Carousel Song

[akorbel]

Thanks, Rick!

Listening to the Carousel Song makes me nostalgic for the late 70s! Marriott's Great America was such a product of the late 70s with its contrived (but very effective!) innocence and quaintness. I doubt a song like this would even be written now because the general public have become such jaded and (supposedly) sophisticated consumers.

[ImagineerFan]

Rick,

Thank you very much for making available the entire Carousel Song. It has been a few years since my lst visit to SFGAm, but recall that it was still being played just after the National Anthem and at the end of the day.

Now, is it true that there is a theme song for each land. If it is then I have a new quest.

Justin

[RLAiello]

There isn't a single "Theme Song" for each area, but each area has its own distinct soundtrack of multiple "Muzaked" songs that plays throughout the area. As far as I know, SFGAm is still playing the same soundtrack throughout the park that premiered with Marriott (except for the Front Gate, which had a really REALLY cheesy disco-fied soundtrack that we H-A-T-E-D when I worked there (1988-1990), but was finally replaced with a VERY nice mix of patriotic songs done traditionally in about 94 or 95. That was a very welcome change.)

Typically this is what would play:

Front Gate (as described above) - Discofied Muzak - Changed to Traditional Patriotic Tunes.

Carousel Plaza - Traditional "Calliope" style Carousel music.

Hometown Square - Old American tunes, reminiscent of the early 1900s.

County Fair - Upbeat, Jolly tunes, very late 1800s style.

Yukon Territory - Country tunes, twangy, with a north woods feel. (a tune you would hear often is the "Deliverance" Dueling Banjos theme. No lie.)

Yankee Harbor - Pipe organs and sailor-type tunes.

Orleans Place - Very New Orleans-style Jazzy tunes. Lots of Ragtime.

Later additions:

Batman: The Ride - The area around the ride played Danny Elfman's 1989 Batman theme throughout.

Southwest Territory - I really can't recall a specific soundtrack, but I would assume it was very countrified.

Trivia! - In the early 1990s, during the time of Desert Storm, and after Whitney Houston performed the National Anthem for the Super Bowl, her version replaced the traditional instrumental version in the mornings for at least a year.

[that_guy]

I am SO Happy!! This is so GREAT!!

[twixmix0303]

Thanks for the Carousel Song! If you'd like to put anymore songs you have online, feel free to let me know and I'd be happy to share server space.

http://www.racingwoodie.com

It's still in the works, I'm learning PHP as I go. Hopefully in a few months I'll have something to show!

[steven]

I've been meaning to get a complete copy of the Carousel Song to Steven for some time. I used to work at the Santa Clara park, and I too was/still am a big fan of the Park and its rich history. While working there, I was fortunate to obtain a copy of the Park's closing music soundtrack. This soundtrack featured the closing announcements, two patriotic melodies and of course the one and only, Carousel Song! In fact, the CD was going to be raffle items for the park's coaster event, Coasterpalooza! in 2003. Unfortunately, we never got the chance to make copies of the CD in time for the event, so we ended up giving away copies of the Demon Song instead. I do miss hearing the song being played just shortly after the Park closed as it had a Disney-esque feel to it. Anywho, I'll make an effort to get a copy of the CD to Steven soon so he can add it to the site and to share with all of you.

Hi, Al! Nice to see you on the forums. Talk to you soon.

Steven

[steven]

I was actually fortunate enough to get a copy of the Demon Music from the Gurnee Park. A good friend of mine was a ride's supervisor, and he made a copy for me from the "master" tape. So, I have a .mp3 of the full 25 minutes.

Since I have my own webserver, I could put it on there for people to download. Let me know what everyone thinks on this.

Thanks, Brian!

Steven

[steven]

Hey all

First time post-er (but longtime fan of this site).

I was lucky enough to obtain a copy of the Carousel Song while I worked at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee. I won't divulge HOW I got it.. but let's just say I have it. I had sent Steven a CD of the song, along with a bunch of snippets of music from each of the themed areas a while back... but since this forum is alive and kicking...

I have uploaded the Carousel Song IN FULL to my FTP server... so JUST FOR YOU ALL, here it is:

Hi, Rick!

Welcome aboard! Wow, what a first post! Thanks for sharing!

Steven

[steven]

Thanks, Rick!

Listening to the Carousel Song makes me nostalgic for the late 70s! Marriott's Great America was such a product of the late 70s with its contrived (but very effective!) innocence and quaintness. I doubt a song like this would even be written now because the general public have become such jaded and (supposedly) sophisticated consumers.

Great observation! Looking back at the history of the parks, it makes me appreciate them even more.

Steven

[steven]

THANKS RICK!!!! I've been looking for this for years as well. Now, if I could just get a hold of the theme music for each section.....

I, too, desperately would love to have the theme music for each section. As Rick mentioned, there were various songs played in each themed area. There's a particular song from County Fair that I remembered especially liking when I worked at Eagle's Flight. I've longed to hear that again for years.

I don't remember the front gate area music as Rick described it. The main thing that I remember about the front gate music was a very nice instrumental version of the classic Spanish song "Cuando calienta el sol". Would love to hear that again, too.

The music of the park was excellent and really enhanced the experience. I always wished that they would have sold a soundtrack.

Steven

[coasterboy]

I remember walking into the tech services department and seeing the wall of reel-to-reel tape recorders all playing back the audio for all the areas in the park. They were bi-directional, so that when the tape got to the end, it would switch directions and continue playing. Must have been mono feeds. There had to be at least 20 of them. This was 1985. I'm sure they are all CD's now, or solid state audio.

They had a computer where they programmed in all the announcemnts, like the 15 minute warnings for all the shows, and parade announcements. These were all played off of cartridge machines.

In 1985 the shows in the theaters were still played off of reel-to-reels as well. The live bands and orchestras had long gone.

[m_force_4_ever]

thank you soooooo much RLAiello I have been looking for a high quality full version of the Carousel Song forever...soon to be the number 1 song played on my iPod =)

[ewilson]

In 1984 Evolution of Rock II had a live band in the Music Hall.

[coasterboy]

You are right about Evolution Of Rock 2.
I also believe that the marching band made a guest appearance.
But that show was also played to a recorded orchestral track, even though the vocals were all live.

The early shows had a (16? piece) live orchestra, along with the live vocals.
No tape was used in the early shows (at the Music Hall).

[brdwyguy]

that is correct
to the best of my knowledge
i was in the Music Hall Shows from 76 - 79
there were NO tapes or recordings used

every show and every performance was played and sung LIVE!
with a 15 - 18 piece orchestra and 18 performers!

brdwyguy
Joey D