CBJ on GDB!
I've been scanning a batch of slides date-stamped "December, 1973"; it's been fun. The photographer was especially taken with the Country Bear Jamboree, using 10 precious frames of film while enjoying that relatively new attraction (it debuted in Disneyland on March 4, 1972. By the way, this person also took 10 photos inside "It's a Small World", you'll see those soon enough! Having only seen the CBJ one time, I'm not super-familiar with the characters or songs, so I will write some stuff, and you can tell me about all of my errors. Deal?
This first one shows the Master of Ceremonies, Henry. Did a critter live in his stovepipe hat? He is presumably introducing the show with the "Bear Band Serenade". "Say, Patty, is that a real bear?". "I don't think so, Larry, that's one-a them robots that Walt Disney liked to build". "Zowie! What a show!".
I had to do research. Yes, it hurt to use my brain, but I did it for you. This photo shows Gomer, who plays the pianny. Something you don't see every day. The show's curtain is probably made from fire-proof asbestos (you can't be too careful), and all of the local business have advertisements painted on it. I'm surprised that they did not use the names of actual Disney Imagineers on any of these ads!
There's the Bear Band! At one time they were bigger than the Beatles. Not more popular, just bigger. I'm going to take a swing at naming these guys, uh-oh. From left to right: That's Tennessee on bass (only one string); Fred is on harmonica; Wendell is on mandolin; Ted plays the corn jug; Zen is on fiddle; and Baby Oscar sits with his teddy bear, spacing out.
Liver Lips McGrowl; poet, musician, acrobat, philosopher, moonshiner, lepidopterist. One of the greats.
Stay tuned for seven more from the Country Bear Jamboree!
10 comments:
I can see why Larry thought these were real bears... soooo lifelike! ;-) But they do talk and sing and play instruments just like real bears.
I believe a raccoon lived under Henry's hat, but I'll let Melissa, or other Jr. Gs, go into details.
The center of the (asbestos) 'ad curtain' reminds me of a Hamm's Beer sign, or TV ad.
For a second I thought the jug player had a reeeeally big belly. But no, that's just a spotlight shining on the backdrop.
Is Liver Lips the one who sings about "blood on the saddle"?... Oh wait, I'm pretty sure that was a different bear. (?) He didn't look like this one here. He had a more 'hang dog' expression.
These are bright, clear photos of the CBJ. Thanks, Major.
Major, your research was near perfect. Zeb is on the fiddle, not Zen. But I know that could have been a typo on your part.
The "other" Henry....the one that appears near the end of the show and sings "Davy Crockett," was the one with the critter in his hat. He starts out singing the song while wearing a coon skin top hat that has a tail. After starting the song, Sammy the raccoon pops up out of the hat and starts singing along with Henry, and wiggling his tail.
I loved this show. I also loved the Christmas version, which I thought was done extremely well. I didn't like the Vacation Hoedown as much. It seemed too contrived.
Thanks for sharing these, Major. I'm looking forward to the seeing the rest of the set!
The CBJ was parodied by Disney's own "A Goofy Movie", presented as a seedy roadside attraction:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSIkVX80Fz0
JB, the bear who sings "Blood on the Saddle," is Big Al!
The Country Bear Jamboree meant only ONE thing to me...well maybe two....AIR CONDITIONING...and BATHROOM BREAK....Major: you saw it once...I have seen it literally hundreds of times...I can still pretty much recite every word from beginning to end...and in my pre-Disneyland employee days I did have the vinyl where Henry says "Presented by Pepsi Cola and Frito Lay". It was painfully excruciating to stay awake during the show....as the cool air, and the "white noise" of the show...would be a lullaby...similar to America Sings later in the tour when you really needed that AC. The naughty TG's would walk in with their guests, get them seated...and then walk out...we were required to be with your guests at all times...some even naughtier went on their "break" at the Mile Long Bar, and those were "coached" with: "the break is for the guests, not you!"...after Bear Band, the guests got their little 20 minute break before we began the trek back to the East Side: with a stop at the River, the Hub, the entrance to Tomorrowland...and then onto America Screams...uh er...America Sings. Thinking back: it seems like it was a lot of Audio Animatronics to stuff into people in succession...I digress. Bear Country as a Popcorn vendor was a much more peaceful and enjoyable day...so quiet...the wagon only opened when there was a demand out there...the costume was great: big boots which made me a few inches taller...trousers with suspenders, and a big blousy shirt, which of course was unbuttoned to the waist: real pioneer stuff....I also spent a short time as a sweeper in Bear Country....sweeping up popcorn and pine needles mostly...not a whole lot of action out there, but so very peaceful and without the hub-a-bub of the rest of the park: save for Big Thunder Trail. I wouldn't say that these photos bring back amazing memories: more the memory of: wow...I saw that show a lot...a lot a lot...I'm not sure what the foreign guests thought about it...they always seemed a bit mystified after we got out...or jubilant...the French loved it. With two theaters, that is a lot of Bear Animatronics to recycle. What happened to them? What happened to their latex suits and clothes? Where's Trixie and her swing? Thanks Major...just looking at these photos has put me into a sense memory of slumber :) (now....I want a possum hat...)
Oh yes, CBJ. I remember it well. Not as well as Bu, but well enough.
It was funny the first couple of times, but for me, it didn’t wear well and the air conditioning and comfy seats became the draw, not the show. I did enjoy Big Al. There were vibrating chairs in the lobby, drop in a quarter for a foot massage. Kind of weird.
I think the bass instrument was called “The Thing”… …”’cause it only had one string…” and Baby Oscar punctuated the songs with squeaking his Teddy Bear.
Major, for a single rendition, you did very well. I have the show soundtrack recording somewhere, LMK if you would like it. Thanks for your hard work and research posting these.
JG
JB, I once saw a bear playing the banjo in the wilds of Canada. You can’t prove that I didn’t!! A raccoon sounds right, though I was probably mixing it up with the prairie dog or gopher that was in the hat in “America Sings”. You know, “Pop Goes the Weasel”. Hamms, the beer refreshing? Best lyrics ever. Big Al sings “Blood on the Saddle”, one tiny bit of trivia that I actually know about that show!
TokyoMagic!, I’m going to blame autocorrect for changing “Zeb” to “Zen”! “The Other Henry”, a dramatic look into the multiple personalties of a singing bear, starring Hal Linden and Loretta Switt. TONIGHT ON CBS! The Christmas version of the CBJ… I already know that they sang less-religious songs such as “Jingle Bells”. I think I have some photos of the Vacation Hoedown somewhere.
DBenson, ha! I guess maybe I need to watch “A Goofy Movie”!
TokyoMagic!, a little baking soda will get that blood out of the saddle.
Bu, oh man, I cannot even imagine sitting through that show hundreds of times. I would lose my mind! As you said, the air-conditioning and a bathroom break would be welcome. I would probably have been one of those naughty TGs (not that I would ever qualify to be a TG) who would abandon their guests. Hey, just keep an eye on the clock, and as the show was coming to an end, walk back into the theater and stand there with a big smile. Nobody will even know! The “breaks” in the Mile Long Bar would have been funnier had they served alcohol. “I hope you enjoyed that show, you SOBs!”. So wait, your tour involved sitting through both the Jamboree AND “America Sings”?? Another show that I only saw once, and once was enough. I feel guilty saying so, because I do thing Marc Davis was a genius, but he got laser focused on AA shows with singing critters, and that is just not my thing. The Carousel of Progress was different, it had that whole World’s Fair history, and the charming datedness of it all. Even the corny script was charming, to me at least. I didn’t remember that you’d worked as a sweeper, from what GDB friend Huck said, it was a pretty great job once you figured out the advantages. Funny that different folks from various countries had different responses, but hey, the French loved Jerry Lewis (or so they say)! I find his antics annoying at best.
JG, the funny thing is, the one time I saw the CBJ, much of the audience was what I believe to be college kids. They laughed extra loud at all the jokes, sang along with the songs, swayed back and forth in their seats - they were into it (ironically, I guess). It made it more entertaining for me! But I never felt the desire to go see the show again. I guess I should have, just to refresh those memories, but I can’t say that I feel too crushed about it.
DBenson, Thanks for that link. I haven't seen the movie, and I enjoyed the clip. They got a lot of things right that rang true with the real CBJ. I wonder if that one possum collapsing forward was an homage to the well-known clip of the Lincoln animatronic malfunctioning?
Tokyo! & Major, Ah. Big Al. I remember him now. He was Big, and he was Al. And he did have that hang-dog look.
Bu, now I'm picturing a new DreamWorks/Shrek character: Bu in Boots.
Major, Oh I believe you saw a bear playing the banjo in Canada. I myself have seen Bigfoot playing a piccolo in some old-growth forest in Oregon... sadly, no photo.
The inimitable Foxxfur has a thorough analysis of the music in CBJ. When I was in WDW back in February, the show was closed for refurbishment. I've ready that Disney is updating the music. I don't know if that means more current country music, or just more of the same songs from Disney's more popular movies. I don't know whether "Achy Breaky Heart" is worse than a country version of "Let it go"
I remember when CBJ first opened. Though it seems sort-of silly now, it was quite unique, at the time. My mom LOVED it and, as I've mentioned before, her enthusiasm was contagious...so I enjoyed seeing it with her.
TM! I saw the Christmas version in WDW - and enjoyed it, too. It was nice to see something different, and nothing says 'Christmas' better than a cute bear singing Blue Christmas.
DBenson, I'll have to check out that link. Thanks.
Bu, did you ever fall asleep watching this show or the others, and not wake up in time? Or, worse yet, start to snore? :o). By the way, I'd definitely be one of the TG's who would venture off, during the show.
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