Tubby the Tuba (song)

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"Tubby the Tuba" is the title of a 1945 song, whose lyrics were written by Paul Tripp and music composed by George Kleinsinger. The original recording, released on the Decca label, was sung by Danny Kaye.

The song traces its origins back to World War II, following the attack on Pearl Harbor. After Tripp and Kleinsinger performed their first musical piece, the tuba player taking part quipped: "You know, tubas can sing, too." With this in mind, Tripp wrote the tale of a tuba who found a melody to play, and the pair then made a song out of it.[1]

It was not until the war ended that they finally had a hit with "Tubby".[1] The sales success of the tune prompted George Pal to make a 1947 Puppetoon based on it, which was nominated for a Best Animated Short Oscar. It was followed by a 1975 animated feature, which was the first of its kind to take advantage of computer technology.[2]

There have been spinoffs involving two other characters from the song, Pee-Wee and Celeste.[1] The Manhattan Transfer recorded an album featuring the character, their only one for children, in 1995; it contained a sequel song called "Further Adventures of Tubby".

"Tubby the Tuba" has been translated into over thirty languages, and has even been narrated by Today host Meredith Vieira.[1] Tripp's original story was printed by E. P. Dutton in 2006, in commemoration of its 60th anniversary (ISBN 0-525-47717-9).

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d History of "Tubby the Tuba" at official site. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
  2. ^ Beck, Jerry (2005), pp. 295-6.

[edit] Sources

  • Beck, Jerry (2005). The Animated Movie Guide. ISBN 1-55652-591-5. Chicago Reader Press. Accessed April 9, 2007.

[edit] External links