Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

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"Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" is a popular song written by Frank Churchill with additional lyrics by Ann Ronell, [1] which originally featured in the 1933 Disney cartoon Three Little Pigs , where it was sung by Fiddler Pig and Fifer Pig (voiced by Mary Moder and Dorothy Compton, respectively) [2] as they arrogantly believe the Big Bad Wolf (voiced by Billy Bletcher) is not a serious threat. [2] The song created a market for future Disney tunes and led to a contract with Irving Berlin Publishing Co. that same year, securing the sheet music rights over Mickey Mouse and the Silly Symphonies. [3] The song's theme made it a huge hit during the second half of 1933, and it remains one of the most well-known Disney songs, being covered by numerous artists and musical groups. [3]

Contents

Re-use by Disney

The song was reused in the sequels to Three Little Pigs, and its writing was re-enacted in the "Cavalcade of Songs" episode on the Disneyland television series in 1955. [4] It featured in the Sing Along Songs video I Love to Laugh and has been included in numerous Disney recordings.

Disneyland Records produced a re-recording of the song in 1958, released concurrently as a single in Disney's "Wonderful Records" series of 45s and on the Mickey Mouse Club LP "Four Disney Stories", conducted by Tutti Camarata. It was a re-enactment of the original cartoon in audio, with noticeable differences being all three pigs voiced by Gloria Wood (unlike the originals, where Practical Pig was voiced by Pinto Colvig), the Big Bad Wolf having a more menacing voice (this time by Jimmy MacDonald), and a few additional verses and dialogue that was not present in the original cartoon. This version was also released on an album in the early 1960s entitled "The Story and Songs of Walt Disney's Three Little Pigs" and a few other compilation albums, and also included on Disney's read-along book-and-audio adaptations of the cartoon.

Contextual similarities

Significant similarities can be found in the British early 20th century chasing game Who's Afraid of Black Peter? [5] which is based on the ancient children's game of Black Man (Who Is Afraid of the Black Man?) that had been described in 1796 by German educator Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths. [6] In the game the catcher asks the runners "Who's Afraid of Black Peter?", whereupon the runners answer "Not I!" [5] After the dialogue Black Man or Black Peter seek to catch their victims. [5]

German historian and non-fiction author Susanna Partsch confirms a possible connection between the game of Black Man and Ronell's and Churchill's lyrical concept [7] while Isabel Vollmuth, Portuguese-German professor at the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies (University of Applied Sciences in Landshut), describes Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? as an offshoot of the game-based children's rhyme. [8] Additionally, the song was the inspiration for the title of Edward Albee's 1962 stage play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [7]

Cover versions

LL Cool J version

"Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?"
Single by LL Cool J
from the album Simply Mad About the Mouse
B-side
  • "I Need a Beat"
  • "I Can't Live Without My Radio"
ReleasedJuly 7, 1991
Recorded1991
Genre Golden age hip hop
New jack swing
Children's music
Length3:50
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Ann Ronell, Frank Churchill
Producer(s) B. A. Robertson, DJ Eddie F, LL Cool J
LL Cool J singles chronology
"6 Minutes of Pleasure"
(1991)		"Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?"
(1991)		"Strictly Business"
(1991)

"Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" was covered by American rapper LL Cool J on the Disney album Simply Mad About the Mouse: A Musical Celebration of Imagination . It was released as a single in 1991 for Columbia Records and was produced by DJ Eddie F and LL Cool J. It sampled Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean". [9] LL Cool J's version did not make it to the Billboard charts.

Ben Bernie's 1933 version Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf%3F.tif
Ben Bernie's 1933 version

Charlie and his Orchestra recorded a German version in English during World War II with propaganda lyrics.

Track listing

A-side

  1. "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" – 3:50

B-side

  1. "I Need A Beat" – 4:31
  2. "I Can't Live Without My Radio" – 5:27

Charts

Chart performance for "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" by LL Cool J
Chart (1992)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [10] 100

Other cover versions

The song has been covered by many artists, including: [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 "WHO S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF". ACE Title Search. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers . Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Three Little Pigs (1933)". The Internet Movie Database . Retrieved October 16, 2008.
  3. 1 2 TIME magazine: Piglets' Tune, September 25, 1933.
  4. ↑ "Three Little Pigs". Disney Archives. The Walt Disney Company . Retrieved October 16, 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 Iona Archibald Opie, Peter Opie: Black Peter. In: Children's Games in Street and Playground. At the Clarendon Press, Oxford 1969, pp. 130–131.
  6. ↑ Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths: Der schwarze Mann. In: Spiele zur Uebung und Erholung des Körpers und Geistes, für die Jugend, ihre Erzieher und alle Freunde unschuldiger Jugendfreuden. Im Verlage der Buchhandlung der Erziehungsanstalt zu Schnepfenthal, Schnepfenthal 1796, pp. 259–261.
  7. 1 2 Susanna Partsch: Wer hat Angst vor Rot, Gelb, Blau? In: Die 101 wichtigsten Fragen. Moderne Kunst. Verlag C.H. Beck, München 2006, ISBN   3-406-51128-7, p. 60.
  8. ↑ Isabel Vollmuth: Englisch an der Grundschule. Eine didaktisch-methodische Analyse. Universitätsverlag Winter GmbH Heidelberg 2004, ISBN   978-3-8253-1560-3, p. 133.
  9. ↑ "LL Cool J's Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf sample of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean". WhoSampled. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  10. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 169.
  11. ↑ "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?, foxtrot (Cartoon "Three Little Pigs")".
  12. ↑ Dave Bullock. "PiNkY & PeRkY; Rare Records for Sale". Pinky & Perky's website. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
  13. ↑ Coleman, Brian (2009). Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN   978-0-307-49442-9 . Retrieved October 17, 2014.
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