Production information

Record production number: 8455-2-R
Bar code: 0 7863-58455-2
Release date: 1988
Not licensed for Radio Broadcasting
Produced by Walt Disney Studios, RCA Corp. & BMG Music
Digital series coordinator: Don Wardell.
Digital Producer: Chick Crumpacker.
Digital Engineer: Dick Baxter.
Art Direction: Pietro Alfieri.
Digitally mastered at RCA Recording studios, New York City, May 1988.
Composed by Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline, Larry Morey, and Paul J. Smith

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This 1988 RCA Corp. & BMG Music CD (reference number: 8455-2-R and bar code n° 0 7863-58455-2) was a reissue and restoration on the relatively new compact disc format of the original soundtrack of the film, as presented on shellac records in 1938. The content is exactly the same except that two tracks that segued one another were joined together, so that the CD only has 5 tracks to present the 7 songs (I’m Wishing and One Song were already paired on the original records). The copyright “Bourne Music, Inc.” is dutifully written on each track and in the CD credits.

The back of the CD provides the date December 02, 1937 for the first 4 tracks and December 10, 1937 for the last one. These are probably the dates when the masters were handed out from the Walt Disney studio to HMV, since these tracks had been recorded months, sometimes, years before that. As we know, there were last minute changes on track 2, 3 and 5 after that date and before the release of the film.

Patrick Snyder, an author for Rolling Stone magazine and frequent collaborator of RCA, wrote the following liner notes for this release:

Snow White

The first full-length animated feature film from Disney studios, 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a commercial, creative and technical triumph. The soundtrack selections on this collection were taken directly from the film’s tracks and include snippets of dialogue and sound effects such as bees buzzing, the Prince’s horse approaching and the marching feet of the Seven Dwarfs. The original Victor release was spread over six 78RPM sides. Because technology has expanded the limits of uninterrupted playing time, we have been able to recombine the originally continuous “Dwarfs’ Yodel Song” and Snow White’s classic “Someday My Prince Will Come”.

The songs for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs were written by composer Frank Churchill and lyricist Larry Morey. Both enjoyed long careers with Disney. Churchill’s first big hit was his 1933 collaboration with Ann Runell, “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” for The Three Little Pigs, and he later wrote music for Dumbo and Bambi before his untimely death in 1942. Morey’s most successful subsequent project was Ferdinand the Bull and the song “Lavender Blue”; he died in 1971.

Snow White’s voice is provided by Adriana Caselotti, the daughter of a Hollywood singing teacher who was chosen over many more polished professionals for her qualities of guileless charm and innocence. The Prince is spoken and sung by actor Harry Stockwell while the Dwarfs are handled by five actors: Scotty Mattraw (Bashful), Roy Atwell (Doc), Pinto Colvig (Grumpy and Sleepy), Otis Harlan (Happy) and Billy Gilbert (Sneezy). Dopey did not speak.

This digital release was assembled from elements in the RCA/Victor vault and from original shellac records, which have survived much better than most of the metal parts in storage. The recordings were first put through an ITI Parametric equalizer to bring the voices out on analog tape, which was then transferred to a flat digital copy. A Harmonia Mundi was used to digitally reduce the residual hiss and surface noise and arrive at the final version you hear on this compact disc.

Patrick Snyder

Track listing

  • With a Smile and a Song (3:34)
  • Dig Dig and Heigh-Ho (3:02)
  • I’m Wishing and One Song (3:28)
  • Whistle While You Work (3:26)
  • Dwarfs’ Yodel Song & Some Day My Prince Will Come (5:09)