The Sherman Brothers Wrote an Oscar-Winning Score for Disney but Weren't Always a Harmonious Pair

Richard Sherman and his brother Robert wrote two hit songs — "Tall Paul" and "You're Sixteen, You're Beautiful (And You're Mine)" — before Walt Disney hired them to write exclusively for him. In 1965, they won an Oscar for Best Original Score for the film "Mary Poppins." The score included "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and "Chim Chim Cher-ee." The latter also won Best Original Song.The Sherman Brothers wrote "It's a Small World" for a 1964 New York World's Fair ride that later became a Disneyland attraction. It's been deemed the most played song ever. Here's a not-quite 2-minute version, appropriately starring kids.If you'd like to hear Disney's first big star Annette Funicello singing "Tall Paul," go here. And here's Johnny Burnette singing "You're Sixteen" in 1960.Finally, for a fun and sweet diversion, check out this MsMojo video of "Top 10 Best Mary Poppins Moments." If you lean toward nostalgia, you might get a little teary during some of those moments. The image in the thumbnail and closing remarks for this episode is of Richard Sherman in 2014. In the chapters, there's a public domain photo of the Sherman Brothers receiving the National Medal of Arts from President George W. Bush in November 2008. It's credited to the Presidential Press Corps and is available on Wikimedia Commons. This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written and recorded in honor of the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.Send us Fan MailThis is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.