[Stay Awake] -- I have visited Walt Disney World five times in my life. But I had never been to Disneyland ... until this week. On Monday, February 18, we capped off our recent trip to L.A. with a tour of Disneyland. Well, maybe not a tour exactly, but we did have a Disney Cast Member as our guide and she could get us into special places and bypass lines. It was pretty much a V.I.P. day all the way, and it was arranged by a California couple (who are Club 33 members) we befriended over Twitter and a previous San Diego Comic-Con (Thank you, Andrew and Lisa!). During our visit to the park, we took a break in the 1901 Lounge. While in the Lounge, our guide told us about the music that was playing -- all jazz versions of Disney movie tunes arranged and performed by Bill Cantos. (Yes, I bought the CD, and it is wonderful). In response, I told her about Hall Willner's Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films (1988). Willner is an American music producer with several tribute albums and live events listed among his many credits, Stay Awake being his fourth tribute album. I was in college when it was first released, and I loved it because it made a somewhat adult soundtrack out of songs originally created for kids. More than 20 years later, I still love it for the milestone in my life that it represents. Turns out, our guide didn't know about Stay Awake, and I reckon the same can be said of many of my fellow 80s-philes. So, I figure this CD makes for a great Flashback. I've chosen three tunes from the 20+ songs represented on the album. You know the drill: Read and hear more after the break.
