Little Rascals Soundtracks - The Beau Hunks

[John in Covina]

If you are old enough to recall watching those "Our Gang" / "Little Rascals" comedies along with some of the Laurel & Hardy comedies, you'll remember the work of Leroy Shields who wrote so much of the background music.

Shortly after sound came in and talkies were the new thing the movie makers realized the hiss of the sound system could be covered by music. Soon after that it was realized that the music could be used to evoke a mood and even as a type of Foley, called Mickey Mousing today.

The work of Leroy Shields as composer of so many backing tunes in the Little Rascals has been recognized by many as great work. R Crumb actually recreated some of the music on a album years ago. But the best so far is work by the Beau Hunks out of Holland. With 2 cds of Shields stuff, work on Raymond Scott (Powerhouse) and other composers the Beau Hunks are both versitile and commited to accurate music reproductions.

Little rascal fans should seek out their work as well as others who like the sounds of the period. Amazon has a lot of their stuff both new and used.

Here is their web site:

http://www.beauhunks.com/

Enjoy!:cheers1:

 

[jake_fink]

I love this band. The Little Rascals discs were very hard to get for years due to some legal dispute that may now be sorted out.

I hope you've also checked out Boulevard of Broken Dreams, same label and some of the same personnel. They do sad songs mostly from the 30s, and with European accents to boot! It's so sweet.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Let us hope that the soundtrack includes Alfalfa and Darla singing. :icon_smil

 

[Forrestal]

I have the Beau Hunks Little Rascals CD. It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s great.
If you are old enough to remember when the Our Gang shorts were broadcast on TV in the 50?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s and 60?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s you will immediately recognize the music on this CD.
If you ever get an opportunity to watch any Laurel and Hardy films there is a good chance you will hear the same background music. Hal Roach produced both Our Gang and Laurel and Hardy and used many of the same tunes repeatedly.
Regards,
Forrestal

 

[Sefton]

I remember the Little Rascals well from Saturday morning TV...great music! I'll have to get those CDs so I can play it at work. Thanks for the info!

 

[John in Covina]

Just an Echo, Yoou-whooo!

Let us hope that the soundtrack includes Alfalfa and Darla singing. :icon_smil

***********
Unfortunately, no. These are recreations of the original music as complete as possible, to represent these pieces as a tribute to the style and quality of the music Roy Shields created.