Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls: Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls: Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
By Philip Kippel
"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" is an Academy Award-winning song that has become an old standard and a Walt Disney Company anthem, alongside the likes of "When You Wish Upon a Star", "The Mickey Mouse March", "It's a Small World After All" and other classic tunes in the Disney music catalog. It has always been inclusive! The first three people to ever sing it were James Baskett (as Uncle Remus), Johnny Lee (as Brer Rabbit) and Nick Stewart (as Brer Bear) in the equally-inclusive Disney movie "Song of the South". It was also co-written by a Jewish man, Allie Wrubel, ranks #47 on the American Film Institute's list of Top 100 Songs in Movie History and is the second Disney song to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song!
The much-beloved song has been sung and/or referenced in countless Disney films, TV shows, attractions and more, as well as being heavily utilized throughout the Disney theme parks and resorts not just in the wildly popular Splash Mountain attractions but also in parades, live stage shows, atmosphere performers and much, much more, becoming a staple of the parks and has further made the guests' experiences and vacations at the parks and resorts all the more happy and enjoyable.
An entourage of critters sing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" in the finale of the Splash Mountain attraction.
One of the many Disney park parades to feature "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" was the Disney Character Hit Parade, which ran at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom from 1989 to 1991. The song even served as the main theme for that particular parade.
The song has been released many, many times on countless Disney record albums since the film's release in 1946 and older Disney albums featuring the song continue to be reissued to this day.
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah has even been sung by other Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy.
On that note (and with Walt Disney World celebrating its 50th anniversary), The Mickey Mouse Revue, one of Walt Disney World’s original opening day attractions, featured Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear singing the song as the show’s finale with all the other characters joining in.
Whereas many other Disney songs are only meant to be sung by certain characters, the fact that just about any of them can sing Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah further speaks to how universal and inclusive it is.
It has been covered by countless celebrities, musicians and recording artists across all backgrounds all over the world and in all sorts of musical styles and genres, from jazz musicians and rock groups to dancers and barbershop quartets to country singers and reggae artists to choirs and marching bands to pop stars and symphony orchestras. Among the countless talents and performers that have performed "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" over the years include Louis Armstrong (who was a partner of Nick Stewart onstage and in vaudeville), Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Debbie Reynolds, Doris Day, Julie Andrews, The Jackson Five, Shirley Bassey, Debbie Allen, Little Richard, Paula Abdul, Miley Cyrus, Aly & AJ, Los Lobos, Neil Patrick Harris, Patti Austin, John Denver, Angela Lansbury, Bob Saget, the Mike Curb Congregation, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Muppets and many, many others.
Just a few of the many "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" performances and covers through the years.
It has also been included in countless children's albums and you'll find videos featuring the song on YouTube, including many performed by kids, adults and 'amateur' YouTubers alike. It continues to be sung by children in schools and children still perform dance recitals set to the song. Even lullaby and remix versions of the song have been created!
In addition, lots of people have sung the song to commemorate happy occasions ranging from school graduations to birthdays to weddings to holidays to the end of cancer treatments.
Movies, TV shows, commercials, comics, toys and other media produced by rival studios and competing companies have often featured and/or referenced "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah"! The song has taken on a life of its own all over the globe outside the world of Disney!
"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" being referenced in a Calvin & Hobbes comic strip.
"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" has NOTHING to do with "Zip Coon" and is not racist or offensive in any way! It's just a happy song about having a nice day and that's it! "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" is just another one of many nonsense words that Disney has always been fond of and created over the years, just like "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo", "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", "Brazzle Dazzle Day", "Fortuosity", "Substitutiary Locomotion", etc. Disney historian Jim Korkis has said that the word "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" was reportedly invented by Walt Disney himself.
If “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” was racist, it is very highly doubtful that parents would allow their children to sing it or perform it, most adults would most likely refuse to touch it with a ten-foot pole, celebrities would refuse to ever do covers of it, it would be forbidden from schools and places of worship like churches and synagogues, the lullaby versions of the song would most likely be nonexistent, etc. In other words, the millions of “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” performances that have come into existence never would’ve happened if everyone thought it was racist! "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" is very heavily burned into our DNA and deserves to continue doing so.
Ever since the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Derek Chauvin on May 25th, 2020, and in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the destroyer of history and popular culture known as “Cancel Culture” escalated to the most extreme levels imaginable and brainwashed tons of people, with many people and corporations using that tragedy as an excuse to further eradicate people of color and their history while disguising it all as attempting to be more “diverse and inclusive”.
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, in addition to Song of the South and Splash Mountain, has sadly fallen victim to the current wave of Cancel Culture, with Disney attempting to erase the much-beloved and genuinely-inclusive song. For example: the Disneyland Resort removed the song from many of its background music loops, such as the Main Entrance area loop and the Fantasyland/King Arthur Carousel music loop. In addition, a Hallmark ornament featuring Mickey Mouse playing Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah on a xylophone was supposed to be released for the 2020 Christmas season, but was cancelled and never released as a result of the George Floyd tragedy.
The Mickey Mouse Hallmark ornament that was supposed released in 2020.
When Disneyland removed the song from its main entrance area, the official statement that they made was “The removal of the song from Downtown Disney’s background music is part of a continuous process to deliver an environment that features stories that are relevant and inclusive.”
Disney's attempts to remove this popular feel-good song from its theme parks and other media are ill-advised! Erasing and removing such a song from parades, music loops, merchandise and other sources and media does not make things more "relevant" or "inclusive" in any way! It is absolutely ridiculous how people can suddenly turn against something that they were previously embracing.
It would appear that people such as executives, managers and directors at The Walt Disney Company would not do anything that is heartless, discriminatory, and unfounded, yet their seemingly-political agendas against Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Song of the South and Splash Mountain give the impression of deception and true racism that ignores and goes against the ideals of Walt Disney himself!
Getting rid of such a nice song about having a good day only makes a day less fun and enjoyable. Removing the song is also pretending that Allie Wrubel, Ray Gilbert, James Baskett, etc. did not exist and that the Academy Award that the song received also doesn’t exist. Eradicating Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, retheming Splash Mountain and hiding Song of the South in the vault will not make the ongoing problems in society go away!
Our desire is to keep "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" and its legacy alive and reaffirm its popularity, inclusiveness and longevity. We have very high hopes that Disney will actually start listening to the majority of audiences again and restore the song.
Please show your support for the history and the song, and learn about our petition to stop its censorship, at http://www.ebonyshowcasetheatre.org and http://www.zipadeedoodah.info, which are projects of the Ebony Showcase Theatre and Cultural Workshop, the Charitable organization founded by Nick Stewart and his wife Edna in 1950. Their daughter, Valarie Stewart, who needs your help to continue their legacy, can be reached via voice, voicemail or text at 323-393-3744.
Also, please join the Save Splash Mountain and Release Song of the South Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/751080852358711.
(Nick Stewart was the third person to ever sing the song. Please join us.)
Copyright Philip Kippel, 2021
Further reading, additional links and resources:
Watch "Song of the South" on Archive.org
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