After an independent career, he joined Disney Studios in the late 1950s and worked until 1980. He wrote music for other Disney films such as No Deposit, No Return, Napoleon and Samantha, Prince Donegal, Gus, The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Strongest Man in the World, Summer Magic, The Fox and the Hound, The North Avenue Irregulars, Hot Lead, Cold Feet, The Tale of Two Critters, The Shaggy DA, The Apple Dumpling Gang, The Love Bug, The Horse in the Grey Flannel Suit, Treasure of Matecumbre, The Bears and I, Herbie Rides Again, Charley and the Angel, Run, Cougar, Run, The Biscuit Eater, The Million Dollar Duck, Rascal, Smith!, The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin, The Legend of the Boy Eagle, Follow Me Boys!, The Monkey's Uncle, The Three Lives of Thomasina, Savage Sam, The Incredible Journey and the Computer Who Wore Tennis Shoes, among others.
He also orchestrated some of the music played at the theme parks including Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and music heard at Liberty Square in Walt Disney World.
MMartin, you are so right..what a genius Walter was...he needs to be a Disney legend, indeed!He shaped The "Disney Sound"
ReplyDeleteMMartin, you are so right..what a genius Walter was...he needs to be a Disney legend, indeed!He shaped The "Disney Sound"
ReplyDeleteAs another person with the surname Sheets, I've always been curious to read more about him. IMDB has nothing except his Birth and Death places and dates. Nothing about parents, spouse, children, or any other biographical or anecdotal information.
ReplyDeleteMy paternal grandmother, Ruth Sheets b. ca 1895 in Indiana (moved to Ohio before 1916) was related; she would mention he worked on many Disney movies, and proudly, but I can't recall her saying much more about him. I don't know precisely the relationship. It was not, I think, through her older brother also named Walter Sheets (or I would have heard more). Ruth's mother and 2 older brothers were bakers - they had a shop in Toledo before WWI and one in Rock Rapids in the 20s. Another brother lived in Spokane.
DeleteDavid,
DeleteI did speak with him on the phone once...he was at the studio...Walter was indeed from Ohio - "New London", Ohio,He found his way out to Los Angeles, and lived close by to the Studio (Sherman Oaks, or some place like that.)He and Buddy Baker were more or less a team, and although he scored for other Disney composers depending on the need, most of the time he was Buddy's right hand man. He knew what Buddy wanted, and the composer could short hand a sketch score without naming the specific instruments-just labeling them as a group. For example: when Mr Baker would say "wood winds" he just wrote a chord for them. Walter knew what he wanted and would assign each note of the chord to fls cls, ob, etc The same thing with Brass..
This process was also done by other composers who had long time orchestrators...such as WB's David Buttolph. His Orchestrator was the brilliant Maurice De Packh, who knew what Dave wanted...The same with cartoon composer Carl Stalling - whos orchestrator was Milt Franklyn...so looking at their sketch music is informative from a compositional standpoint, but arrangingwise it is somewhat useless in the study of orchestration...one had to look at the "Full score" or listen to that recording and try to "pick off" the orchestral blend by ear and guess what the orchestration blend was whilst looking at the "sketch"(more or less a piano part, with group indications of instruments) ex:woodwinds" or "Brass"
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