Park Mysteries, #3

What follows may not be so much of a traditional "mystery" in the sense that, say, those (very popular!) Caribbean Plaza windows were a mystery, But it does feed into my desire to learn more about the development of Country Bear Jamboree. Although attractions like Pirates and Mansion have had large volumes devoted to them and The E-Ticket has shed much light of the creation of Disneyland originals like the Fantasyland attractions or The Jungle Cruise, for an attraction with a nearly six year gestation, we know little about how Country Bear Jamboree reached its' final state and what decisions were made at what time. So, in that spirit, I offer the following:







These three Marc Davis images, of an unknown date, present endless fascinating possibilities for fans of the show. Apparently starring Teddi Barra in a tutu and an unknown bear (he bears a resemblance to Ernest by way of Terrance - there's a mental image!), and obviously intended to be a slide show in the style of the Sun Bonnets' "All The Guys Who Turn Me On, Turn Me Down", after much research I determined it to be representative of this 1967 song by Johnny & Jonie Mosby:

You make a left and then a right go down three blocks look for a light
And if it's on come on in but if it's off he's home again

I met an old friend the other night we danced so close she held me tight
I love you but I'm tied down here's my address please come around
You make a left and then a right...
[ steel ]

He's there again so I'll go on I try tomorrow he may be gone
If he's out drinking he won't be home so I'm sure I'll be alone
You make a left and then a right...
You make a left and then a right...

The song is in the right time period for some of the songs Davis was drawing his inspiration from in 1970 / 1971: Tommy Collins released "If You Can't Bite, Don't Growl" in 1966; Jean Shepard, "Heart, We Did All That We Could" in 1966; Wanda Jackson's "Tears Will Be The Chaser For Your Wine" in 1965, and so on. So we're well into the territory demarcated for the attraction here.

Which opens up the question as to when the art was actually created. Although the quality of the graphics we've got are pretty iffy, you can tell that the watercolors Davis is using here is significantly different than his work for Pirates or Mansion: post Haunted Mansion he was already starting to use more vibrant colors (think of the yellows, pinks, reds and oranges in his Western River Expedition art, his work for the unbuilt Ice Palace attraction and the revisions for Tokyo Disneyland's attractions in 1983). So it's possible, even probable that the art was created in 1971, but we have to consider a later vintage. Whatever the date, the slides are finished, and even with the extraordinary rate of output Davis enjoyed, it's unlikely he would've bothered to superimpose the text on the artwork if the slides weren't intended to be used.

So if the musical number "You Make A Left And Then A Right" was intended for Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in 1971, it means that either the budget was cut for what was already a costly show, or the number was cut for various reasons, including pace. We have pretty extensive photo documentation of the Country Bear Jamboree model, posted by Matterhorn 1959 over at Stuff From the Park, so we know it wasn't intended for a bear who was deleted. Perhaps as an alternate song for one of the male bear band members?

If it wasn't intended for Orlando opening day, here's a few possibilities:
1972 - Alternate song for Disneyland's show
1975 - New vocals added to shows; further changes planned?
1983 - Alternate / New song for Tokyo Disneyland's show

I don't expect to get much more information on this one than I already have, but for something I've devoted this much thought to already, I just had to share it with everybody.