Annette Funicello [1942-2013]

Artist: Annette Funicello

LP: Hawaiiannette - Annette Sings Songs of Hawaii

Song: "Pineapple Princess"

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Song: "Hawaiiannette"

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I didn't hear the sad news last month that Annette Funicello had died until a week or so after it had happened. I still haven't seen any of her famous beach movies with Frankie Avalon, but they're certainly on my movie bucket list. Annette's cheerful 1960 Hawaii-themed LP on Disney's Buena Vista label is one of my favorite records to listen to in the springtime. A "Hawaiiannette" must be a sort of cute little half-Hawaii that you might find in an exotic restaurant in Utica, NY or somewhere, just like how a "kitchenette" is a little half-kitchen in the room of a nice motel. You can read all about the life and career of one of the most famous Mouseketeers ever on Wikipedia here and go here to find Annette's obituary in the New York Times.

Annette Funicello

[ October 22, 1942 — April 8, 2013 ]

We will miss you, Annette.

Stan Jones and the Ranger Chorus

Artist: Stan Jones and the Ranger Chorus

LP: Walt Disney Presents Songs of the National Parks

Song: "Grand Canyon"

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Here's something I picked up in Bellingham for .50¢ during my New Years getaway a few weeks ago. Born in Douglas, Arizona in the summer of 1914, Stan Jones wrote more than 200 songs during his career, including well-known standards like "Ghost Riders In the Sky" and "Saddle Up!" as well as some not-so-standards like "My Gal Is Purple" and "Jim Marshall's Nugget." Stan appeared both on television and in a few motion pictures, and he wrote some of the music for John Ford's popular westerns RIO GRANDE and THE SEARCHERS. He made several records for Walt Disney, including this 1963 LP that features songs about various national parks in the USA. You can buy your own copy of the record here. Sadly, Stan Jones died of cancer at the young age of 49 the same year this record was released. You can read more about Stan's life and career here, where you'll also find some neat pictures, some links for listening to a bunch of Stan's songs as recorded by himself and various other artists, and there's even a link where you can listen to Stan telling an audience what inspired the writing of his hit song "Ghost Riders In the Sky."

 

 [ Stan Jones: June 5, 1914 — December 13, 1963 ]