I love the music in Fleischer cartoons. From Betty Boop, through the Color Classics, the Popeye cartoons and the original theme for Superman - It’s all great stuff. Lou Fleischer and his assistants Llyod Von Heyden, Arthur Turkisher, and Winston Sharples set the tempo. Composer/song writer Sammy Timberg also wrote numerous melodies found in the Fleischer cartoons and was one of the few to recieve screen credit. While Carl Stalling and Scott Bradley, even Philip Scheib, have gotten kudos for the animation they scored, Timberg & crew have yet to be properly recognized.

Timberg’s daughter Pat has been doing her part for the past decade. She’s staged concerts of Sammy Timberg music and started a website, Timberg Alley. Now Pat has produced a CD of new recordings of classic Sammy Timberg cartoon music: Boop-Oop-A-Dooin’ - The Songs of Sammy Timberg from Betty Boop, Popeye, Superman and Other Musical Classics. I’ve got it, and it’s wonderful!

Here are the details from the liner notes: After 14 years in vaudeville and composing for Broadway musicals in the late 20’s, Sammy produced a steady supply of spirited songs written for the classic Fleischer cartoons of the 1930’s and 1940’s. Although Sammy conducted a live, swinging band to accompany these timeless cartoons, much of the jazzy scores were lost behind the screen action, dialogue and sound effects. Boop-Oop-A-Doop compiles and recreates that music, with the help of some of today’s most talented musicians and singers, so it can be heard on its own, for the first time and for its own sake!

Songs performed by Shannon Cullem (the grand-daughter of Sammy
Timberg), Richard Halpern and Mora’s Modern Rhythmists.

Featuring 2 archival recordings, one of which has Sammy Timberg
singing and playing piano!

18 Tracks total:
1. Don’t Take My Boop-Oop-A-Doop Away
2. It’s A Hap-Hap-Happy Day
3. Got A Language Of My Own
4. Sweet Betty
5. I Wanna Be A Life Guard
6. Be Human
7. Brotherly Love
8. Keep A Little Song Handy
9. Hamburger Mine
10. I Want A Clean Shaven Man
11. Anytime At All
12. You Gotta Have Pep
13. Dizzy Debs
14. An Elephant Nevers Forgets
15. Little Lambkin
16. The Boopin’ Stride
Archival Tracks:
17. The Superman March
18. I’m Glad We’re Through (sung by Sammy Timberg!)

The CD can be purchased by contacting pat-at-timbergalley.com.