By Chris Lyndon

It's time to continue our new series of articles here on Disney Avenue celebrating the sounds of Disneyland. At contributing writer Chris Lyndon's website called DisneyChris.com you will find a collection of over 1300 audio tracks taking you on a magical musical visit through the Happiest Place on Earth. We will be highlighting each of the 25 chapters included in this "Magical Audio Tour" in the weeks and months ahead. Join us today for our third stop on this nostalgic audio tour of Disneyland's yesteryear as we travel down the turn of the twentieth century Main Street USA...









Each chapter of this Disneyland Magical Audio Tour highlights one aspect or specific area of the park. The third chapter is a look at Main Street USA. Found below are a collection of some of the best tracks you will find on this chapter. To view the entire chapter be sure to visit DisneyChris.com.




(For your listening pleasure, please remember to pause the Disney Avenue Music Player at the top left-hand side of the page prior to playing the tracks below if you are on a desktop computer.)
 



Walt Disney Introduces Main Street USA






Walt Disney, the man behind the magic in the Magic Kingdom, welcomes all of us to The Happiest Place on Earth, and to Main Street USA, a romanticized recreation of a small American town as it was during the famed gaslight era. At the end of the street, the world-renowned Disneyland marching band appears in full regalia...






You can now find this track and listen to it whenever the mood strikes by scrolling through the Disney Avenue Music Player above and selecting track number 257.




Main Street USA Attraction Preview






Jack Wagner provides an insightful attraction preview of all the many exciting sights and sounds to be found along Main Street USA, including descriptions of all the vintage modes of transportation found here, and a run-down of all the live entertainment offerings that can be enjoyed up and down this colorful avenue...







This is track number 258 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




Main Street Omnibus






Disneyland's colorful double-decker Omnibus is a great way to see the sights along Main Street USA. This one-way trip between Town Square and Central Plaza is navigated by a friendly and informative bus driver, who provides a brief guided tour, pointing out the many areas of interest found up and down the boulevard...







This is track number 259 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




The Disneyland Band's King Mickey March






The Disneyland Band has been performing up and down Main Street USA since the day Disneyland first opened. At any given moment, this colorful marching ensemble may appear following the growing resonance of a marching drum. They will often perform the King Mickey March on their way to Town Square for an afternoon concert...







This is track number 260 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




Main Street USA Area Music






All over Disneyland, the air is filled with song. The atmosphere music heard up and down Main Street is a collection of popular songs authentic to the gaslight era, as well as many other recognizable showtunes from various Broadway hits, as well as classic Walt Disney motion-picture musicals, set during the same romantic period...







This is track number 261 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




Main Street Emporium Atmosphere & Background Music






The Disneyland Emporium occupies nearly an entire block on the western side of Main Street. This is the busiest store in all of Disneyland, and the mood is always lively. Inside this massive mercantile, the clicking and clanging of cash registers is nearly as melodious as the Victorian era parlor music used as background accompaniment...







This is track number 262 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




The Storybook Store Area Music






Inside the Crystal Arcade, which is part of the Main Street Emporium complex, the Storybook Store offers Disney themed children's books, music, toys and stuffed animals. The wonderful music used as a backdrop for this colorful shop appropriately comes directly from many of Walt Disney's classic motion picture soundtracks...







This is track number 263 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




Main Street's Music Man Medley






Meredith Wilson's classic American musical, ''The Music Man'', is set in the same time and place as Disneyland's early 20th century thoroughfare, so it is only fitting that several songs from this Tony Award winning score be featured on Main Street. Wilson himself had visited Disneyland in 1959, and led a real marching band of 76 trombones...







This is track number 264 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




20th Century Music Store's Disneyland Forever Kiosk






Disneyland's 20th Century Music Company Store was once home to some very 21st Century music making technology. The short lived, but very popular, Disneyland Forever kiosk allowed guests the opportunity to instantly create their very own personalized souvenir CD's with selections chosen from a vast library of rare Disneyland audio recordings...







This is track number 265 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




The Keystone Cops - Main Street Saxophone Quartet






A popular live act that has been performing on Main Street for over fifty years is the Saxophone Quartet. In the early years of Disneyland they were known as the Keystone Cops, and donned old-fashioned policeman uniforms with Bobby hats. More recently, the musical foursome has donned red shirts and suspenders, taking on a fireman's motif. No matter what they wear, their music is sure to fill Main Street with those sweet sounds of yesteryear...







This is track number 266 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




The Main Street Town Band






For a brief period, Main Street served as the backdrop for a band of Dixielanders dressed as the residents of a turn of the 20th century small town. This "Town Band" was inspired by a similar musical troupe from Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, which began performing there during its opening year and remained a staple for decades...







This is track number 267 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




The Dapper Dans






Disneyland's own barbershop balladeers, the Dapper Dans, claim to be the original boy band, and rightfully so. They have been performing live on Main Street for over half a century. Throughout the day, they can be seen bicycling along the thoroughfare singing vintage American standards, showtunes and favorite Disney songs...







This is track number 268 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




Main Street's Hello Dolly Medley






Jerry Herman's musical masterpiece, "Hello Dolly," perfectly encapsulates both the time period and nostalgia of Main Street USA, so it is no surprise that three songs from this Broadway classic have been included in the area music of Disneyland's early 20th century thoroughfare, emoting the bold and brassy energy of this happy hometown...







This is track number 269 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




The Firehouse Five Plus Two






The Firehouse Five Plus Two were an immensely popular Dixieland jazz group with a huge following and a string of chart topping albums. Notably, each musician was also a member of Walt Disney's animation staff. They first performed at Disneyland on opening day, and by popular demand became a regularly appearing guest act...







This is track number 270 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




Main Street Area Music - The Gaslight Orchestra






Much of the music that Jack Wagner personally selected for the fondly remembered background music of Main Street USA from 1971-1992 was provided by Albert White and his Gaslight Orchestra. This musical ensemble recorded many popular albums in the 1960's, in a romanticized yet authentically vintage Gay Nineties style...







This is track number 271 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




Main Street Area Music - Gay Nineties Waltzes






From 1971-1976, Disneyland's Main Street area loop is widely believed to have come from a singular album, performed by the Albert White Orchestra, called "Gay Nineties Waltzes" which was played in its entirety.  In 1976, the loop was extended to include selections from not only this album, but several other gay nineties period pieces...







This is track number 272 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




Main Street Area Music - The Jack Wagner Collection






Jack Wagner's classic Main Street loop blended songs that were both familiar and obscure, consisting of authentic period pieces as well as contemporary compositions. While the Gaslight Orchestra was the main focus of this loop, several other artists were represented as well, including San Francisco Harry and the Barbary Coast Bandits...







This is track number 273 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor Area Music






When Carnation Café took over what was once the patio area of the former Carnation Ice Cream Parlor, the new Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor opened a few doors down in what was once home to the Sunkist Citrus House. The late Victorian calendar girl themeing was inspired by a similar venue of the same name in Disneyland Paris...







This is track number 274 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




The Main Street Maniacs






The Maniacs were a syncopated jazz quartet, specializing in Roaring 20's era music, who often performed impromptu afternoon sidewalk concerts along Main Street. This talented and very versatile group was otherwise known as the Big Thunder Boys, and would also perform traditional Bluegrass music in Frontierland and Bear Country...







This is track number 275 in the Disney Avenue Music Player.




I hope you enjoyed Chapter 3 of our Disneyland Magical Audio Tour featuring the vintage sounds of Disneyland's Main Street USA. Be sure to stay tuned for Chapter 4 coming soon which will feature the sounds of the Central Plaza. See you soon!

— Chris Lyndon, DisneyChris.com




You can find other Disneyland Magical Audio Tour Chapters below:


Chapter 1: Welcome to Disneyland

Chapter 2: Town Square

Chapter 3: Main Street USA

Chapter 4: Central Plaza
 
Chapter 5: Disneyland On Parade

Chapter 6: Adventureland 

Chapter 7: New Orleans Square