Carl W. Stalling facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carl W. Stalling
Background information
Birth name	Carl William Stalling
Born	(1891-11-10)November 10, 1891 Lexington, Missouri, U.S.
Died	November 29, 1972(1972-11-29) (aged 81) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Film score, soundtrack
Occupation(s)	Composer, arranger
Instruments	Piano, theater organ
Years active	1928–1958
Labels	Warner Bros.

Carl William Stalling (born November 10, 1891 – died November 29, 1972) was an American composer. He also worked as a voice actor and arranged music for animated films. He is best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. These popular shorts were made by Warner Bros.. Stalling created a full musical score for a new cartoon almost every week for 22 years!

Carl Stalling's Early Life and Career

Carl Stalling started playing the piano at age six. By the time he was 12, he was the main piano player at his hometown's silent movie theater. For a short time, he also played the theatre organ at the St. Louis Theatre.

In his early 20s, Stalling led his own orchestra. He also improvised music on the organ at the Isis Movie Theatre in Kansas City. His job was to play music for silent films. During this time, he met a young Walt Disney. Disney was making animated comedy shorts in Kansas City.

Their meeting was very important for cartoon music. Stalling showed how he could mix well-known songs with his own music. Disney was very impressed. Stalling helped Disney show his animated shorts at the Isis theater. In return, Disney made sure Stalling played the music for his films.

Moving to Hollywood and Working with Disney

Disney later moved to California to open a new studio. Stalling and Disney stayed in touch. In 1928, Disney was traveling to New York City. He stopped in Kansas City to hire Stalling. Stalling was asked to compose music for two animated shorts. These were Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho. These were the first two Mickey Mouse cartoons ever made.

After composing the music, Stalling went to New York City to record it for Disney. Disney liked the results. He offered Stalling a job as his studio's first music director. Stalling had to move to California for the job. He probably knew that silent films were ending. Sound films were the future.

Stalling moved to Hollywood to work for Disney. Many people say Stalling basically invented how music is made for cartoons. He was very talented at it. Stalling even voiced Mickey Mouse in The Karnival Kid in 1929.

Inventing the Silly Symphonies

Stalling encouraged Disney to create a new cartoon series. In this series, the animation would be made to match the music. This was a new idea at the time. Usually, music was made to fit the animation. Stalling's idea led to Disney creating the Silly Symphonies series.

Stalling composed and arranged the music for The Skeleton Dance (1929). This was the first Silly Symphonies cartoon. These cartoons allowed Stalling to create the music first. Then Disney's animators would draw to fit the music.

The Silly Symphonies were very new and exciting. They used pre-recorded music, often classical pieces. The animation was carefully timed to the music. This close timing of music and on-screen action was called Mickey Mousing.

The "Tick-System" and Click Tracks

While at Disney, Stalling helped improve a system called the "Tick-system." This was an early version of a click track. A click track helps keep music and sound effects perfectly in time with the visuals.

Initially, Wilfred Jackson used a metronome to set the speed of cartoon parts. This system became more advanced over time. An early click track was used for The Skeleton Dance (1929). It involved a film reel with holes punched out. These holes made clicks and pops when played. This helped keep everything in sync.

Moving to Warner Bros.

Stalling left Disney after two years. He had scored about 20 cartoons for Disney. He then joined animator Ub Iwerks at the Iwerks Studio in California. Stalling was the music director there until 1936.

In 1936, Leon Schlesinger hired Iwerks. Schlesinger made animated shorts for Warner Bros.. Stalling went with Iwerks to become a full-time cartoon music composer for Warner Bros. Stalling was already known as a very talented musician. He had gained a lot of experience at Disney and Iwerks' studios.

Schlesinger made two successful cartoon series for Warner Bros.: Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. From 1936 until he retired, Stalling composed the music for almost every cartoon released by Warner Bros. Cartoons. He was the music director for 22 years. He created music for over 600 animated films!

Stalling's Musical Style

Stalling's music style was very unique. He used a technique called "musical punning." This meant he used parts of popular songs or classical pieces. The song titles or lyrics would often match what was happening on screen. This added a lot of humor to the cartoons.

He worked with famous directors like Tex Avery and Chuck Jones. Together, they created the Looney Tunes music style. It had very fast and well-timed musical cues. These were mixed with instrumental sounds and recorded sound effects. Sometimes, the music became full-blown musical fantasies. Examples include The Rabbit of Seville and A Corny Concerto.

How Stalling Composed Music

Stalling would meet with the cartoon directors before animation began. They would decide on the timing for the short film. Animators would then draw frames per musical beat. After animation was done, Stalling received "exposure sheets." These sheets broke down the animation, dialogue, and sound effects into musical bars. Stalling then used these to create his music.

When composing, Stalling would add his musical puns. He picked popular songs whose titles fit the jokes on screen. His music quotes were often very short, sometimes only four seconds long. He often used music from Warner Bros.' live-action movies.

His cartoon music was usually performed by Warner Brothers' fifty-piece orchestra. This orchestra often played for live-action films. But Stalling's cartoon scores were often more challenging for them!

Stalling created many versions of the opening themes for Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. The Looney Tunes theme was "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" (1937). The Merrie Melodies theme was "Merrily We Roll Along" (1935).

Stalling was a master at changing musical styles quickly. His music would match the action in the cartoon. His arrangements were complex. The music worked as a background. It also provided musical sound effects. The song titles often described the action, making jokes for those who knew the tunes.

Using Raymond Scott's Music

Stalling often used music by Raymond Scott. Warner Bros. had the rights to Scott's music in the 1940s. Stalling used many of Scott's songs from the 1930s. For example, Scott's "Powerhouse" (1937) was used a lot. It played during scenes with conveyor belts or chases. Scott's music had a cartoon-like feel. It brought images to mind, which Stalling needed. Because Stalling used his music so much, Raymond Scott became known as a "cartoon composer."

Stalling's music was always connected to the story. For example, he often used "The Lady in Red" for scenes with attractive women. "California, Here I Come" played when characters left quickly. Car scenes often had "In My Merry Oldsmobile". Airplane scenes used the theme from Captains of the Clouds.

Raymond Scott's "In an 18th Century Drawing Room" was often heard with Granny in the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons. His "Powerhouse" appeared in scenes with machines or factories. Stalling also composed music for The Rabbit of Seville, based on Rossini. He linked Smetana's "The Dance of the Comedians" to Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.

Carl Stalling is remembered today for his music in classic Warner Bros. cartoons. His melodies are still heard and copied in new Looney Tunes shows and movies.

Chuck Jones's Thoughts on Stalling

Chuck Jones, a famous Looney Tunes director, sometimes joked about Stalling's musical puns. Jones said that Stalling would often use a song with a title that matched the scene. For example, if a lady wore red, he'd play "The Lady in Red". If someone went into a cave, he'd play "Fingal's Cave".

Jones once said that Stalling used a very old song called "I'm a Busy Little Bumble Bee" for a bee character. However, music experts have found that this song was actually "Be My Little Baby Bumble Bee" (1912). It was a popular hit. Stalling only used it once in a cartoon called The Bee-Deviled Bruin (1949).

Retirement and Legacy

Stalling stayed with Warner Bros. until he retired in 1958. His last cartoon was To Itch His Own. After he retired, Milt Franklyn took over as music director. Franklyn had been Stalling's assistant since the 1930s.

Carl Stalling died in Los Angeles on November 29, 1972. His work helped make Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies so memorable. His music is still loved by fans today.

Recordings

• The Carl Stalling Project: Music From Warner Bros. Cartoons, 1936–1958. Warner Bros., 1990
• The Carl Stalling Project Volume 2: More Music From Warner Bros. Cartoons, 1939–1957. Warner Bros., 1995
• Bugs Bunny on Broadway. (Broadway Cast Album conducted by George Daugherty) Warner Bros., 1990
• Bugs Bunny at the Symphony. (Live Concert Recording from the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony conducted by George Daugherty.) Warner Bros., 2010

Images for kids

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  A robot for kids.

See also

In Spanish: Carl W. Stalling para niños