-to-reel, but Reel 2 was missing. Fortunately, I found a cassette that someone had made off of that tape before it disappeared. Unfortunately, it had that tape squeal on it. When we were putting together the album, I found a 35mm mag track to one of the episodes that begins with that underscore, so it was in the clear with no sound effects over it. I wanted to edit on the opening of it, but the engineer I was working with absolutely refused! So, I decided it was better to include it with the tape squeal than to cut off the intro like the engineer wanted to do.

Also, I would have put the underscore on as separate tracks, but Rhino wouldn't let me. That's why they are tied to a song and you can't directly access them. The things you have to go through just to get something out!