If you’re over 40, and you’ve never heard of composer Leroy Shield, that’s because the music he’s best known for was written without credit. If you’re under 40, it’s likely you’ve never heard his music at all, because around 1970 the black and white films of The Little Rascals and Laurel and Hardy, produced by Hal Roach in the 1930’s, were no longer a staple on TV.
WFMU’s Beware of the Blog notes that there is now a Leroy Shield Web site. Thanks go to Tom Tastewar for the tip-off. The audio player has a couple of tunes written by Shield, performed by the Beau Hunks.
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/MAR/GoodOldDays.mp3,http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/MAR/OnToTheShow.mp3]
Doug gave me the incredible Beau Hunks CD of Leroy Shield music as a Christmas present in 1995. I was about to give birth. He also gave me the complete Wizard of Oz (with alternate and outtakes) on CD. For the first six weeks after Molly was born, I was literally housebound with Molly due to a huge blizzard that hit our area the day after we brought her home from the hospital. Only a week later, we had an ice storm, which then melted and caused mass flooding.
I would have gone insane from the combination of mild postpartum depression and cabin fever if it weren’t for these CDs. I’d put Molly in her Snugli against my chest and dance to the music. She especially liked “Bells.”