"Dixieland at Disneyland" debuted in Frontierland in 1960, and was presumably fairly popular, running up through 1970.
This 1963 brochure seems to be pretty scarce, I have only seen one or two others. I wish I knew who did the artwork - maybe it was just one of Disneyland's in-house artists. It blows my mind that they scheduled an event that started at 8:00 PM and ended at 2:00 AM!
Flip over the closed brochure, and you'll see these three fellows; trumpet, clarinet, and banjo.
Undo the first fold here's what you see: "The story of Dixieland brought to life by the men who made musical history". I only recognize a few of the names... "produced by Walt Disney", that's cool! Staged and directed by Tommy Walker, Vesey Walker's son. Scenic design by Roland Crump! He'd joined WED in 1959. And the show orchestra was The Elliott Brothers, familiar to most of you I'd wager.
The fully-unfolded front side is shown here for completeness' sake.
And here's the full program for the show. I wonder how long the main show was? If I guestimate around three minutes per song, it would have run about half an hour, though we should add some time for introductions and such. Luckily, afterwards you could stroll around the park and see your favorites again.
I have a few other "Dixieland at Disneyland" brochures to share with you, someday!
This would have been a simply amazing thing to see, and I love the graphics on the brochure. Note that the Elliot Brothers Band is playing at the "Oak Tavern" rather than the "Oaks Tavern." Even classic Disneyland had its occasional typo.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Major!
I love the artwork on this....except for maybe the depiction of a dirty ashtray, filled with cigarette butts! I wonder why they felt that they needed to put that on there? I guess they drew the line at showing used chewing tobacco?
ReplyDeleteI remember times in the seventies and eighties, when the park would be open until 2 a.m. For me, getting to stay at Disneyland that late was something very special. Of course, I didn't get to do that until I was older, and going to the park with friends. My family would have never stayed that late.
Why "except the shooting galleries??" When I come to Disneyland, that's all I want to do!!
ReplyDeleteThe crown jewel of my Disney collection is a copy of the album "The Firehouse Five Plus Two Crash a Party" that was signed by Ward Kimball to George Pal! As you may know, Ward was very into science fiction (and even had a more than passing interest in UFOs) and he struck up a friendship with the director of When Worlds Collide, Destination Moon, War of the Worlds, etc. George was also an animator. I picked up the album from the George Pal estate. I need to frame it...
ReplyDeleteLove those old brochures. We probably had one for about 1 or 2 days before it got lost on the trip to some other place in California.
ReplyDeleteWow, 2AM. I'm sure we never stayed there that late. My sister and I were probably in a sleep coma by then. My parents would have stayed up and maybe they did. Dropped us off at the motel and back to the park. A question never to be answered.
Andrew, I guess 'cause you might shoot your eye out.
Stu, I would definitely frame that. What a treasure.
Thanks for the pics Major. Can't go wrong with graphics from that time.
Is that one of yours? Great find.
All the artwork is top-notch, but I especially like the “wood grain” backgrounds in the first image.
ReplyDeleteWhen they were there I wasn't interested. Now they are gone and I feel like I missed something. Cue Joni Mitchell.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Major
zach
Imagine loving Dixieland jazz so much AND being rich enough to build your own New Orleans and Mississippi to party on...
ReplyDeleteI'm still amazed at the public spirit of Walt Disney, a media mogul and millionaire who spent his money on things he loved, and then shared them with the (paying) public. So unlike today's technology billionaires, who spend their money displacing lesser folk and concealing their wealth behind shell corporations and their personal playgrounds behind walls and armed guards.
Great old graphics, Major, although like Tokyo, I question the tobacco subject matter. Yech.
I would love to have heard Al Hirt at the 20K Leagues exhibit. I have several of my Dad's AH albums, but nothing to compare to Stu's treasure. Stu, share a picture if you can!
Thanks Major, and everyone.
JG
Chuck, I am aware of at least one vintage postcard that misspells “Disneyland” as “Disneyand” (Submarine Voyage postcard, #-8 in the stamp box). Some people try to sell them as rare error cards, even though they are incredibly easy to find. They did eventually correct the misspelling.
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, in 1963, ashtrays full of stinky cigarette butts were just a fact of life everywhere. It’s amazing how many people smoked back then. But I agree, they could have left that off and put in a bowl of peanuts or something. I don’t remember the park being open until 2 a.m, but definitely stayed there until 1 a.m. a number of times. As a little kid, it was one of the rare times (New Years Eve being the other) that we would be allowed to stay up so late.
Andrew, I’ve wondered that myself, why weren’t they included?
Stu29573, you have sent me a photo of that amazing album, that would be a treasure in anybody’s collection!
DrGoat, some “Dixieland at Disneyland” brochures are easier to find than others, but none are plentiful. I’m sure most of them wound up in the trash, perhaps not even making it as far as the exit gate. This 1963 example seems to be pretty hard to find. And yes, it’s mine!
Melissa, it definitely reflects one of the styles of illustration that you’d see everywhere in that era, which I always like.
zach, I agree, I probably wouldn’t have been that interested, although my dad did listen to The Dukes of Dixieland a lot when I was growing up, so at least I had some context.
JG, it’s interesting how Walt figured that if he loved something, the general public would love it too. Steam trains for instance! The guys who made all those wonderful Warner Bros. “Looney Tunes” and “Merrie Melodies” made the cartoons for themselves, not for kids, and that’s why they’re still hilarious today. Walt clearly loved the Big Bands and Dixieland, and probably wasn’t that crazy about rock and roll (though he used the Beach Boys to sing a song for “The Monkey’s Uncle”!), but that’s OK, he was a man of his time. Ahead of it, even!
Major, I just sent you the picture again. I skimmed your comment and thought you were asking for it, lol! I never pay attention...
ReplyDeleteAll of this wonderful music gave Disneyland such a special atmosphere. I miss it! (I especially loved the ragtime piano music on Main Street. Whenever I hear ragtime anywhere - I instantly find myself back at Disneyland.)
ReplyDeleteGreat brochure and fun comments, thanks Major and everyone!
Sue
"I'm still amazed at the public spirit of Walt Disney, a media mogul and millionaire who spent his money on things he loved, and then shared them with the (paying) public."
ReplyDeleteI know, right? I get so annoyed with people who say that the company was always just about maximizing profit at the expense of everything else. To believe that, you'd have to ignore all the times Walt poured profits from one creative venture into the next creative venture.
"TokyoMagic!, in 1963, ashtrays full of stinky cigarette butts were just a fact of life everywhere. It’s amazing how many people smoked back then."
I think I was five or six years old when it became my job to keep the big ashtray in the living room clean. It was one of those freestanding monsters that had a two-tier magazine rack on the bottom, with a removable ceramic tray about the size of a laptop computer that held the actual smoking detritus. I'd have to pick a time when there would be no hot ashes left, slide the tray out of the wire rack, empty it into the trash, wash it with a wet cloth (I wasn't allowed to wash it in the sink for some reason), dry it, and slide it back in. It was a great job to not have anymore after my parents divorced and Mom quit smoking.
Melissa, remember when ashtrays were part of the decor? Drip-glazed and marbled ceramic works of art...
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I meant to say, I remember when ashtrays were part of the decor....
ReplyDelete@Major and Melissa...
ReplyDeleteI guess what I am saying is that today's billionaires would build something like Disneyland, or part of it, and no one would see it but themselves, much like Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch.
Of course Disneyland was a for-profit venture, because even as successful as Walt was, he needed investors and sponsors to build the Park, and they needed ROI for their shareholders, but I think even if he could have funded it all out of WED or the studio, or wherever, he would still have had it open to the public.
JG
Stu29573, hm, I didn’t get the resent picture, though I still have your email from when you first sent it!
ReplyDeleteLou and Sue, I agree, the live music that used to be all over the park was something very special. Where else could you hear a genuine old-fashioned marching band, an oom-pa-pa band, a rock band, big band music, and Dixieland, all in the space of a few hours?
Melissa, I think it’s safe to say that the Disney Company as it is today is definitely about maximizing profit. Back in Walt’s day, he seemed to know that if he provided good entertainment without upcharging for every little thing, people would come back again and again. Even though my dad smoked when I was fairly young, my main memories of cigarettes are from my grandparent’s house. The two of them were big smokers, and of course it was just the way things were. I was always fascinated by their big heavy art-glass ashtrays (one that I have now, even though I don’t smoke, it kind of looks like Lalique), and their large variety of cigarette lighters placed strategically around the house. They had nice furniture, but most of the tables had at least one burn scar on the edge.
Lou and Sue, I personally like glass ashtrays from Bob’s Big Boy!
My mom was an executive secretary for General Dynamics in San Diego from 1960 to 1966 and she has a case binder for a secretary magazine ..... it’s so 60’s!!! It has tips and advise for shorthand and tips on dressing etc.... and adds for office furniture , xerox and other early duplicating machines and some early computer and data retrieval systems ...., phone and intercom systems and............
ReplyDeleteFIRE-LESS and SMOKELESS waste baskets!!! WHAT?? Huh!!??
My mom said trash can and office fires were very common back then because workers dumping cigarette ashes or emptying dirty ashtrays into waste cans that would start office fires!!
MADMEN missed that detail !!!
Does anyone remember the SNL skit done in black and white that took place in a hospital in 1959? The patients, visitors , staff, nurses and even doctors were ALL smoking!! And they couldn’t figure out how so many patients were dying or getting “LUNG COLDS” ..... it was determined that the orderlys when emptying ashtrays from the hospital rooms didn’t not WASH out the ashtrays and a germ was being spread to the smokers using the freshly dumped ashtray!! Lol.
As much as we love the 1960’s ..... they must have smelled like dirty ashtrays!!