RIP to Richard M. Sherman, songwriter of Mary Poppins, Over Here!, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Bedknobs & Broomsticks

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/25/24 at 5:53pm

Richard M. Sherman, half of the Academy Award®-winning songwriting team of the Sherman Brothers (with his late brother, Robert B. Sherman), passed away Saturday, May 25, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, due to age-related illness. He was 95 years old.

One of the most prolific composer-lyricists in the history of family entertainment, and a key member of Walt Disney’s inner circle of creative talents, Richard garnered nine Academy Award nominations (winning two Oscars® for his work on the 1964 classic Mary Poppins), won three GRAMMY® Awards, and received 24 gold and platinum albums over the course of his 65 year career.

https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/remembering-disney-legend-richard-m-sherman/

[Ensemble1716440075]

Posted: 5/25/24 at 6:54pm

Thanks for making Mary Poppins all that it was in terms of the music! "Feed the Birds" is indeed a masterpiece.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/25/24 at 7:18pm

Ensemble1716440075 said: "Thanks for making Mary Poppins all that it was in terms of the music! "Feed the Birds" is indeed a masterpiece."

The Sherman Brothers are up there with R&H and Sondheim as the most influential musical theatre writers of the past 65 years –– for work that wasn't written for the stage.

How many kids of different generations saw POPPINS and said "I want to perform like that" or "I want to write songs like that" or "I just want to see more musicals" ?

Updated On: 5/25/24 at 07:18 PM

[daisybeetle]

Posted: 5/25/24 at 8:48pm

What a talent!

Did anyone else love the movie Summer Magic? It's not that well known, but as a kid my family and I loved it. I especially loved the music, and we had the album at home.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/25/24 at 10:57pm

Over Here remains one of the most enjoyable shows, I.e., wide grin the entire show) I have ever seen.  Always hoped it would get some sort of revival,, but not so far.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 5/25/24 at 10:59pm

 

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 5/26/24 at 1:51am

There's a great documentary on Disney+ called The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story equally about their music and their estrangement from each other. I'd highly recommend it. 

For decades, if someone said they loved Disney songs, that really only meant two things. They liked Sherman Brothers songs and/or they liked Ashman and Menken songs. The cultural impact of the Sherman Brothers' work is immeasurable.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 5/26/24 at 6:28am

 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 5/27/24 at 2:22pm

ABC's ''Good Morning America,'' whose parent ocmpany is Disney, paid tribute to legendary songwriter Richard M. Sherman. Its video included Lin-Manuel Miranda, the star of ''Mary Poppins Returns,'' and he revealed a ''secret'' Sherman brothers' move that he ''stole'' and used in ''Hamilton.''

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iIg3evwJ7Q

Updated On: 5/27/24 at 02:22 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/27/24 at 2:36pm

I still think it's kind of crazy that Chim Chim Cher-ee is the one that was nominated for & won Best Song.

It comes at a lull in the film and it's a fine song, but I personally would put Feed the Birds, Supercal, Let's Go Fly A Kite, Spoonful of Sugar, Jolly Holiday, and Step In Time above it.

Sherman himself claimed his favorite lyric was A Man Has Dreams: “I said, ‘A man has dreams of walking with giants.’ I wanted to be with Gershwin. Who knows if I got there? I wanted to carve my niche in the edifice of time.”

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 5/27/24 at 5:13pm

''I still think it's kind of crazy that Chim Chim Cher-ee is the one that was nominated for & won Best Song.''

It's so funny that you should say that, but I've ALWAYS thought that. As much as I love ''Mary Poppins,'' if I had to pick ONE song to represent it at the Academy Awards, it wouldn't be ''Chim Chim Cher-ee.'' I actually love Richard M. Sherman's favorite: ''A Man Has Dreams.'' But it's probably too short to win. I've always read that Walt Disney's favorite of the bunch was ''Feed the Birds.'' Why wasn't that submitted for Best Song? I also think ''Stay Awake'' was really underrated.

Back then, apparently you could only pick one song per movie for Oscar consideration. Unlike recent years, where you had 3 songs nominated from ''Beauty and the Beast''  and 3 from  ''Dreamgirls.'' Nowadays, the Academy limits movies to only TWO submissions for Best Song. But if you're smart, you probably only submit one, so you don't split your votes.

Updated On: 5/27/24 at 05:13 PM

[someoneinatree2]

Posted: 5/31/24 at 4:59pm

Jonathan Cohen said: "There's a great documentary on Disney+ called The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story equally about their music and their estrangement from each other. I'd highly recommend it.

For decades, if someone said they loved Disney songs, that really only meant two things. They liked Sherman Brothers songs and/or they liked Ashman and Menken songs. The cultural impact of the Sherman Brothers' work is immeasurable."

One of my favorites has always been The Age of Not Believing.

"You must face the age of not believing
Doubting everything you ever knew
Until at last you start believing
There's something wonderful in you"

The Shermans seemed to understand the wistful melancholy that comes with growing up (as did Ashman & Menken, I think, too). There's an ache behind the deceptively simply melodies and lyrics that hurts in a way kids can already understand. The world playing out in the background while these songs played out on screen was one already well-acquainted with violence and uncertainty. So phrases like "you must face the age of not believing" and "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down" are so eternal because they ring true in the face of conflict. They contain the conflict and the resolution: confronting your self-doubt, or sweetening the bitter pill to swallow. The conciseness and tunefulness are hard won kernels of wisdom. 

And of course Feed the Birds is an absolute banger.

"Though her words are simple and few / listen, listen, she's calling to you"

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/31/24 at 5:18pm

I was watching THE BOYS the other night for the first time since it came out and had forgotten about the personal feud that seemed to exist from childhood. I think that certainly influenced their writing work and making sure it wasn't too saccharine. That, plus bouts with depression and war injuries for Bob.

Some of their intelligence and poeticism also comes from both having higher artistic aspirations than writing film songs: Dick wanted to write symphonies, Bob wanted to write poems and the great American novel, and they met in the middle.

It's too bad that the writing partnership pretty much dissolved in the 70s and OVER HERE! was their only proper stage musical, because I think they could have had real success writing serious works for the stage.