"I Wan'na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)"
Song by Louis Prima and Phil Harris
from the album The Jungle Book
Released1967
LabelWalt Disney
Songwriter(s)

"I Wan'na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)" is a song from Walt Disney's 1967 film The Jungle Book. The song was written by songwriters Robert and Richard Sherman,[1] and was performed by singer and musician Louis Prima as King Louie, with Phil Harris providing additional vocals as Baloo the bear.[2]

Background

Walt Disney sought to make his version of The Jungle Book a lot more upbeat than the Rudyard Kipling-penned source material, the original Bill Peet script, and the initial score composed by Terry Gilkyson (whose song "The Bare Necessities" ultimately made it into the final film).[3][4] The Sherman brothers were tasked with coming up with "crazy ways to have fun with [the music]".[5]

Working with concept art of what the monkeys would look like,[6] Richard Sherman said he and his brother aimed for a jazz sound, with a Dixieland-like melody. He added that "when we first got an idea for 'I Wan'na Be Like You', we said an ape swings from a tree, and he's the king of apes. We'll make him 'the king of the swingers'. That's the idea, we'll make him a jazz man".[7] After suggesting that Louis Prima could play the part of King Louie,[8] Walt Disney Records president Jimmy Johnson and music director Tutti Camarata asked the Sherman brothers to fly to Las Vegas and perform the song for Prima.[9] Once Prima was invited to do the song, he mockingly responded to the Shermans with "You want to make a monkey out of me? You got me!"[5]

The instrumentals were originally recorded by Prima - who also played the trumpet - and his band, Sam Butera & The Witnesses, but the music was replaced by one written by the film's composer, George Bruns, and orchestrated by Walter Sheets. The "scat dialogue" between Baloo and King Louie was the result of two recording sessions. Louis Prima recorded first, with the intent that Baloo - played in his recording by Butera - would simply repeat what Louie scatted, but Phil Harris decided not to imitate Prima's recording and made up his own. The song was released the same date as the motion picture itself.[10]

Personnel

Cover versions

Robbie Williams version

"I Wanna Be like You"
Song by Robbie Williams featuring Olly Murs
from the album Swings Both Ways
Length3:31
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Guy Chambers

"I Wan'na Be like You" was covered by British recording artist Robbie Williams featuring British recording artist Olly Murs for his tenth studio album Swings Both Ways (2013). Production of their rendition was handled by Guy Chambers. However, in the liner notes Robbie Williams incorrectly attributes the original to Phil Harris, and says how much he admires Harris (p. 4 of notes in Deluxe Edition).

Weekly charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[16] 55
Germany (Official German Charts)[17] 85
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 64
  • In 1978, a live-action sketch titled The Wonderful World of Ernie from Morecambe and Wise parodied the song by doing a full reenactment of the scene with sets and costumes and lip-synching to the original recording (including the characters' spoken dialogue in the middle of the song). The sketch starred Danny Rolnick as Mowgli, Derek Griffiths as Bagheera, Eric Morecambe as Baloo and Ernie Wise as King Louie.[19]
  • In 2008, the song was used in an anti-smoking public information film from the NHS. It shows children copying everything their parents did (for example, boys putting shaving cream on their faces, girls dressing up in their mothers' best clothes and both genders washing the car), and the song is playing throughout the advertisement, but it slows down and stops when a girl puts a crayon to her mouth in imitation of her mother smoking. The advertisement ends with a female voice-over saying: "If you smoke, your children are more likely to smoke, too. Smoking. Don't keep it in the family".[20]
  • The Robbie Williams/Olly Murs collaborative cover appears in season 3, episode 9 of the TV drama Stella.
  • In 2015, "I Wanna Be like You" was featured in season 1, episode 7 of the TV drama Aquarius.
  • The song was used in a popular TikTok trend during the year 2019.
  • In 2022 it was used on The Voice of Germany by Sid Bader, where he received an all turn.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hischak, Thomas S.; Robinson, Mark A. (2009). The Disney Song Encyclopedia. Scarecrow Press. p. 89. ISBN 9780810869387.
  2. ↑ The Jungle Book (1967) - Soundtracks from Internet Movie Database
  3. ↑ Michael., Barrier, J. (2007). The animated man: a life of Walt Disney. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 276. ISBN 9780520941663. OCLC 148004284.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ McLean, Craig (2016-04-25). "The Jungle Book: the making of Disney's most troubled film". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  5. 1 2 Krouse, Richard (2016-04-14). "I Wan'na Be like You: Richard Sherman shares story behind writing famous Jungle Book song". Metro News. Archived from the original on 2016-04-18. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  6. ↑ "Sodajerker presents… Richard M Sherman". Songwriting Magazine. 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  7. ↑ Scott, Mike (2016-04-15). "For 'Jungle Book' purists, you just can't spell primate without 'Prima'". nola.com. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  8. ↑ Tim., Hollis (2006). Mouse tracks : the story of Walt Disney Records. Ehrbar, Greg. (1st ed.). Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. pp. 89–90. ISBN 1578068487. OCLC 61309354.
  9. ↑ "New 'Jungle Book' Sound Track Thrills Two of Its Composers: Movies: The digitally remastered CD will be out Monday. The Sherman brothers are animated about the recording". Los Angeles Times. 1990-07-07. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  10. ↑ Sherman, Richard. The Jungle Book audio commentary. The Jungle Book - Platinum Edition
  11. ↑ Kenny Ball 45rpm Discography at www.45rpm.org.uk
  12. ↑ Kenny Ball—King Of The Swingers (1969) at Discogs
  13. ↑ "I Wan'na Be Like You Every Time Played - Phish.net". phish.net. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  14. ↑ Video on YouTube
  15. ↑ Rebecca Keegan (April 15, 2016). "'Jungle Book' director Jon Favreau keeps the 19th century Kipling tone but updates the classic for modern times". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Robbie Williams feat. Olly Murs – I wanna Be like You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  17. ↑ "Robbie Williams feat. Olly Murs – I wanna Be like You" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  18. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 48, 2013". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  19. ↑ "Morecambe&Wise - The Jungle Book - I Wanna Be Like You - Disney spoof". Disney+. December 14, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  20. ↑ Whelan, Natalie (2008-06-13). "'Don't keep it in the family', says anti-smoking ad". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
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