Walt Disney Records is a family music record label owned by Disney. Walt Disney Records was formed in 1956 as Disneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed out to a variety of other labels (RCA, Decca, Capitol, and ABC-Paramount Records). It was Walt Disney’s brother Roy O. Disney who suggested that Walt Disney Productions (now The Walt Disney Company) form their own record label. Roy enlisted long time staffer Jimmy Johnson to head this new division – Disneyland Records.
Jimmy brought in Salvador ”Tutti” Camarata (renowned musician and founder of the legendary Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood) to head up the creative end of this new enterprise. Tutti’s expertise and skill established the label’s initial forays into long form musical albums, which included Jazz interpretations of Disney Standards (Snow White, Bambi, and Cinderella), original musical concept albums (Summer, Winter, Spring, Autumn, and Tutti’s Trumpets) and expanded the format of Soundtracks by including selections from the score as well as the famous songs. Tutti’s connections within the music industry also brought to the label the likes of Mary Martin, Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, Jerry Colonna, and Phil Harris to name a few. It was also Tutti’s idea that the popular Mouseketeer, Annette Funicello, become the label’s first artist in residence. For her albums, and more ‘contemporary’ selections, the Buena Vista Records label was established under the Disneyland Records banner