Chim Chim Cher-ee
Encyclopedia
"Chim Chim Cher-ee" is a song from Mary Poppins
, the 1964 musical
motion picture. It was originally sung by Dick Van Dyke
and Julie Andrews
. "Chim Chim Cher-ee" is also featured prominently in the award winning Cameron Mackintosh
/Disney stage musical of the same name which premiered in London
at the Prince Edward Theatre
in 2004. Mary Poppins
premiered on the Broadway
stage on November 16, 2006. The song can be heard in the Mary Poppins scene of The Great Movie Ride
at Disney's Hollywood Studios
and during the Mary Poppins segment of Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations
at Disneyland.
In 2005, Julie Andrews
included this song as part of "Julie Andrews Selects Her Favorite Disney Songs".
& Richard M. Sherman
(the "Sherman Brothers
") who also won an Oscar
and a Grammy Award
for Mary Poppins' song score.
created by Mary Poppins' screenwriter
, Don DaGradi. When asked about the drawing by the Sherman Brothers, DaGradi explained the ancient British folklore attributed to "sweeps" and how shaking hands with one could bring a person good luck. In their 1961 treatment, the Sherman Brothers had already amalgamated many of the P.L. Travers characters in the creation of "Bert". His theme music became "Chim Chim Cher-ee".
In addition to the "standard" version of the song which Bert sings to the children, he sings short snippets of the song to himself at various times, with different verses specific to an unfolding plot element.
(no relation to the Sherman Brothers
), using the song's same title. In his version, he poked fun at the American merchandise seen on TV commercials.
Supporters of English
football teams, Millwall
, Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers
, sing a version of the song which is a reference to each teams local rivals, West Ham
, Aston Villa
and Burnley
, who all wear claret and blue shirts.
Mary Poppins (film)
Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
, the 1964 musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
motion picture. It was originally sung by Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
and Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
. "Chim Chim Cher-ee" is also featured prominently in the award winning Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
/Disney stage musical of the same name which premiered in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at the Prince Edward Theatre
Prince Edward Theatre
The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster.The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Marc-Henri Levy and Gaston Laverdet...
in 2004. Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins (musical)
Mary Poppins is a Walt Disney Theatrical musical based on the similarly titled series of children's books by P. L. Travers and the Disney 1964 film. The West End production opened in December 2004 and received two Olivier Awards, one for Best Actress in a Musical and the other for Best Theatre...
premiered on the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
stage on November 16, 2006. The song can be heard in the Mary Poppins scene of The Great Movie Ride
The Great Movie Ride
The Great Movie Ride is an attraction at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park. It is a dark ride which takes guests through scenes from famous films throughout motion picture history....
at Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
and during the Mary Poppins segment of Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations
Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations
Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations Is Disneyland's second most recent fireworks show behind Halloween Screams. It's designed to take you into the stars to meet the magic-makers from beloved Disney films. This show features fireworks, lower level pyrotechnics, 10k...
at Disneyland.
In 2005, Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
included this song as part of "Julie Andrews Selects Her Favorite Disney Songs".
Songwriters
The song was written in by Robert B. ShermanRobert B. Sherman
Robert Bernard Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical films with his brother Richard Morton Sherman...
& Richard M. Sherman
Richard M. Sherman
Richard Morton Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical film with his brother Robert Bernard Sherman....
(the "Sherman Brothers
Sherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
") who also won an Oscar
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
and a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Mary Poppins' song score.
Inspiration
The song was inspired by one of the drawings of a chimney sweepChimney sweep
A chimney sweep is a worker who clears ash and soot from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys may be straight or contain many changes of direction. During...
created by Mary Poppins' screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, Don DaGradi. When asked about the drawing by the Sherman Brothers, DaGradi explained the ancient British folklore attributed to "sweeps" and how shaking hands with one could bring a person good luck. In their 1961 treatment, the Sherman Brothers had already amalgamated many of the P.L. Travers characters in the creation of "Bert". His theme music became "Chim Chim Cher-ee".
In addition to the "standard" version of the song which Bert sings to the children, he sings short snippets of the song to himself at various times, with different verses specific to an unfolding plot element.
Covers
- The influential modern jazz saxophonist John ColtraneJohn ColtraneJohn William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
was fond of the song, and covered it on his 1965 album The John Coltrane Quartet PlaysThe John Coltrane Quartet PlaysThe John Coltrane Quartet Plays is a 1965 album by jazz musician John Coltrane.-Track listing:#"Chim Chim Cheree" – 6:58...
. - The Howard RobertsHoward RobertsHoward Roberts was an American jazz guitarist, educator and session musician.-Biography:Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and began playing guitar at age 8. By the time he was 15 he was playing professionally locally....
Quartet covered this song in 1965. - The New Christy Minstrels covered this song in 1965 for the title cut of their album.
- Alvin and the ChipmunksAlvin and the ChipmunksAlvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...
covered the song for their album The Chipmunks Go to the MoviesThe Chipmunks Go to the Movies (album)The Chipmunks Go to the Movies is a 1969 music album by David Seville and The Chipmunks, released by Sunset Records, the budget-line subsidiary of Liberty Records....
. - Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
covered the song on his Disney Songs The Satchmo Way albumAlbumAn album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
. - Rex GildoRex GildoRex Gildo was a German singer of Schlager ballads who reached the height of his popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, selling over 25 million records and starring in film and television roles....
achieved Nr. 17 in the German charts with the German language Schlager music song Chim-Chim-Cheri 1965. - Mannheim SteamrollerMannheim SteamrollerMannheim Steamroller is an American music group founded by Chip Davis and Jackson Berkey, known primarily for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.-Beginnings:...
covered the song on their 1999 album, Mannheim Steamroller Meets the MouseMannheim Steamroller Meets the MouseMannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse: Unique Musical Creations Based on Disney Songs is a music album by Mannheim Steamroller, released by Walt Disney Records and American Gramaphone in 1999 on CD and DVD.-Track listing:# "Chim Chim Cher-ee" – 2:31...
. - Joe PerniceJoe PerniceJoe Pernice is an American indie rock musician and writer, who has fronted several bands, including the Scud Mountain Boys, Chappaquiddick Skyline and the Pernice Brothers....
covered the song (as "Chim Cheree") on his 2009 solo album It Feels So Good When I Stop. - On June 13, 1977, Led ZeppelinLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
briefly covered this in their song, "No Quarter". - Walt Disney RecordsWalt Disney RecordsWalt Disney Records is a family music record label owned by the Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Records was formed in 1956 as Disneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed out to a variety of other labels such as . It was Walt Disney’s brother Roy O...
released their first volume of jazz inspired by Disney films, with Esperanza SpaldingEsperanza SpaldingEsperanza Spalding is an American multi-instrumentalist best known as a jazz bassist and singer, who draws upon many genres in her own compositions...
covering Chim Chim Cher-ee. The album is titled, "Everybody Wants To Be A Cat," is copyrighted 2010, but has been released in January 2011. - On the 2011 album V-Rock Disney, which features visual keiVisual Keiis a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics. Some sources state that visual kei refers to a music genre, or to a sub-genre of Japanese rock, with its...
artists covering Disney songs, Plastic TreePlastic TreePlastic Tree is a Japanese rock band which formed in December 1993 in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. They released their first mini-album in December 1995, and in 1997, they debuted by releasing their first single on a major label.-Biography:...
covered this song in JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. - In November 2011, Turin BrakesTurin BrakesTurin Brakes are a modern folk duo, comprising Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, hailing from Balham, London. They had a UK top 5 hit with their song "Painkiller ".-1999–2003:...
covered the song with all UK proceeds going to Shelter (charity)Shelter (charity)Shelter is a registered charity in England and Scotland that campaigns to end homelessness and bad housing. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people in need, and tackles the root causes of bad housing by lobbying government and local authorities for new laws and policies to improve the...
.
Parodies
The song was parodied by song parodist Allan ShermanAllan Sherman
Allan Sherman was an American comedy writer and television producer who became famous as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, My Son, the Folk Singer , became the fastest-selling record album up to that time...
(no relation to the Sherman Brothers
Sherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
), using the song's same title. In his version, he poked fun at the American merchandise seen on TV commercials.
Supporters of English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
football teams, Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
, Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
, sing a version of the song which is a reference to each teams local rivals, West Ham
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
, Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
and Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
, who all wear claret and blue shirts.
Literary source
- Sherman, Robert B. Walt's Time: from before to beyondWalt's Time: from before to beyondWalt's Time: from before to beyond is a 252-page autobiographic, full color book by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman. It was edited by Imagineers Bruce Gordon, David Mumford and Jeff Kurtti and was published in 1998 by Camphor Tree Publishers who are out of Santa Clarita, California...
. Santa Clarita: Camphor Tree Publishers, 1998.