The Disney Renaissance Era (1989-1999) comprises some of the most important years in The Walt Disney Company history, with commercial and critical hits starting with The Little Mermaid and ending with Tarzan. We are joined today by Michael Lyons, author of "Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance," for a fascinating discussion about how the Renaissance era came to be, and the role that music played in it. We also pick just ONE song from each movie that is our favorite. It wasn't easy!

You can learn more about Michael at https://www.wordsfromlyons.com/. Listen to him on the Dis-order Podcast and the From Pencils to Pixels Podcast. Also read more of his work at the Screen Saver Blog. And, most importantly, check out Drawn to Greatness on Amazon.

And if you like this podcast, please like, subscribe, and tell your friends. You can find me on IG at @musicbehindthemagic and email me at [email protected]. Even better, please join our growing Facebook community at www.facebook.com/groups/musicbehindthemagic and join in on the conversation!

In our 10th (double digits!) podcast episode, we speak with Lee Cockerell, the former Executive Vice President of Operations for Walt Disney World as well as the author of many best-selling books on management, including Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney. I also provide a full trip report from Disneyland Paris as well as break down all the music-related news from the D23 Expo.

You can find and follow Lee Cockerell at https://www.leecockerell.com/ and find his books on Amazon or most bookstores.

As always, thank you for listening, and if you enjoy this podcast, please tell your friends, like it, subscribe to it, and if possible, leave a rating. You can always reach out to me with questions, comments, or things you want to hear about at [email protected], on Instagram at @musicbehindthemagic or on our FB Community group at www.facebook.com/groups/musicbehindthemagic.

Author James Warda and former Disney Imagineer Theron Skees join us to discuss their new book "How does Disney Do That? How Disney Makes us Feel and Why it Matters." We have an incredibly vibrant and emotional chat, talking about all the various things that make us feel the way we do about Disney, and of course, dive into the power of music and how the company harnesses that power to forge such a powerful emotional connection.

I mention during the conversation that "How Does Disney Do That?" is not a book you read, it is a book that you feel. You can order it on Amazon as well as at the How Does Disney Do That website. And if you order directly from the publisher here, you can get a signed copy of the book, a free bookmark, and free shipping if you enter the code "DisneyShipFree." You can also join the FB Group and find James at Jameswarda.com and Theron at designerscreativestudio.com.

And if you enjoy this podcast, please share it with your friends, like, and subscribe. And, if you have a few seconds, if you could leave a brief (and hopefully positive) review, that would be amazing. If you have any questions, comments, or things you want to hear about, please email me, or drop me a line on my social channels, @musicbehindthemagic on Instagram, and join in on the conversation on our FB group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/musicbehindthemagic.

It was been a few weeks since the last podcast due to some international travel, including a trip to Disneyland Paris! But we return with legendary and award-winning film, TV, and Disney composer Bruce Broughton, who discusses his career and his work with Disney movies and attractions. We also provide some quick musical observations about Disneyland Paris, with a full trip report to come in the next few episodes, as well as Disney Music News

Please follow and support Bruce Broughton at brucebroughton.com.

If you like this Podcast, please take a quick second to rate it and share with your fellow Disney music afficionados.

We are joined for today's episode by Matt Hodge--composer, professor, and author of the award-winning book "Cool Cats and a Hot Mouse: A History of Jazz and Disney." We discuss how and why Disney and Jazz have been so intertwined over the past 100 years, and its influence on Disney movies and the parks.

You can follow Matt at www.matthodge.com and buy his book on Amazon

Today we are joined by Dan Heaton, the host of the terrific Tomorrow Society Podcast. We discuss Dan's Disney journey and then have a great discussion about our favorite musical moments and memories from the Disney Parks and Resorts. Please listen and let me know what your favorite musical memories are. I also catch you up on some recent Disney music news--there's been lots of stuff going on and announced in the past few days.

Please follow Dan at www.tomorrowsociety.com and on Instagram @tomorrowsociety. Also listen and subscribe to his podcast on all major streaming platforms.

And also please reach out to let me know how we are doing, questions you have, and what you would like to hear more about. You can email me at [email protected], find me on Instagram @musicbehind the magic, or on our FB group at www.facebook.com/groups/musicbehindthemagic. And if you like what you hear, please let your friends, family, coworkers, and random strangers know about us as we continue to build our community.

This week we are joined by world-renowned Disney expert Len Testa, who shares his background and personal Disney journey that married his love of Disney with his background in computer science and optimization and resulted in TouringPlans.com and the Unofficial Guide to Disney World, among other essential planning books. We also discuss some recent undiscovered Disney musical history that he brought to life from the Buddy Baker Archives in NYC.

You can follow Len on Instagram @len.testa, and also utilize his knowledge and expertise at Touringplans.com. You can also find the Unofficial Guide to Disney World and all his other books at Amazon.

Hello Disney Music Fans!  It’s been a few weeks since our last episode, and that is because I was fortunate enough to have attended a first-of-its-kind conference in Orlando that focused specifically on theme park music. It was a tremendous experience that left me inspired, enlightened, and with lots of future guests for the podcast to give amazing perspectives on Disney and theme park music. We are also thrilled to be joined today by Tom Hischak to discuss his book, the Disney Song Encyclopedia, which is a critically acclaimed reference work that categorizes and analyzes over 1000 songs from Disney movies, TV shows, shorts, and attractions. All this, and some Disney music news as well

Follow Tom at www.thomashischak.com, and you can find The Disney Song Encyclopedia at Amazon. Also check out the programming for Theme Park Music and Sound Conference at www.themeparkmusicandsound.org

We are thrilled to be joined by Brett Boles--composer, songwriter, musical director and social media star. Brett discusses his career, his evolution into social media success, and the art and science of songwriting. Also, I will discuss some of the most emotional musical moments throughout the Disney movies, and give some Disney music news updates.

Please follow and support Brett Boles via all his channels here For those interested in the songwriting trip we mentioned, you can find details here:

As always, if you like this podcast, please Like, Subscribe, and Share and tell your friends. You can also find me on Instagram at @musicbehindthemagic, at www.musicbehindthemagic.com, and on our FB group at www.facebook.com/groups/musicbehindthemagic.

We are honored to be joined today by James Bohn, author of "Music in Disney's Animated Features: Snow White to the Jungle Book," to discuss his book and the role music has played in Disney's success. We also pay tribute to the legendary Richard M. Sherman, who passed away this week at the age of 95. Finally, we reach a bit deep into the Disney music archives to discuss Disney Super Guitar, an album that resonates with me significantly. All this, and some other Disney music news as well.

Please like and subscribe, and follow on Instagram (@Musicbehindthemagic) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/groups/musicbehindthemagic).