[Voldemort]

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - There's no occasion like a gold anniversary to start polishing the family heirlooms, and the preservation team at Walt Disney Records has been working overtime to bring its vaunted catalog into the digital age.

The fruits of their labor? Two new commemorative sets, the restoration of some of the earliest classics and a landmark exhibition of the music's influence through the years.

"There's certainly the obligation to preserve this legacy and keep it alive for future generations," label senior vice president and general manager Robert Marick says. "And we've never had one place where our entire history was pulled together."

The Music Behind the Magic exhibit, which opens Saturday (November 4) at Seattle's Experience Music Project, highlights the milestones that punctuate Walt Disney Records' 50-year, 15,000-recording catalog and the history of the Walt Disney Co. before the label's formation.

The complementary two-CD set "The Music Behind the Magic," which arrives November 7, is a chronological journey through Disney music beginning with 1933's "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" from the classic short "The Three Little Pigs" through this year's Disney Channel movie "High School Musical."

A booklet, with an introduction by critic Leonard Maltin, contains historical notes on each track and images of original album covers.

Among the 50 gems from Disney film, TV, theme parks and Broadway musicals are pieces of pop culture history, like Annette Funicello singing the theme from the movie "The Monkey's Uncle" backed by a then-unknown group called the Beach Boys.

"There's even more musical history there because that song was written by the Sherman Brothers, who were just coming off the wild success of 'Mary Poppins,"' says Ted Kryzko, vice president of A&R catalog development.

A second set, "The Archive Collection," is a digital, iTunes-only release of 50 unique versions of Disney songs aimed squarely at audio- and Disney-philes.

Although Disney has released archival recordings in the past, the digital age has recast the retail climate. Previously released archive albums will be part of the first wave of 10 restored digital albums that Walt Disney Records begins selling on iTunes this month.

Other titles include albums by Mary Martin and Hayley Mills, and "A Child's Garden of Verses," a folk album previously released only on vinyl.

"Now in the digital realm we have a great opportunity to put out these gems," Kryzko says.

Reuters/Billboard

[Dana]

Thanks for the info!

[MissDisney]

I wonder if we can load these onto our ipods???

[Jen]

Thanks for the article!

Wow 15,000 songs!!!