Guilty pleasures – we all
have them. Some might think my Disney obsession alone would qualify,
but that doesn't even scratch the surface for me. And of my Disney
guilty pleasures, my love for the Country Bear Jamboree has to
be towards the top of the list. Therefore, I thought it would be fun
to take an in-depth look at this classic attraction.
♪ Let's start at the very
beginning, a very good place to start. ♪ (I think we all know
that's not the last time I'll be singing in this article. You've been
warned.) The Country Bear Jamboree (CBJ) got its start long before
Walt Disney World was brought into existence. “Of course,”
you're thinking, “it must have premiered at Disneyland.” Wrong!
CBJ was first conceived as a dinner show for Disney's Mineral King
Ski Resort which Walt Disney was trying to build in the
mid 1960s. Walt wanted to make sure that after guests spent their
days skiing and hiking, they still had a reason to remain at the
resort for the evening. According to the book Disneyland: the
Nickel Tour (by Bruce Gordon and David Mumford):
So Walt commissioned
[Imagineer] Marc Davis to come up with shows that would keep those
folks (and their money) right there at Mineral King. “Walt thought
maybe we should have a show that had something to do with bears,”
Marc recalled. “Lots and lots of bears.”
Davis,
together with Al Bertino, began developing the concept. One day,
Davis was working on drawings of the characters in his office. Walt
walked in and saw the drawings and laughed because he loved the
characters. That was the last time Davis saw Disney, who died a few
days later on December 15, 1966. CBJ has therefore become
affectionately known as “Walt's Last Laugh”.
Although
the Mineral King project was eventually scrapped, the Bears lived on.
When it became clear that the resort would not be built in the
foreseeable future, the Disney Company decided to move the attraction
to the soon to be opened Walt Disney World. The attraction
debuted as the Country Bear Jamboree with the rest of Walt Disney
World on October 1, 1971.
Located
in Frontierland, Grizzly Hall is the longtime venue for my beloved
Bears. As you wait in the front room for entrance into the theater
proper, make note of the “claw marks” in the floor. This is one
of my favorite Disney touches.
Inside
the theater, your first introduction to this wonderful cast of
characters are three fellows that have just been “hanging around”
to meet you. (Sorry; I couldn't resist.) Melvin the Moose (voiced
by Bill Lee), Buff the buffalo (aka
Disney Legend Thurl
Ravenscroft, who
is also
heard in a few places you might know – the Haunted
Mansion,
Walt
Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room,
and Pirates
of the Caribbean,
for starters), and Max the stag (Pete
Renaday) join you in waiting (with
varying degrees of patience) for the show to begin.
The
show. Here's where I start to get a little sad. You see, when the
show first opened in 1971 (sponsored by Pepsi and Frito Lay, no
less), it ran for about fifteen glorious, fun-filled, knee-slapping
minutes. In 2012, Disney closed the show briefly for a refurbishment,
and reopened with a bastardized truncated version. I'm still bitter.
That wasn't the first time the show had been changed. In 1984 the
attraction was given a new show during the holiday season called the
“Country Bear Christmas Special”. The show would return annually
around Christmastime until 2005. And in 1986, Disney decided to
create a new show for the attraction, "The Country Bear Vacation
Hoedown". Vacation Hoedown featured the bears in their vacation
outfits, singing new songs such as “Ghost Riders in the Sky” and
“On the Road Again”. Due to attendance struggles, however, the
new show only lasted for six years and the original thankfully
returned. (Until the 2012 travesty, that is.)
Here's a
lovely introduction to the show as it appears in my 1972 “Original
Sound Track, a magnificent full-color illustrated book and
long-playing record”:
And now,
allow me to introduce you to my favorite ursine entertainers:
Henry-
The host of the show, Henry is a large, friendly brown bear sporting
a grey top hat, starched shirt, and a string tie. Voiced by Pete
Renaday (who also provided voices for 20,000 Leagues Under the
Sea, The Hall of Presidents, and the WEDWay
PeopleMover/Tomorrowland Transit Authority), Henry plays the
guitar and sings. He is featured on the songs: "The Bear Band
Serenade", "The Ballad of Davy Crockett", "Come
Again", and prior to the 2012 refurbishment of the
attraction, "Fractured Folk Song". Henry is joined in the
final three songs by Sammy, his raccoon pal who cuddles around
Henry's top hat, acting like a coonskin cap.
Gomer-
Gomer is a tall bear who wears a collar and tie. He's the resident
piano player/accompanist, and according to his bio is highly regarded
by the other musicians because he can play in a key other than C.
The
Five Bear Rugs- The Five Bear Rugs are the Country Bear
Jamboree's main/house band. They appear on center stage and perform, "Bear
Band Serenade" and "Ole Slew-Foot". Prior to the 2012
refurbishment of the attraction the Five Bear Rugs also performed
"Pretty Little Devilish Mary". The band consists of:
- Zeke- The Five Bear Rugs lead singer, Zeke plays a banjo and taps on the dishpan with "a real ol' country beat". He is a grey bear with glasses who wears a tan top hat. He was voiced by Dallas McKennon from October 1971 until July 1975, when Randy Sparks rerecorded his vocals.
- Zeb- Zeb is the band's fiddler, a brown bear with a light brown stomach. He wears a hat and a bandanna, and is voiced by a member of the Stoneman family.
- Ted- Ted is a tall, skinny bear who blows on the corn jug and plays the washboard. His fur is brown, and he wears a white vest with a brown hat.
- Fred- The biggest of the five bears, Fred plays mouth harp (he plays it kinda sad). He is a brown bear with blue jeans held up by suspenders as well as a striped red and white tie.
- Tennessee- Tennessee plays the One String "Thang", which sounds just like a guitar but only has one string. He is brown and wears a red bandanna around his neck.
- Baby Oscar- Unlike the other bears in the Five Bear Rugs, Baby Oscar plays no instrument. He does carry a teddy bear, however, which he squeaks from time to time. According to my aforementioned record set, he's Zeb's son (Oscar's mom is off modeling fur coats somewhere).
Wendell-
Wendell is a buck-toothed golden brown bear who plays the mandolin.
He wears a blue bandanna and a hat. Voiced by Bill
Cole, Wendell sings "Mamma, Don't Whip Little Buford" with
Henry as well as joining the bears to sing the finale, "Ole
Slew-Foot". Prior to 2012 Wendell performed "Fractured Folk
Song" with Henry.
Liver
Lips McGrowl-
A big bear who gets his name from his large lips, Liver Lips plays
the guitar. He is voiced by Jimmy Stoneman
and
sings "My Woman Ain't Pretty (But She Don't Swear None)"
and joins the bears in the finale, "Ole Slew-Foot". As a
side note, he always reminded me a little bit of Elvis.
Trixie-
Voiced by Cheryl Poole, Trixie is a large brown bear who appears in
a blue bow and tutu, holding a blue handkerchief and wine glass
(which never spills!). Trixie is one of the few bears that does not
appear in the finale of the show, however she does sing one of my
favorites, "Tears Will Be the Chaser For Your Wine".
Terrance
(aka Shaker)-
Terrance is a tall bear with tan fur and a bit of a snaggletooth who
plays the guitar while wearing a cap and yellow vest. He is voiced by
Van Stoneman and sings "How Long Will My Baby Be Gone” as well
as appearing in the finale.
The
Sun Bonnet Trio- Those little Sun Bonnets from the Sunshine
State, Bunny (Jackie Ward), Bubbles (Loulie Jean
Norman), and Beulah (Peggy Clark) sport identical blue bonnets
and dresses. The sisters appear on center stage and sing "All
The Guys That Turn Me On Turn Me Down".
Ernest-
Ernest is a brown bear who plays the fiddle while wearing a brown
hat, a white collar and a red polka dot tie. Ernest was also voiced
by Van Stoneman from October 1971 until July 1975 when Randy Sparks
took over his vocals on “If You Can’t Bite Don’t Growl”.
Teddi
Barra-
Teddi knows how to make an entrance. She comes down from the ceiling
on her pink rose-studded swing, fabulously decked out in a pink hat
and long pink feather boa. She is voiced by Roni Stoneman and sings
"Heart We Did All That We Could".
Big
Al-
Big Al is a big grey bear who wears a burgundy vest and hat and plays
an out-of-tune guitar. He sings "Blood on the Saddle" and
his insistence on interrupting Henry and Sammy with an unsolicited encore leads to the grand finale of the show. Big Al is voiced by Tex
Ritter (father of comedy legend John Ritter) and is modeled after
Imagineer Al Bertino.
Fun
Facts:
- According to a plaque located above the Country Bear Jamboree’s main stage, the Jamboree was founded by Ursus H. Bear who lived from 1848 until 1928. In the attraction's backstory, "after a restful hibernation, (Ursus) rounded up his musically inclined kinfolk and friends to put on a down-home celebration".
- Grizzly Hall claims to have been built in 1898.
- Initially, Five Bear Rugs’ member Tennessee was going to be named Lemonade.
- In The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon wisecracks in response to Penny's awe over Wolowitz's mechanical robot arm, "At best, it’s a modest leap forward from the basic technology that gave us Country Bear Jamboree" (Season 4 Episode 01 – The Robotic Manipulation).
- A Goofy Movie contains a parody of the show known as "Lester's Possum Park."
- We don't mention the 2002 movie around these parts. Move along; nothing to see here.
And now for your viewing pleasure, here's a video of the original show I've shamelessly stolen from YouTube. Enjoy!
♪ We hope that you'll be coming back again.
That you'll drop in to see us now and then.We've had such fun, we're going to cry.
We just can't "bear" to say goodbye.
We hope that you'll be coming back again. ♪
