Musical Theory:Bear Country and Frontierland

Welcome to the first edition of a new series of posts called Musical Theory,where I'll analyze some of the many background music loops used at Disneyland,Walt Disney World,and Tokyo Disneyland.In this first one I'll be discussing my theory on the connection between the 1972 Bear Country loops and the WDW Frontierland 1973 BGM.




Now the 1973 Frontierland loop is extremely eclectic and can't seem to focus on a certain style.The first five tracks are from the Country Bear Jamboree album and were recorded for Florida's Mile Long Bar.At this point I know of 7 tracks recorded and used from this section.The remainder of the songs wildly fluctuate between bluegrass,honky tonk,and square dances.As I recreated this loop I was surprised at Jack Wagner's choices and I wondered why he made such bizarre choices.Give a listen to the loop yourself down below to hear what I mean.

Frontierland BGM 1973-1976

01. Red River Valley [2]
02. Polly Wolly Doodle [2]
03. Wabash Cannonball [2]
04. Old Betsy [2]
05. Bile'em Cabbage Down [2]
06. Red Wing
07. Golden Slippers
08. Tangle Weed [5]
09. Swanee River
10. You are My Sunshine
11. Tomahawk [5]
12. Down Yonder
13. Swinging Doors [1]
14. Love is Just a Four Letter Word [3]
15. Chicken Out (Joann's Theme) [4]
16. Buffalo Gals
17. Devil's Dream
18. Red River Valley
19. Old Joe Clark
20. Unknown

[1] The Buckaroos Play Buck & Merle by the Buckaroos
[2] Country Bear Jamboree [Soundtrack] by George Bruns
[3] Nashville Rock by Earl Scruggs
[4] Norwood: Music from the Motion Picture by Al De Lory
[5] Square Dance Tonight by Tommy Jackson


Unsurprisingly,this loop lasted a mere three years before being replaced by a much more Froniterland appropriate loop.My question is why is this Frontierland loop so strange.Well I believe the answer lies across the US,down in Bear Country.


Bear Country was the first Disneyland land to really have full music across the whole of the land.Before that Disneyland relied on mostly live music and,according to Jack Wagner,pop music.But Bear Country was made after Magic Kingdom,the first park to park wide BGMs so Jack Wagner crafted three loops that played in that honey of a place.The first loop played at the Golden Bear Lodge(Now the Hungry Bear Restaurant)/The Wilderness Trail(The Entrance to Bear Country),the second loop played at the Wilderness Trading Post/Teddi Barra’s Swingin’ Arcade/Mile Long Bar Complex that now houses Pooh's Corner,and the final played in the Country Bear Jamboree lobby.

The Country Bear Jamboree Lobby loop was made up of the tracks the Stonemans recorded at the same time as the music for the Country Bear Jamboree.The seven tracks that I know of are:

• Polly Wolly Doodle
• Wabash Cannonball
• Bearless Love
• Home on the Range
• Red River Valley
• Bang! Goes Old Betsy
• Bile 'Em Cabbage Down

Based on live recording,I know that there were a few more tracks that are still unknown but since this loop lasted until 2001,when the Playhouse closed,I'm sure a complete recording will crop up someday.


As for the other two loops,this is where the 1973 Frontierland loop comes into play.I believe that the tracks used in the 1973 Frontierland loop are from the 1972 Golden Bear Lodge/Wilderness Trail loop and the Wilderness Trading Post/Teddi Barra’s Swingin’ Arcade/Mile Long Bar Complex loop.I believe the bluegrass/square dance tracks such as  Love is Just a Four Letter Word,You are My Sunshine,and Tangle Weed are from the Golden Bear Lodge/Wilderness Trail loop.I do have one small piece of direct evidence to support this that I'll discuss further down.As for the Wilderness Trading Post/Teddi Barra’s Swingin’ Arcade/Mile Long Bar Complex loop I believe that the honky-tonk piano songs such as Red Wing,Buffalo Gals,and Swanee River were possible tracks in that loop.Now,this one is pure conjecture but there is appealing logic behind it.Honky-tonk music is fitting for the Mile Long Bar and the Swingin' Arcade,and the Trading Post had a player piano inside it.However,as I said before,this is pure conjecture and I'm still searching for live recording confirmation.

Now,the logic behind my theory makes sense.Jack Wagner frequently reused music from old loops into newer loops. So it stands to reason that when he was making the WDW Frontierland loop he would simply reuse tracks from the Bear Country loops.However,there is some concrete evidence to link the two.It has been confirmed that "In The Gloryland" from Earl Scruggs's Nashville Rock played in the Bear Country Golden Bear Lodge/Wilderness Trail loop and it just so happens that another song from that LP, Love is Just a Four Letter Word,also happens to be in the 1973 Frontierland loop.

I hope one day to confirm my theory and I've been looking hard to find some more information.If any comes to light I'll be sure to post it here and see if it confirms my theory or not.